Parents can greatly increase their effectiveness in terms of discipline and behavioral guidance
by understanding some basic principles of behavior. An easy way to remember these concepts are to think of the "ABCs"
of behavior.
A is for Antecedent.
The antecedent for a behavior is what happens just before that behavior. In
behavior management, or applied behavior analysis, we study situations in which problematic behaviors occur so that we can
identify the antecedents of those behaviors. Antecedents "set the stage" for the behavior, sometimes in obvious
ways, and sometimes in much less obvious ways. Children (and even adults) are not always aware of the antecedents that
trigger certain behaviors...but by studying behavior when it occurs, we can start to see patterns and relationships between
antecedents and behaviors. Knowing the antecedent to problematic behavior can often let us know the function, or purpose,
of the behavior, and can provide valuable information for developing intervention strategies. In many situations, knowing
the antecedent may allow us to prevent future problematic behaviors by simply changing
the situation. At other times, we can reduce problematic behaviors by teaching the child specific strategies for coping
with the antecedent.
B is for Behavior. This is the part of behavior
analysis that often seems the most obvious to parents...but may actually be harder than it sounds. In order to properly
understand behavior so that we can develop effective management strategies, it is critical to know exactly what behavior is
occurring. It is not enough to say a child is "acting out," "disrupting others," "throwing
a fit," "acting disrespectful." Instead, we need to have a very specific description of the behavior...especially
if we want to be able to measure and monitor the effectiveness of our strategies. More helpful descriptions might be:
He talked to his neighbor during circle time.
She
cried and left the classroom.
He pulled his neighbor's hair.
She roller her eyes when the teacher told her to be quiet.
He worked for 2 minutes
and then went to sharpen his pencil, stopped to visit a neighbor, and looked at the books on the bookshelf before returning
to his desk.
C is for Consequence. A consequence is what
happens after the behavior. While many may think of consequences as punishment
only, it is critical to consider both positive and negative consequences, as both effect behavior. In fact, some "negative"
consequences may actually be "positive" consequences (see article on Reinforcement vs. Punishment for more details).
Consequences may be obvious and deliberate (e.g., the teacher sent the child to time-out) or may be much more subtle and accidental.
I once worked with a teacher who had a child exhibiting such disruptive behaviors that she could not manage to conduct her
lessons. After a couple of behavior observations, it became clear that she was unintentionally
reinforcing (i.e., rewarding) his behavior because any time he acted out she went to him, wrapped her arms around him
(in an attempt to gently restrain) him and kept him by her side while she continued with the lesson. This child would
deliberately "think of things to do" that would get this reaction. Once this pattern was recognized, a plan
was developed in which the teacher would provide attention to the child before he
became disruptive, and then only when he was seated in his chair, doing his work. This was a very quick fix for the
behavior problem...thanks to the initial assessment of the ABCs governing the situation. When there is problematic behavior
that does not seem to be responding to behavior strategies...it is critical to examine what potential positive consequences
may be at play.
It is important to keep in mind that a good analysis of problematic behavior does not simply
consist of one cycle of the ABCs. Rather, it is a cycle or chain that is repeated, and all stages must be examined.
That is, there is an initial antecedent which triggers a behavior that results in a consequence...that consequence then becomes
an antecedent for another behavior, which results in its own consequence...that consequence then becomes an antecedent for
another behavior and so on.
