Behavior Modification Plans for Children
While children possess an innate desire to please and be accepted, several factors such as sickness, emotional stress, abuse or mental disorders can cause frequent, undesirable changes in behavior. Negative behavior can also be spontaneous and challenging for parents and teachers. In an effort to reinforce positive behavior, a behavior modification plan is often recommended. Forms of behavior modification plans include modeling, positive programming, praise and approval, shaping, and token rewards/token economy.
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Significance
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Typically, healthy children thrive in an environment that is happy, peaceful and where they feel secure and unthreatened. Negative behavior portrayed by a child is often overwhelming to the child as it is sometimes a form of modeling behavior expressed to him from another adult or family member. A behavior modification plan can help the child voluntarily reverse undesirable behavior, reinstating her sense of self-respect.
Modeling
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The concept of modeling was initiated in the 1960s by Albert Bandura. Researchers expanded on modeling to use it as a means of learning other behavior skills such as swimming, conversation and exhibits of emotion. Modeling, a form of behavior modification that can be used in the classroom and at home, is simply a self-demonstration of appropriate behavior. This self-demonstration is most often carried out by the teacher, parents and often other children.
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Positive Programming
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Positive programming is identifying inappropriate behavior and initiating a systematic instruction to achieve a positive, gradual change in actions and attitude, as well as one's thought process. An example would be the requirement of raising a hand to speak in the classroom. Over time, students learn the appropriate action in order to be heard, receptively. Positive programming is an ongoing, consistent and desirable method of replacing inappropriate behavior with a learned positive behavior.
Praise and Approval
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Praise and approval is another means of a behavior modification plan. It's a method of reinforcing positive behavior as it occurs naturally. When a child makes a positive choice or action, it is acknowledged with verbal praise or can be acknowledged with a knowing smile to let her know her decision or behavior is approved of. Praise and approval is a good way to instill self-respect as well as the respect of others.
Shaping
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Another useful method of behavior modification is called shaping. Shaping is the development of good, positive habits or strategies resulting in an automatic behavior change to resist negative behavior or undesirable actions. B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist who studied behavioristic psychology, was the first to discover the "shaping" concept. Skinner experimented in training a rat to push a lever. In order to train the rat to accomplish the task, any movement by the rat toward the lever was rewarded. Any other movement received no reward. Over time, the rat, through shaping its movements through reward, was trained to push a lever.
Token Rewards/Token Economy
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Token rewards are one of the most common behavior modification methods used by both parents and teachers. Tokens such as stickers, chips, points or coupons are used as rewards with a predetermined value that children can exchange for something that they want. A token economy is one way to motivate children to behave appropriately using an incentive program, and it also can be used to deter negative behavior by requiring tokens to be forfeited when negative behavior is expressed.
Warning
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Just as every child is different, various behavior modification plans work with different children as well. Children who have physical, mental or emotional impairments may require a combination of behavior modification plans to achieve desirable results. These individuals may also experience difficulty transitioning between the behavior modification plan and environments where a behavior modification plan is absent.
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