Behavior, which is the connection established between the organism’s response and a specific environmental situation, can sometimes be maladaptive.
To increase its functionality (by removing, decreasing or changing it) It is common to apply learning principles, known in psychology as behavior modification techniques
There is a wide range of strategies with which desirable behaviors can be increased or encouraged, or dysfunctional behaviors can be reduced or eliminated. Among them we find the following.
1. Reinforcement of behaviors
There are different types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement
The first consists of increasing the probability of occurrence of a behavior by following it from a satisfying event. For example, congratulating your child for good grades on an exam will encourage his or her subsequent effort in studying.
The second is about increasing the probability of the appearance of behaviors that stop unpleasant events. For example, in the case of a person with claustrophobia, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, to avoid the anxiety that it produces, will tend to be repeated.
How to use reinforcers?
Positively reinforced behaviors are better learned and maintained over time. However, not just any reinforcement is useful, you have to know how to choose them well depending on each case, so that they adapt to the needs of the plan and do not go against its own logic. How to use reinforcers correctly?
First of all, they must be chosen appropriately To do this, we must take into account that they must be proportional to the effort of the behavior to be developed. Likewise, it is preferable that they have an intrinsic nature (whose reinforcement value is defined by the person themselves) and are emitted by the natural contingencies of the activities carried out, that is, that it is the environment that reinforces.
As for when to apply them, the time interval between the emission of the behavior and obtaining the reinforcer must be taken into account. Reinforcers applied immediately are more effective in quickly acquiring the desirable behavior among other things because it is clearer what action has caused them to appear.
However, for its long-term consolidation and maintenance, it is preferable that this interval increase progressively. In this way, little by little one becomes less dependent on that reinforcement plan, until the behavior is assimilated and becomes part of one’s own habits.
2. Molding
Shaping is defined as the systematic reinforcement of small steps that lead to the desired behavior An example is learning to write: we do not directly learn to write sentences, but first we know the letters, we practice calligraphy, we associate letters forming syllables, words…
For a good application of it, both the final behavior must be specified (to know what behavior is intended to be emitted once the process is finished), as well as the initial behavior (to know the baseline from which the person starts), the steps to follow during the process and the pace of progress.
Sometimes, to facilitate the application of the technique, the shaping is accompanied with other support methods, such as incitements (verbal indications that guide the behavior to be emitted: “the G and the I have a U in the middle to write GUISO” ), a physical guide (help in the motor plane at each of the levels of molding: taking the apprentice’s hand to help him achieve the shape of the O) or exemplification (in which the “teacher” acts as a model for be imitated: he draws the letter himself).
On the other hand, the behavior modification approach through shaping has a lot in common with the concept of scaffolding with whom Lev Vygotsky worked.
3. Learning
Learning by models (also known as modeling or imitation learning) is acquired through observing another person’s behavior.
The learner sees the reinforcement that the model gets for performing his action and will try to imitate him whenever the same reinforcement is desired. An example is the learning of prosocial and cooperative behaviors.
The modeling process consists of a learning phase and an execution phase which can occur with greater or lesser effectiveness depending on variables such as the characteristics of the model, the observer and the situation, in the first phase, or the motivation, quality of execution and generalization, in the second.
Techniques for reducing and eliminating behaviors
These are techniques to make certain behaviors go away.
1. Extinction
Extinction consists of the withdrawal of reinforcements that previously supported a behavior In this way, a gradual process of weakening begins until it ends up disappearing.
For example, a teacher who pays attention to children who ask questions without raising their hands in class, when he decides to pay attention only to those who comply with the established rules, will reduce his students’ spontaneous speaking behaviors.
For its application, prior identification of the reinforcer that maintains the dysfunctional behavior and its nature is necessary (it is not enough to eliminate any reinforcer that accompanies the behavior, but rather the one that is maintaining it).
It must be taken into account that, sometimes, unwanted behavior may initially increase in the process. This increase can be maintained for long periods of time (especially if the behavior has been maintained by an intermittent reinforcer, which represents greater resistance to extinction), but it will subsequently weaken until it is eliminated.
Satiation (a technique contrary to deprivation) consists of the massive presentation of a reinforcer to weaken its reinforcing value: its excessive administration in a short period of time ends up being aversive to the person so in the end you avoid certain behaviors.
For example, a child who never eats vegetables because he always wants pasta. If he is fed only macaroni for several days in a row he will end up hating the dish, finding it unpleasant.
Two modalities can be distinguished in this technique: stimulus satiation and response satiation.
To apply them, it is necessary, first of all, to detect undesirable behaviors. Once the satiation modality has been identified and chosen, we must offer an alternative behavior to the person (to replace the dysfunctional one) and achieve its maintenance.
