What is the best method for teaching a cat to perform a task, such as turning on the living room lights?

Shaping is indeed the best method for teaching a cat to perform a specific task, such as turning on the living room lights. This technique involves reinforcing successive approximations of the desired behavior until the final behavior is achieved. Since most animals, including cats, do not naturally perform complex tasks, shaping allows the trainer to break the task down into smaller, manageable steps. For instance, the trainer might start by rewarding the cat for approaching the light switch, then for touching it, and eventually for completing the entire action of turning it on.

This method is effective because it utilizes positive reinforcement to encourage the behavior gradually, giving the cat a clear pathway to learn the new task through progressively more challenging stages. In contrast, other methods like classical conditioning would be more suited for creating associations between stimuli and responses rather than teaching complex tasks. Imitation relies on the animal's ability to observe and replicate behaviors demonstrated by others, which may not be effective with a task that the animal wouldn't naturally perform or observe another cat doing. Modeling, while useful in some contexts, does not typically account for the gradual reinforcement process necessary for teaching step-by-step behaviors like turning on lights.