Reading E

Behavior modification is the field of psychology concerned with analyzing and modifying human behavior.

• Analyzing means identifying the functional relationship between environmental events and a particular behavior to understand the reasons for behavior or to determine why a person behaved as he or she did.
• Modifying means developing and implementing procedures to help people change their behavior. It involves altering environmental events so as to influence behavior. Behavior modification procedures are developed by professionals and used to change socially significant behaviors, with the goal of improving some aspect of a person’s life. Following are some characteristics that define behavior modification (Gambrill, 1977; Kazdin, 1994).

• Focus on behavior. Behavior modification procedures are designed to change behavior, not a personal characteristic or trait. Therefore, behavior modification de-emphasizes labeling. For example, behavior modification is not used to change autism (a label); rather, behavior modification is used to change problem behaviors exhibited by children with autism.
  
  Behavioral excesses and deficits are targets for change with behavior modification procedures. In behavior modification, the behavior to be modified is called the target behavior. A behavioral excess is an undesirable target behavior the person wants to decrease in frequency, duration, or intensity. Smoking is an example of a behavioral excess. A behavioral deficit is a desirable target behavior the person wants to increase in frequency, duration, or intensity. Exercise and studying are possible examples of behavioral deficits.
• Procedures based on behavioral principles. Behavior modification is the application of basic principles originally derived from experimental research with laboratory animals (Skinner, 1938). The scientific study of behavior is called the experimental analysis of behavior, or behavior analysis (Skinner, 1953b, 1966). The scientific study of human behavior to help people change behavior in meaningful ways is called applied behavior analysis (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968, 1987). Behavior modification procedures are based on research in applied behavior analysis that has been conducted for more than 50 years (Ullmann & Krasner, 1965; Ulrich, Stachnik, & Mabry, 1966).
• Emphasis on current environmental events. Behavior modification involves assessing and modifying the current environmental events that are functionally related to the behavior. Human behavior is controlled by events in the immediate environment, and the goal of behavior modification is to identify those events. Once these controlling variables have been identified, they are altered to modify the behavior. Successful behavior modification procedures alter the functional relationships between the behavior and the controlling variables in the environment to produce a desired change in the behavior. Sometimes labels are mistakenly identified as the causes of behavior. For example, a person might say that a child with autism engages in problem behaviors (such as screaming, hitting himself, refusal to follow instructions) because the child is autistic. In other words, the person is suggesting that autism causes the child to engage the behavior. However, autism is simply a label that describes the pattern of behaviors the child engages in. The label cannot be the cause of the behavior because the label does not exist as a physical entity or event. The causes of the behavior must be found in the environment (including the biology of the child).
• Precise description of behavior modification procedures (Baer et al., 1968). Behavior modification procedures involve specific changes in environmental events that are functionally related to the behavior. For the procedures to be effective each time they are used, the specific changes in environmental events must occur each time. By describing procedures precisely, researchers and other professionals make it more likely that the procedures will be used correctly each time.
• Treatment implemented by people in everyday life (Kazdin, 1994). Behavior modification procedures are developed by professionals or paraprofessionals trained in behavior modification. However, behavior modification procedures often are implemented by people such as teachers, parents, job supervisors, or others to help people change their behavior. People who implement behavior modification procedures should do so only after sufficient training. Precise descriptions of procedures and professional supervision make it more likely that parents, teachers, and others will implement procedures correctly.
• Measurement of behavior change. One of the hallmarks of behavior modification is its emphasis on measuring the behavior before and after intervention to document the behavior change resulting from the behavior modification procedures. In addition, ongoing assessment of the behavior is done well beyond the point of intervention to determine whether the behavior change is maintained in the long run. If a supervisor is using behavior modification procedures to increase work productivity (to increase the number of units assembled each day), he or she would record the workers’ behaviors for a period before implementing the procedures. The supervisor would then implement the behavior modification procedures and continue to record the behaviors. This recording would establish whether the number of units assembled increased. If the worker’s behaviors changed after the supervisor’s intervention, he or she would continue to record the behavior for a further period. Such long-term observation would demonstrate whether the workers continued to assemble units at the increased rate or whether future intervention was necessary.
• De-emphasis on past events as causes of behavior. As stated earlier, behavior modification places emphasis on recent environmental events as the causes of behavior. However, knowledge of the past also provides useful information about environmental events related to the current behavior. For example, previous learning experiences have been shown to influence current behavior. Therefore, understanding these learning experiences can be valuable in analyzing current behavior and choosing behavior modification procedures. Although information on past events is useful, knowledge of current controlling variables is most relevant to developing effective behavior modification interventions because those variables, unlike past events, can still be changed.
• Rejection of hypothetical underlying causes of behavior. Although some fields of psychology, such as Freudian psychoanalytic approaches, might be interested in hypothesized underlying causes of behavior, such as an unresolved Oedipus complex, behavior modification rejects such hypothetical explanations of behavior. Skinner (1974) has called such explanations “explanatory fictions” because they can never be proved or disproved, and thus are unscientific. These supposed underlying causes can never be measured or manipulated to demonstrate a functional relationship to the behavior they are intended to explain.

A number of historical events contributed to the development of behavior modification. Let’s briefly consider some important figures, publications, and organizations in the field.

Major Figures

Following are some of the major figures who were instrumental in developing the scientific principles on which behavior modification is based (Michael, 1993a).

Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949)

Thorndike’s major contribution was the description of the law of effect. The law of effect states that a behavior that produces favorable effect on the environment is more likely to be repeated in the future. In Thorndike’s famous experiment, he put a cat in a cage and set food outside the cage where the cat could see it. To open the cage door, the cat had to hit a level with its paw. Thorndike showed that the cat learned to hit the lever and open the cage door. Each time it was put into the cage, the cat hit the level more quickly because that behavior – hitting the lever – produced a favorable effect on the environment: It allowed the cat to reach the food (Thorndike, 1911).

John B. Watson (1878-1958)

In the article “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It,” published in 1913, Watson asserted that observable behavior was the proper subject matter of psychology, and that all behavior was controlled by environmental events. In particular, Watson described a stimulus-response psychology in which environmental events (stimuli) elicited responses. Watson started the movement in psychology called behaviorism (Watson, 1913, 1924).

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Skinner expanded the field of behaviorism originally described by Watson. Skinner explained the distinction between respondent conditioning (the conditioned reflexes described by Pavlov and Watson) and operant conditioning, in which the consequence of behavior controls the future occurrence of the behavior (as in Thorndike’s law of effect). Skinner’s research elaborated the basic principles of operant behavior (see Chapters 4-7). In addition to his laboratory research demonstrating basic behavioral principles, Skinner wrote a number of books in which he applied the principles of behavior analysis to human behavior (see later). Skinner’s work is the foundation for behavior modification (Skinner, 1938, 1953a).

Early Behavior Modification Researchers

After Skinner laid out the principles of operant conditioning, researchers continued to study operant behavior in the laboratory (Ca-tania, 1968; Honig, 1966). In addition, in the 1950s, researchers began demonstrating behavioral principles and evaluating behavior modification procedures with people. These early researchers studied the behavior of children (Azrin & Lindsley, 1956; Baer, 1960; Bijou, 1957), adults (Goldiamond, 1965; Verplanck, 1955; Wolpe, 1958), patients with mental illness (Ayllon & Azrim, 1964; Ayllon & Michael, 1959), and individuals with intellectual disabilities (Ferster, 1961; Fuller, 1949; Wolf, Risley, & Mees, 1964). Since the beginning of behavior modification research with humans in the 1950s, thousands of studies have established the effectiveness of behavior modification principles and procedures.

Major Publications and Events

A number of books heavily influenced the development of the behavior modification field. In addition, scientific journals were developed to publish research in behavior analysis and behavior modification, and professional organizations were started to support research and professional activity in behavior analysis and behavior modification.

Areas of Application

Behavior modification procedures have been used in many areas to help people change a vast array of problematic behaviors (Carr & Austin, 2001; Gambrill, 1977; Lutzker & Martin, 1981; Vollmer, Borrero, Wright, Van Camp, & Lalli, 2001). This section briefly reviews these areas of application.

Developmental Disabilities

More behavior modification research has been conducted in the field of developmental disabilities than perhaps any other area (Iwata et al., 1997). People with developmental disabilities often have serious behavioral deficits and behavior modification has been used to teach a variety of functional skills to overcome these deficits (Repp, 1984). In addition, people with developmental disabilities may exhibit serious problem behaviors such as self-injurious behaviors, aggressive behaviors, and destructive behaviors. A wealth of research in behavior modification demonstrates that these behaviors often can be controlled or eliminated with behavioral interventions (Barrett, 1986; Repp & Horner, 1999; Van Houten & Axelrod, 1993; Whitman, Scibak, & Reid, 1983; Williams, 2004). Behavior modification procedures also are used widely in staff training and staff management in the field of developmental disabilities (Reid, Parsons, & Green, 1989).

Mental Illness

Some of the earliest research in behavior modification demonstrated its effectiveness in helping people with mental illness in institutional settings (Ayllon, 1963; Allyon & Michael, 1959). Behavior modification has been used with patients with chronic mental illness to modify such behaviors as daily living skills, social behavior, aggressive behavior, treatment compliance, psychotic behaviors, and work skills (Dixon & Holcomb, 2000; Scotti, McMorrow, & Trawitzki, 1993; Wilder, Masuda, O’Connor, & Baham, 2001). One particularly important contribution of behavior modification was the development of a motivational procedure for institutional patients called a token economy (Ayllon & Azrin, 1968). Token economies are still widely used in a variety of treatment settings (Kazdin, 1982).

Education and Special Education

Behavior modification procedures are used widely in education (Alberto & Troutman, 2003) and great strides have been made in the field of education because of behavior modification research (Bijou & Ruiz, 1981). Researchers have analyzed student-teacher interactions in the classroom, improved teaching methods, and developed procedures for reducing problem behaviors in the classroom (Bambara & Kern, 2003; Becker & Carnine, 1981; Madsen, Becker, & Thomas, 1968; Sugai & Horner, 2005; Thomas, Becker, & Armstrong, 1968). Behavior modification procedures have also been used in higher education to improve institutional techniques, and thus improve student learning (Michael, 1991; Saville & Zinn, 2009).

In special education, that is, the education of people with developmental disabilities or other special needs, behavior modification has played a major role (Rusch et al., 1988) in developing teaching methods, controlling problem behaviors in the classroom, improving social behaviors and functional skills, promoting self-management, and training teachers.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is the process of helping people regain normal function after an injury or trauma, such as a head injury from an accident or brain damage from a stroke. Behavior modification is used in rehabilitation to promote compliance with rehabilitation routines such as physical therapy, to teach new skills that can replace skills lost through the injury or trauma, to decrease problem behaviors, to help manage chronic pain, and to improve memory performance (Bakke et al., 1994; Davis & Chittum, 1994; Heinicke, Carr, & Mozzoni, 2009; O’Neill & Gardner, 1983; Tasky, Rudrud, Schulze, & Rapp, 2008).

Community Psychology

Within community psychology, behavioral interventions are designed to influence the behavior of large numbers of people in ways that benefit everybody. Some targets of behavioral community interventions include reducing littering, increasing recycling, reducing energy consumption, reducing unsafe driving, reducing illegal drug use, increasing the use of seat belts, decreasing illegal parking in spaces for the disabled, and reducing speeding (Cope & Allred, 1991; Cox & Geller, 2010; Geller & Hahn, 1984; Ludwig & Geller, 1991; Van Houten & Nau, 1981; Van Houten, Van Houten, & Malenfant, 2007).

Clinical Psychology

In clinical psychology, psychological principles and procedures are applied to help people with personal problems. Typically, clinical psychology involves individual or group therapy conducted by a psychologist. Behavior modification in clinical psychology, often called behavior therapy, has been applied to the treatment of a wide range of human problems (Hersen & Bellack, 1985; Hersen & Rosqvist, 2005; Hersen & Van Hasselt, 1987; Spiegler & Guevremont, 2010; Turner, Calhoun, & Adams, 1981). Behavior modification procedures have also been used to train clinical psychologists (Veltum & Miltenberger, 1989).

Business, Industry, and Human Services

The use of behavior modification in the field of business, industry, and human services is called organizational behavior modification or organizational behavior management (Bailey & Burch, 2010; Daniels, 2000; Frederickson, 1982; Luthans & Kreitner, 1985; Reid et al., 1989; Stajkovic & Luthans, 1997). Behavior modification procedures have been used to improve work performance and job safety and to decrease tardiness, absenteeism, and accidents on the job. In addition, behavior modification procedures have been used to improve supervisors’ performances. The use of behavior modification in business and industry has resulted in increased productivity and profits for organizations and increased job satisfaction for workers.

Self-Management

People use behavior modification procedures to manage their own behaviors. They use self-management procedures to control personal habits, health-related behaviors, professional behaviors, and personal problems (Brigham, 1989; Epstein, 1996; Stuart, 1977; Watson & Tharp, 1993; 2007; Yates, 1986). Chapter 20 discusses the application of behavior modification procedures for self-management.

Child Behavior Management

Numerous applications of behavior modification in the management of child behavior exist (Durand & Hieneman, 2008; Hieneman, Childs, & Sergay, 2006; Miller, 1975; Patterson, 1975; Schaeffer & Millman, 1981). Parents and teachers can learn to use behavior modification procedures to help children overcome bed wetting, nail biting, temper tantrums, noncompliance, aggressive behaviors, bad manners, stuttering, and other common problems (Christophersen & Mortweet, 2001; Gross & Drabman, 2005; Watson & Gresham, 1998).

Prevention

Behavior modification procedures have been applied to preventing problems in childhood (Roberts & Peterson, 1984). Other applications of behavior modification in the area of prevention include preventing child sexual abuse, child abduction, accidents in the home, child abuse and neglect, poisoning, infections, and sexually transmitted diseases (Beck & Miltenberger, 2009; Carroll, Milten-berger, & O’Neill, 1992; Dancho, Thompson, & Rhoades, 2008; Montesinos, Frisch, Greene, & Hamilton, 1990; Poche, Yoder, & Miltenberger, 1988). Preventing problems in the community with behavior modification is one aspect of community psychology.

Sports Performance

Behavior modification is used widely in the field of sports psychology (Martin & Hrycaiko, 1983). Behavior modification procedures have been used to improve athletic performance in a wide variety of sports during practice and in competition (Boyer, Milten-berger, Fogel, & Batsche, 2009; Brobst & Ward, 2002; Hume & Crossman, 1992; Kendall, Hrycaiko, Martin, & Kendall, 1990; Wolko, Hrycaiko, & Martin, 1993; Zeigler, 1994). Behavior modification procedures have been shown to result in better athletic performance than do traditional coaching procedures.

Health-Related Behaviors

Behavior modification procedures are used to promote health-related behaviors by increasing healthy lifestyle behaviors (such as exercise and proper nutrition) and decreasing unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking, drinking, and overeating). Behavior modifycation procedures are also used to promote behaviors that have a positive influence on physical or medical problems – such as decreasing frequency and intensity of headaches, lowering blood pressure, and reducing gastrointestinal disturbances (Blumenthal & McKee, 1987; Dallery, Meredith, & Glenn, 2008; Gentry, 1984; Reynolds, Dallery, Shroff, Patak, & Leerass, 2008; Van Wormer, 2004) – and to increase compliance with medical regimens (Levy, 1987). Applying behavior modification to health-related behaviors is also called behavioral medicine or health psychology.

Gerontology

Behavior modification procedures are applied in nursing homes and other care facilities to help manage the behavior of older adults (Hussian, 1981; Hussian & Davis, 1985). Behavior modification procedures are used to help older adults deal with their declining physical abilities, to help them to adjust to nursing home environments, to promote health-related behaviors and appropriate social interactions, and to decrease problem behaviors that may arise from Alzheimer’s disease, other types of dementia, or institutional demands (Carstensen & Erickson, 1986; Dwyer-Moore & Dixon, 2007; Moore, Delaney, & Dixon, 2007; Stock & Milan, 1993).