How Does a Positive Behavior Modification Plan Work?

Identifying the Behavior

Behavior modification plans can be used for any sort of problem. They are often used for routine issues such as anger management, organization or doing chores and being responsible. Usually, the parent or teacher will discuss the problem behavior with the child. He will wait for a time when things are calm, and talk about appropriate behaviors. If the child is old enough and sophisticated enough to understand, the adult can ask him questions about why a certain behavior is wrong and discuss better alternative behaviors. It is important that the child understands what the problem behavior is and how it needs to be changed.

Making the Plan

The adult will come up with a system of rewards and punishments. Usually, a behavior modification plan tries to emphasize the positive. With some children, however, a little bit of negative reinforcement is needed as well. Behavior modification plans usually hinge on some sort of concrete reinforcement schedule. A child will earn tokens, stars or some other sort of points for good behaviors. When the child has enough points, he receives some sort of reward such as ice cream or the chance to stay up late one night. The adult will put the whole plan on a chart, complete with colorful pictures.

Carrying it Out

Behavior modification plans require both consistency and surprises. On the one hand, it is important for the adult to stick to her guns. She will reward the child for every good behavior, and mete out punishment for bad behaviors. On the other hand, the most important part of the behavior modification plan is not the scheduled rewards, but the intermittent ones. When the adult catches the child doing something good, she will praise the behavior. All kids thrive on praise, so this can have a powerful effect. When the kid meets the benchmark that was set, the adult rewards him immediately and praises his good behavior.