At some point in the last 35 years or so, the phrase behavior modification went out of favor and the field started to use the term behavior analysis. There were good reasons for this. First, some people had done some terrible things in the name of behavior modification and there was a desire to not associate with the term. Second, behavior modification is not what good programming is about. Good programming comes from the analysis. Unfortunately, despite what it is called, many of us are still behavior modifiers and not really behavior analysts despite what the certification and ethical rules say.
A common phrase among poor behavior modifiers is to “throw spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks.” So, when we work with kids, we try things to see what works:
- He won’t come away from the computer. How about trying a timer?
- He doesn’t want to sit for instruction. Have you tried a token board?
- She is getting bored easily. What about mixing and varying some different tasks?
- He gets upset during transitions. Maybe we try giving him a visual schedule?
There is nothing wrong with these interventions if used as part of a carefully planned program. But often they aren’t.
There is no doubt that these types of interventions work sometimes. If they don’t, poor behavior modifiers will just throw more spaghetti. It’s likely that eventually an intervention will be effective (at least temporarily). But we are fooling ourselves.
No matter how much spaghetti we throw, we will always end up with a big problem. Maybe the spaghetti will last for two weeks, two months, or even two years. But the problem always comes up: The intervention doesn’t last over the long-term. That’s because we have a huge pot of spaghetti and no analysis. We are judging the intervention on the wrong criteria. Is there problem behavior? Sure, that’s important- but just one aspect of the problem. What do we expect the parent or teacher to do? Remember to implement this carefully crafted list of often cumbersome strategies that are often impractical in natural settings? Forever?
One thing this is great for- blaming parents and teachers when the intervention doesn’t last. We can say, “well the plan worked great with us, but the teacher, parent, paraprofessional, or grandma won’t implement it.”
The only thing that matters in the long run when treating problem behaviors is: Are the alternative behaviors naturally reinforced? If not, we should not expect it to maintain.