Practical Behavior Management: Classroom & Parent-based Procedures

1. Practical Behavior Management:Classroom & Parent-based Procedures Sheridan Ed Psy 896 February 17-24, 1999

2. Characteristics of Behavioral Disorders (“Tough Kids”) • Argumentative • Defiant • Aggressive • Tantrum behaviors • Rule breaking behaviors The problem with these behaviors is one of degree; they are behavioral excesses

3. Characteristics of Behavioral Disorders (“Tough Kids”) King pin behaviors (see Rhode, Jenson, & Reavis): • something that is central to the behavioral constellation • “the axle around which the other behavioral excesses revolve” For children with BD, what is the “kingpin?”

4. King Pin Behavior:Noncompliance Defined as: • Not following a direction within a reasonable time frame • According to Rhode et al., arguing, tantrums, etc. are secondary to avoiding requests or required tasks • Arguing or tantrums get the adult to rescind or withdraw the request >>> arguing, tantrum stops Coercive cycle: An aversive behavior forces/controls the adult to withdraw a request

5. Coercive Hypothesis (Patterson) • Postulates that children learn to “get their own way” and escape or avoid parental criticism by escalating their negative behaviors, which in turn leads to increasingly aversive parent interactions • As this continues over time, the rate and intensity of parent and child aggressive behaviors are increased • Coercive patterns are thought to promote children’s antisocial behavioral development because they provide • reinforcement for oppositional, noncompliant behaviors, and • models of hostile and punitive interpersonal styles

6. Contrast this to...

7. Noncompliance • Most students comply to approximately 80% of adult requests • Tough kids comply to 40% or less • By-product of coercive cycle/noncompliance: • deficits in academic achievement, social skills, and self-management Discussion Questions: • How does this relate to your work as consultants? • What does this suggest regarding target behaviors? • How can noncompliance be defined & measured?

8. Positive Parenting • Parenting styles that are responsive, affectionate, and proactive (“positive involvement”) • associated with lower levels of externalizing behavior problems (see Pettit, Bates, & Dodge, 1993) • Includes • proactive teaching (noncontrolling parent-initiated instructional exchanges and anticipatory guidance via these exchanges) • affectionate positivity (emotional warmth) • inductive control (reasoning and respecting the child’s point of view in disciplinary encounters) • responsiveness (sensitivity and appropriateness of parental actions)

9. Positive Parenting • Provides a context • in which children’s social-emotional needs are met in emotionally supportive ways • whereby opportunities for misbehavior are minimized (via environmental engineering) and opportunities for compliance are maximized (via well-timed, situation-specific control) • that facilitates the learning of social skills that can be employed during peer interactions to prevent conflicts; and • that facilitates the development of harmonious, affectively positive bond between parent and child, such that when control (discipline) is used by a parent, it is more effective

10. Negative-Coercive vs. Positive-Proactive Styles • Findings of Pettit et al. suggest that • the parenting constellation of high negative control and low parent involvement may provide a socializing context for the development of externalizing problems • absence of positive parenting may contribute to the onset of externalizing problems, but it does not forecast subsequent increases in these behaviors • negative-coercive control, on the other hand, predicted initially high levels of externalizing problems, and continued increases in problems over time • teachers’ and peers’ reactions help maintain or exacerbate externalizing problems such that children reared in coercive homes may become tracked into a pattern of increasingly aggressive interpersonal encounters at school

11. Negative-Coercive vs. Positive-Proactive Styles • Implications suggested by Pettit et al: • Control episodes make up only a minority of all parent-child interactions • It may be insufficient simply to help parents learn how to better control their children’s behavior • Parents must acquire more proactive skills and learn to anticipate their childrens’ social needs, to understand their frustrations, and to engage them in more enjoyable joint play

12. Practical Strategies for Dealing with Noncompliance Maximize the chance that children will be successful: • Be positive and proactive • Prevent noncompliance whenever possible • Be very clear about expectations

13. Proactive (Antecedent) Strategies Classroom & Home Rules Characteristics of Good Rules: • Keep them to a minimum • Keep the wording simple • Represent basic expectations • Keep the wording positive • Make rules specific • Make them observable & measurable • Post the rules in a public place • Tie rules to consequences • Always include a compliance rule

14. What are Some Examples of GoodClassroom Rules??

15. What are Some Examples of GoodHousehold/Home Rules??

16. Proactive (Antecedent) Strategies Increase Academic Engaged (Learning) Time • Three basic components: • the percentage of the day scheduled for academics (should be at least 70%) • on-task time of the student (should be at least 85%) • success of the student once (s)he is academically engaged (should be at least 80%) • Why is ALT important, especially for “Tough Kids”? • How can ALT be identified and incorporated into CBC?

17. Proactive (Antecedent) Strategies Structure the Physical Space • Seating arrangements • Examples? Use Proximity Control • Anticipate problems • The “wandering reinforcer” • Examples? Motivation and Encouragement • Tell them what you want, what will happen, and give them immediate positive feedback when you get it • Examples?

18. Proactive (Antecedent) Strategies Hype • Make a big deal out of desired behaviors and anticipated reinforcers • Examples? Pre-correction Strategies • Anticipate problem situations and provide instructions for behavior; link to anticipated reinforcers and reward immediately • Examples?

19. Proactive (Antecedent) Strategies Discussion Questions: • How does the information presented in “The Tough Kid Book” relate to the TIES materials? • What does Gettinger say about proactive classroom procedures? What examples does she provide? • How can these be assessed and incorporated into consultation?

20. Increasing Compliance:Rules of Thumb • Use a statement, rather than a question • Use proximity -- get close to child (within 3 feet) when giving a directive • Use a quiet, calm voice • Use eye contact -- look ‘em in the eyes • Give the child time to comply (5-10 secs) • Issue a command only twice, then follow through with a consequence • Make one request at a time • Describe the behavior you want • Remain calm • Make more “start” (“do”) requests than “stop” requests • Verbally reinforce compliance

21. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Consider important principles concerning schedules of reinforcement: • Continuous R+ --- reinforcing each occurrence of a desired behavior has what effect? • Variable R+ --- reinforcing every other, or every third (etc.) occurrence of a desired behavior has what effect? • Intermittent R+ --- reinforcing occurrences on a random schedule has what effect?

22. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement • When behaviors do not increase in relation to contingent delivery of assumed reinforcers, reinforcement has not occurred • What are some possible reasons that a reinforcement program may be ineffective? • What was provided was not reinforcing to the child • Lack of integrity (e.g., noncontingent delivery; inconsistent use) • How can consultants increase the efficacy of positive reinforcement? What systems can be used to increase the reinforcing nature of the reinforcers, and the integrity of delivery?

23. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement IFEED-AV Rules: Immediate Frequent Enthusiastic Eye contact Descriptive Anticipation Variety

24. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Shaping (“Baby Steps”) • When child does not have the requisite skill to perform a target behavior (e.g., completing homework or chores), “shaping” the behavior is appropriate • Start where the child is now! • Break the task down into small steps and reinforce each step upon appropriate completion • Examples at home and school??

25. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Selective (Differential) Attention • Remember that attention increases the behavior it follows!! • So… attention to negative behaviors, particularly to the exclusion of attention to positive behaviors, will increase the negative behaviors… • Examples and Implications?? • Emphasize the importance of reinforcing desired behavior! (Differentially attending to, or reinforcing, desired behaviors!)

26. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Selective (Differential) Attention • Entails the reinforcement of alternative behaviors that are incompatible with the inappropriate behavior • To use, always reinforce positive behaviors, particularly those that occur in place of or are incompatible with, undesired behaviors • If target is noncompliance, “Sure I Will!” is incompatible (see pp. 80-83; Rhode et al.) • Other examples??

27. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Selective (Differential) Attention • Also requires Ignoring inappropriate, undesirable behavior(s) • Consistency is the key! • Expect an extinction burst • examples? • Reward at least 5 times for every ignore • examples?

28. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Unique & Practical Systems of Reinforcement: Mystery Motivators Spinners Chart moves Lotteries Grab bags In general, these increase the “incentive power” by enhancing anticipation, variety, intermittent schedule of reinforcement

29. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Other Systems: Public Posting (Advertising for Success) Contracting/Goal Setting (very useful in BC) Home-Notes (extremely useful in CBC) Self-Management/Beeper Tapes (always useful)

30. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Enhancing the Use of Incentive Systems: • Limit target behaviors to 3 or 4 • Start where you are • Use back up reinforcers for noncompliance • Consider reinforcer sampling (“taste success”) • Explain the system; allow the child’s input • Be consistent • Remember the IFEED-AV rules • Emphasize the good; positively reinforce efforts toward the final goal (shaping)

31. Practical Uses of Positive Reinforcement Enhancing the Use of Incentive Systems: • Build in fading reinforcers by pairing with praise, natural reinforcers, behavioral “traps” • Vary the rewards; use a reinforcement menu, consider using high frequency behaviors as reinforcers • Fine tune the program as necessary; remain in contact with consultees throughout plan implementation!

32. What to Do If (When) They Don’t Comply • Plan consequences in advance • Remember that consequences can be positive too (always positively reinforce compliance) • Effective consequences are well-designed, realistic, objective, and have time limits & reasonable expectations (see p. 63) • Use precision requests

33. Precision Requests * see p. 62 of Rhode et al. (1992)

34. What to Do If (When) They Don’t Comply • Other procedures: • response cost • time out • Considerations when using aversive techniques: • learn them well; ensure consultees know how to use them appropriately • use secondarily to positive procedures • make efforts to keep student engaged in classroom or academic activities whenever possible (e.g., “Bumpy Bunny Time Out;” “Sit and Watch Time Out;” “Interclass Time Out”)