We know that behaviors are governed by the same principles
across people, ages and environments. Behaviors that are rewarded (they work to
obtain desired objectives or avoid undesired ones) continue in the future. On
the other hand, behaviors that are not rewarded (or are rewarded
inconsistently) stop. So if a rewards program is not working, we must delve
deeper and examine where the breakdown is and how can we adjust the program to
make it work, because when implemented properly, the programs DO work.
Because these principles are based on decades of well-designed
and proven scientific research, one can not say that someone does not respond
to reinforcement. As Bobby Newman and
Dana Reinecke put it in their book “Behavioral Detectives” (highly recommended,
very easy to read), “that is like saying someone does not respond to the laws
of gravity.” If the desired behavior does not continue it is because there was
no reinforcement, the reinforcement program was not implemented effectively. As
the authors say, “Just because you delivered a consequence does not mean that
you delivered a reinforcement.”
From Applied Behavior Analysis, by Cooper, Heron and
Heward: “Reinforcement (rewarding) is the most important and widely used
principle of Behavior Analysis,”
Let’s take a look at some examples:
Scenario 1: Paul works at the grocery store. He
receives $15 per hour. His supervisor approaches him one day to inform him his
pay will be reduced to $10 per hour.
Scenario 2: Marie has been working at the doctor’s
office for a few months already. She is paid randomly so she works for free
several times per month.
Scenario 3: John realizes that co-workers who don’t
come to work every day and/or do not complete their assignments get paid the
same amount of money as he does.
Scenario 4: Nick is rewarded with stickers for
cleaning up his room. He has several binders filled with stickers. He recently
expressed not being interested in stickers any more.
As a result, Paul resigns, Marie doesn’t come to work
anymore, John attends work and does not complete assignments as expected, and
Nick stops cleaning up his room.
Not surprising, right? Well, this is what often happens with
the implementation of rewarding plans when managing children’s behaviors. And
yet, parents, teachers, therapists and caregivers continue with the
inconsistent implementation of rewarding plans and the lack of change in the
child’s behaviors.
Our focus should always be to reward good behaviors and
ignore (not allowed access to rewards or “pay offs”) the not so good ones. But
this has to be effective, or the plan will not work. How we know that the plan
is working or not? The individual, through her behaviors, is going to tell us.
Some of the keys to making a reinforcing program
successfully are:
-
Do not ignore good behaviors. If you promise a
reward, even when the child might forget that you promised him an ice-cream,
you must follow through and get him an ice-cream. If you asked your child to
hold your hand in the parking lot, don’t go to your smartphone as soon as he
holds your hand. Praise him, give your child some positive attention, reward
him with some quality time. In other words, you want to reinforce because your
message is “there is a reward if you behave as expected.”
-
Adjust the way in which rewards are delivered
according to the behaviors displayed by the individual. If it seems that is not
working, perhaps the rewards have to be provided more often and/or in different
magnitude.
-
If the
reinforcement plan is to be effective the criteria for the response need to be
planned out in detail, understood, and implemented consistently by everyone
involved in the child's program.
-
Reinforcement
should be motivating to the student: use reinforcements of sufficient
magnitude.
-
Initially,
set a criteria for earning reinforcement that is easy to achieve for the child.
-
The
reinforcer has to be exclusive to reward the specific desired behavior. If the
child has free access to candy, why would he make an effort, right?
Daniel Adatto, BCBA
