A famous psychological theorist examined the way children act -- why they react to things in the way they do.  B. F. Skinner did not think it was necessary to bother with the inner workings of the mind.  Instead, he and other behaviorists elected to focus on the observable behaviors of their subjects.

From their work emerged a body of knowledge that explains behavior in terms of stimulus, responses, and consequences.  Behavioral modification theory seeks to break all human behavior into these parts.

A few vocabulary words:
• Stimulus
• Response
• Consequence

The Pleasure/Pain Principle
At the risk of seeming to insult the intelligence of anyone reading, this simple principle is worthy of discussion because it drives the whole behavioral modification process.  In its most complex form, the pain/pleasure principle (also known as the pleasure/pain principle) represents the truth that people seek out pleasurable situations and avoid painful situations.
 The pain/pleasure principle mandates that, when faced with a given stimuli, people will be more likely to respond in a way that previously lead to a pleasurable, positive consequence than they are to respond in a way that previously lead to a painful, negative consequence.  

Positive and Negative Consequences
The way learning takes place, according to this behavioral modification model, is that people learn to associate either pleasurable or painful consequences with particular behaviors when faced with a particular stimulus.  The closer the consequence comes after the behavior, the more likely it will be linked to the behavior and the more influence it will have on future behavior. 

Techniques to Modify Behavior
Parents will want to use the principles of behavioral modification to shape the behaviors of their children.  Some behaviors will be desirable and others will not.  Parents will want to encourage those that are desirable and discourage those that are not.  There are four techniques of behavioral modification that will be presented.  Two promote behavior and two discourage it.

Positive Reinforcement:
This technique rewards correct behavior with a positive consequence.  When the desirable behavior occurs, something follows that is pleasurable.

For teaching the correct behavior, this technique is unsurpassed.  The pleasurable consequence follows the correct behavior and whoever receives the consequence knows exactly what behavior to repeat next time to receive the pleasure.  Remember that the closer the reinforcement is to the behavior, the more power it has on future behaviors.

Negative Reinforcement:
From the pain/pleasure principle, it is certain that behaviors that lead to pleasure will be repeated and behaviors that lead to pain will be avoided.  Negative reinforcement relies on the second half of this principle, the tendency to avoid pain.

As with positive reinforcement, behaviors that are negatively reinforced are more likely to be repeated when a similar circumstance is encountered.  However, in the case of negative reinforcement, the consequence is not pleasurable.  Instead, negative reinforcement relies on the removal or avoidance of negative consequences as the result of a behavior to reinforce the behavior.  In other words when some behavior leads to the removal of a negative consequence, that behavior is likely to be repeated when similar situations arise in the future.

For example, if a person who is cold (negative consequence) turns on the heat (behavior) then they are not cold any more.  Next time the circumstances are similar, they will likely behave in the same way.

Removal of Positive Consequence as result of undesirable behavior: Extinction:
The first technique used to reduce the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated is called extinction.  This techniques relies on the ability to suspend the reinforcement of a particular behavior.  By taking away the pleasurable consequence, the behavior eventually goes away, replaced by new behaviors that do lead to pleasurable consequences.

For example, playing with a baby rattle ceases to be pleasurable as the child out grows the toy.  The behavior that was previously rewarded by pleasure is no longer rewarded.  Instead the child behaves differently (plays with blocks) in order to obtain a pleasurable consequence.

Negative Consequences/Punishment:
The last technique of behavioral modification to be presented is the one most commonly associated with discipline.  “Old school” parents will point out how they were raised and how they raised their children using punishment to teach the difference between right and wrong.  About that time, another group will stand up and protest to the use of punishment altogether, pointing out this and that reason not to use it.

The behavioral modification technique of punishment is neither the end all, be all nor the enigma of discipline.  The technique itself is one of four primary techniques that fall under the model of behavioral modification.  When used correctly it is no more out of place than rewards (which taken to extreme can be misused as well).  With this justification aside, consider exactly how punishment fits into the model of behavioral modification.

Stimulus Control: Working around the problem:
Sometimes, it is easier to avoid a particular problem than find a solution.  When I was growing up, there was a dog that lived on a particular corner that would attack anyone who came along.  Whenever presented with the stimulus of facing the dog, there was no behavior that led to consistently pleasurable outcomes.  The consequence was always negative.  So what did my friends and I do?  Avoid the stimulus.  We crossed the street and let the dog lie.

Techniques Reviewed:

In looking once more at the four techniques of behavioral modification, a pattern emerges that bares examination and which may help seeing how the total process can work together.  The four techniques involve some combination of desirable or undesirable behavior and positive and negative consequences.

Which technique to use depends on whether behaving in the same way in the future is desirable or not.  If it is, then the use of positive or negative reinforcement is called for.  If the goal is to eliminate the behavior, then extinction or punishment is called for.

In either case, the techniques work based on the addition or removal of either positive or negative consequences.

To promote a positive behavior, the first, most effective method to be considered should be positive reinforcement.  Because the desirable behavior is immediately followed by a positive consequence, there is a strong teaching link formed between the behavior and the reward.  Negative reinforcement may be also used to promote positive behaviors, though this technique sometimes requires some mental effort to connect the avoided consequence with the behavior.

To discourage negative behaviors, these previous techniques will have little effect.  Because extinction is so difficult to manage, the use of negative consequences and punishment become the primary course of decreasing future negative behaviors.