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Behavior Modification

Behavior modification strategies, which operate on principles of learning and operant conditioning, are used to create measurable changes in behavior. Desired outcomes of behavior modification approaches might include increasing prosocial behaviors or decreasing maladaptive behaviors. Individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (ID/DD) have an increased risk of significant behavioral challenges due to social communication impairments, cognitive deficits, and behavioral symptoms that may accompany these conditions. Thus, behavior modification and related intervention practices are important for teaching new skills and decreasing behaviors that are detrimental to an individual’s daily functioning, learning, safety, and/or social development. This entry reviews the history and fundamentals of behavior modification and discusses the use of behavior modification strategies to treat and support individuals with ID/DD.

History andFundamentals of Behavior Modification

Behavior is typically defined as any action or response that an organism exhibits. Behaviors may be external (observable) or internal (unobservable processes such as thinking), voluntary (purposeful and goal-oriented) or involuntary (without conscious control), and learned (acquired based on prior experiences) or innate (inborn, not requiring learning). Behavior modification practices primarily focus on shaping observable behavior by influencing learning processes. Empirical research of behavior modification strategies began in the early to mid-1900s with the work of psychologists, such as Edward Thorndike and B. F. Skinner, who studied principles of instrumental learning and operant conditioning (terms that are often used interchangeably). Thorndike’s research on instrumental learning led to the development of Thorndike’s law of effect, which proposes that behavior is shaped by its immediate consequences and that cause-and-effect associations are learned when a specific behavior produces a direct outcome. The law of effect also proposes that a behavior is more likely to be repeated if followed by a desirable consequence and is more likely to be stopped if followed by an aversive consequence.

This learning theory helped inform Skinner’s later work involving operant conditioning, which also focuses on changing behavior by controlling its immediate consequences. Reinforcement and punishment are the core strategies used to shape behavior in operant conditioning. A reinforcing consequence is one that increases targeted behavior. When the addition of a desired consequence (such as a reward) increases a specific behavior, it is referred to as positive reinforcement. Alternatively, when the removal of an aversive experience leads to an increase in that behavior (e.g., a child learns to cry to avoid an undesired activity), it is referred to as negative reinforcement. Next, a punishing consequence is one that decreases a targeted behavior when implemented following the behavior. When an aversive outcome is applied (e.g., implementing a time-out procedure) and leads to a decrease in a specific behavior, this strategy is referred to as positive punishment. In cases in which something desired is removed in order to decrease a specific behavior (e.g., removing privileges or a toy from a child following misbehavior), it is referred to as negative punishment. Operant conditioning methods are most effective when intended consequences are delivered in an immediate and consistent manner following the behavior meant to be modified.

Behavioral Challenges in the Context of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Individuals with ID/DD have an increased risk of behavioral challenges, such as self-injury (e.g., head banging and skin picking), noncompliance or difficulty completing tasks independently, aggression (e.g., hitting, biting, or throwing objects), and repetitive behavior patterns (e.g., compulsive behaviors, rituals, or speech patterns). Intervention is typically warranted when an individual exhibits behaviors that are harmful to the individual or others, are potentially unsafe or destructive, cause distress, or disrupt the individual’s learning, social functioning, and/or participation in daily living and occupational activities. People with ID/DD are more likely to exhibit behavioral difficulties given increased social communication impairments, emotion regulation difficulties, cognitive deficits that impair problem-solving skills, medical problems (including medication side effects), sensory processing differences, and behavioral symptoms associated with these conditions (i.e., rigid behavior, which makes it difficult to adjust to changes or transition between activities).

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