The coach's breath-hold progression is an example of shaping within which dimension?

• A. Response topography
• B. Response rate
• C. Stimulus prompting
• D. Punishment

Answer: (A)

Shaping by successive approximations targets changes in the form of a behavior, not how often it happens. In this breath-hold progression, the coach is gradually altering how the breath-hold is performed—the topography of the response—by moving from simpler, shorter holds to more complex or longer holds. That focus on the physical form of the response is what defines shaping within the dimension of response topography. Increasing the rate would mean more frequent holds, which isn’t what’s being reinforced here. Stimulus prompting would involve adding cues, and punishment would involve negative consequences, neither of which are at play in this progression.