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There are a number of basic learning principles that apply to all higher-order creatures, including human beings. These facts of learning and behavior are quite consistent and predictable across species and we are no exception. When you fully grasp three basic elements that determine behavior you are on your way to applying them creatively to any situation. You will also learn all the tricks and techniques that effective behavior specialists use each day in dealing with the most serious as well as the mildest and most common behavior problems referred to the clinical office for treatment. By understanding how and why these methods work, your behavioral interventions will be easier, more effective and overall more satisfying.

Terminology and Definitions:

In the simplest terms, it is important to think of the “ABC’s” of behavior. “A” stands for antecedent. Antecedent means that which immediately precedes the behavior, or happens just before it. “B” is for behavior, the action engaged in, what is actually done by the organism. Finally, “C” is for consequence. Consequence means that which immediately follows the behavior, or what happens to and for the organism right after it acts. Whenever you try to understand any behavior, no matter how simple or complex, you have to look at what important things are occurring just before and just after the behavior of interest. In the case of undesirable or negative behaviors, you have to determine what conditions are present that are likely to influence the organism to continue to engage in the negative behaviors.

Punishment refers to any event that, when it occurs shortly after a behavior, reduces the likelihood of that behavior occurring again.

Reinforcement refers to any event that, when it occurs shortly after a behavior, increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. There are two types of reinforcement: Positive Reinforcement and Negative Reinforcement.

Many people (even behavioral scientists) often confuse negative reinforcement with punishment. If you understand the difference you will possess very specialized knowledge that will allow you to speak with an air of superiority on the topic of behavior modification and learning whenever you wish.

Positive Reinforcement, because it is a type of reinforcement, makes the behavior it follows or is tied closely to more likely to occur again. Positive reinforcement means that you add to or provide some stimulus that is pleasant, enjoyable and rewarding to the individual. The simplest and most effective positive reinforcement for almost any person is what is known as “labeled praise”

(See Parent-Child Interaction Therapy by Hembree-Kigin, T, McNeil, C. & Eyberg, S. 1995, Plenum Publishers) 

Labeled praise simply means telling someone specifically what behavior or quality they have exhibited and indicating that this is acknowledged and appreciated.

Specific examples would include “I like the way you have cleaned up your area”, “It feels good to have you looking at me when I speak”, “You really did a good job of talking politely.”

Extensive behavioral research has shown that these types of verbal positive reinforcements are extremely effective in increasing the frequency of desirable behaviors and at the same time reducing the frequency of the negative behaviors that would otherwise be occurring. One skill that is essential in managing behavior is training yourself to use labeled praise almost exclusively. In any setting in which you are responsible for directing people it is desirable to use many, many labeled praise statements throughout your interactions. For example, in the classroom you should strive to make at least twenty to thirty such statements per hour. When implementing a behavior modification plan, it is very important that all of the individuals responsible for monitoring the child’s behaviors attend to and provide this simple but effective reinforcement as often as possible when the child demonstrates the target behaviors.

Negative reinforcement, because it is a type of reinforcement, makes the behavior more likely to occur again. It is called negative reinforcement because it means that you have removed or negated something rather than adding or applying something.

    The most common and perhaps most problematic example of negative reinforcement is seen tens of thousands of times a day in schools throughout the world. It occurs when a child begins behaving badly and is subsequently sent out to the hallway or to the principal’s office. Rather than reducing the likelihood of the bad behavior occurring again, this typically makes it occur with greater frequency.

    Why? Because the child received negative reinforcement for his behavior. The negative reinforcement was the relief he felt when he escaped the boredom or stress of the classroom. The only time that removal from the classroom will serve as a punishment and reduce the likelihood of the target behavior recurring is when the person removed from the classroom experiences a strong sense of embarrassment or misses out on some activity that would be highly reinforcing by being out of the classroom. The teacher should carefully consider the personal qualities of the child before using removal from the classroom (or its threat) as a method of reducing inappropriate behaviors.

    Other forms of negative reinforcement that are very effective include allowing a child to skip a homework or classroom assignment or allowing them to move to the front of the line.

    This latter response is actually a combination of negative reinforcement, as it removes the unpleasantness of waiting in line and also provides the child with social recognition that is a positive reinforcement for most people. Allowing the child to remove herself to a quiet place in the room when she is beginning to grow angry is a negative reinforcement for the behavior of self-awareness and choosing an alternative to aggressive verbal or physical behavior in response to her upset. Providing a child in a mandatory uniform setting with a casual clothes pass for performing appropriately is another example of negative reinforcement in that it takes away the unpleasant sensation of wearing more restrictive clothing. As with allowing the child to move ahead in line, this intervention also contains a component of positive reinforcement as well. You will find that many reinforcements that work contain both positive and negative elements.

Punishment is of course a general term to describe any stimulus that is aversive (unpleasant) to the person or organism. Another term that is somewhat more politically correct but refers to the same set of interventions is “negative consequences”. Typical examples of punishment include a variety of physically painful stimuli such as spanking.

Important Warning: Corporal punishment or the intentional infliction of physical pain or fear of pain is specifically contraindicated for use with anyone at this time! The author DOES NOT condone any such punishment for any reason.

By choosing alternative negative consequences that do not involve inflicting pain you will always get better results from a behavior management plan. More appropriate examples of negative consequences include privilege restriction such as taking away video access for a period of time, removing allowance money, or taking away permission to use the telephone. It is essential to have several negative consequences built in to any behavior modification plan, as even the best positive reinforcement plan must also contain some punishments in order to be quickly effective. By thoughtfully using a combination of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment, you will be able to shape virtually any behavior in any individual. The challenge is to always remember to analyze the situation with care and avoid letting inappropriate emotions or irrational beliefs about human behavior keep you from doing what you know will work.

IMPORTANT SUMMARY POINTS:

1. Behavior in any creature is strongly determined by what is happening right before an action is taken and what happens right after the action, within a few seconds to minutes.

2. Reinforcement can be Positive (+) or Negative (-). Positive reinforcement means that something pleasant, good, or otherwise enjoyable happens for the person (child gets a piece of candy.) Negative reinforcement means that something bad, difficult or unpleasant is taken away (Child doesn‘t have to finish math quiz.)

3. Punishment means that something bad, difficult or unpleasant happens to the person (child has to complete additional math problems after behaving badly.)

4. Labeled Praise is one of the most powerful Positive Reinforcements you can use. Labeled Praise takes the form “I really like it when you sit quietly and wait for me to finish” or “You did a good job of setting the table” or “Thank you for minding the first time like a big girl.” You should teach yourself to give as many labeled praise statements as possible to reduce bad behaviors.


Using the PsychPsyte.com Auto Behavior Plan Creator:

The actual charting function is clear, concise and proven effective in reducing virtually any problem behavior, in any setting and with any type of person. However, it is absolutely essential that you understand the following basic fact: The behavior modification chart is one tool in a comprehensive set of interventions. What this means is that you must always see the behavior chart as being primarily a tool of communication. You will use it to communicate with the subject and with the other people responsible for monitoring and guiding the subject’s behaviors. The behavior chart is the simplest and most effective way of clearly identifying the types of behaviors you want more of and communicating with the subject and others the importance of helping the subject change for the better. When the chart is used to give the subject frequent feedback about both improvements and difficulties in trying to show the positive behaviors more often, it will allow you to shape and improve behavior relatively quickly. It is important to develop the plan collaboratively with the subject and other caregivers so that everyone becomes invested in doing the kind of daily talking and attending that is necessary to help the subject stay focused and positive about the changes.

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Positively stated behavioral goals:

The most effective goals in a behavior plan are those that are stated in a clear and positive manner. The UBMT charting function contains several of the most commonly used positive goals, such as “Talk politely” and “Keep hands, feet and objects to self.” Always remember that you want to be able to remind a person what to do instead of what not to do. Also, by focusing on positive actions rather than attending to the person only when they do the undesirable action, you immediately begin to correct the primary cause of inappropriate behaviors. It is much easier and more sensible to practice saying “I like the way you are working quietly” rather than “I like the way you are not talking instead of working.” The first statement is pleasing to hear and is a simple positive reinforcement that is given in response to positive behavior that is occurring instead of any other behavior. The second statement is awkward and is not as reinforcing because it doesn’t feel as good to be reminded of bad behaviors. You will learn with only a little practice to come up with positive behaviors that, if the student engages in them, will necessarily prevent the negative behaviors from occurring.