Behaviour Modifications to Decrease Undesirable Behaviours
Overview
ecreasing maladaptive or undesirable behaviour is one of the two primary goals of
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behaviour modification (the other being increasing desirable behaviour). The techniques
used to reduce behaviour are rooted in both operant and classical conditioning and range
from mild (extinction) to more intensive approaches (aversive conditioning, punishment).
Ethical guidelines require that the least aversive, most effective method is always attempted
first.
1. Extinction
xtinction is the process ofwithdrawing the reinforcementthat has been maintaining an
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undesirable behaviour, leading to the gradual reduction and eventual disappearance of that
behaviour.
echanism: Every behaviour continues because it serves a function — it either gets the
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person something (attention, a tangible item) or helps them escape/avoid something.
Extinction removes this pay-off.
xample: A student shouts out in class to gain the teacher's attention (reinforcer = teacher's
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attention). If the teacher consistently ignores the shouting and only responds when the
student raises their hand, the shouting behaviour is placed on extinction.
xtinction burst: An important clinical consideration — when extinction is first applied, the
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behaviour oftentemporarily increasesin frequency or intensity before it decreases. This is
called an extinction burst. Practitioners must anticipate this and maintain the intervention
consistently, or inadvertently reinforce the increased behaviour.
est practice: Extinction is most effective when combined withdifferential reinforcement
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— simultaneously reinforcing an alternative or incompatible appropriate behaviour.
2. Punishment
ositive punishment: Adding an aversive stimulus contingent on the undesirable
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behaviour.Example: A child hits a sibling and is required to do extra household chores. The
aversive addition discourages the hitting.
egative punishment (Response cost): Removing a desired stimulus contingent on
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undesirable behaviour.Example: A child loses TV time for lying. Time-out is also a form of
negative punishment — the child is removed from a reinforcing environment.
Ethical considerations: Punishment is effective only when it is:
Immediate (delivered right after the behaviour)
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● Consistent (applied every time the behaviour occurs)
● Paired with reinforcement of an alternative behaviour
xcessive or inconsistent punishment can cause: increased aggression, emotional distress,
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avoidance of the punisher, and generalised suppression of behaviour. Therefore, its use is
carefully regulated in clinical and educational settings.
3. Systematic Desensitisation
eveloped byJoseph Wolpe, this technique is used to reduce excessive anxiety and
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phobic responses. It works throughcounter-conditioning— replacing the fear response
with a relaxation response to the feared stimulus.
Three steps:
tep 1 – Construct an anxiety hierarchy: The therapist and client collaboratively build a
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list of fear-provoking situations, ranked from the least (e.g., thinking about the feared object)
to the most anxiety-provoking (e.g., direct contact with it). Each item is rated using
Subjective Units of Distress (SUDs)— typically on a scale of 0–100, with 5–10 SUD
difference between items.
tep 2 – Relaxation training: The client learns deep muscular relaxation, most commonly
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throughJacobson's Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR)— alternately tensing and
releasing muscle groups throughout the body. The theoretical rationale is that muscle
tension and relaxation arephysiologically incompatible— one cannot be anxious and
physically relaxed simultaneously. Other methods include breathing exercises, meditation,
and yoga-based techniques.
tep 3 – Graduated exposure during relaxation: The client, while in a deeply relaxed
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state, is asked to vividly imagine each item in the anxiety hierarchy, beginning from the
lowest. Each image is held for 20–30 seconds. If anxiety is felt, the client stops, re-relaxes,
and may introduce an intermediate step before continuing. Gradually, even the
highest-ranked items no longer provoke anxiety because they have been repeatedly paired
with relaxation.
pplication: Highly effective for specific phobias (fear of flying, spiders, public speaking),
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social anxiety, and PTSD-related responses.
4. Aversive Conditioning
his classical conditioning-based technique involvespairing an undesirable behaviour
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with an unpleasant stimulusso that the behaviour itself becomes associated with
discomfort, reducing its appeal.
xample: The classic treatment of alcohol use disorder usingAntabuse (disulfiram)— a
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drug that causes nausea and vomiting when alcohol is consumed. Over time, the sight,
smell, and taste of alcohol become conditioned stimuli for nausea, reducing the urge to
drink.
ther applications include pairing images of cigarettes with mild electric shock in smoking
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cessation, or using covert sensitisation (imagining nausea when imagining the undesirable
behaviour).
imitations: Ethical concerns exist, particularly around the voluntary nature of consent. It also
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has limited generalisation outside the clinical setting without booster sessions.
5. Flooding and Implosion
looding(in vivo exposure) involvesrapid, intense, and sustained exposureto the feared
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stimulus without allowing avoidance or escape. Unlike systematic desensitisation, there is no
gradual hierarchy.
xample: A person with a severe snake phobia is placed in a room with non-dangerous
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snakes and must remain there until their anxiety naturally subsides (a process called
habituation).
Implosion therapyis the imaginal version of flooding — the client is guided to vividly
imagine the feared scenario at maximum intensity until the anxiety extinguishes.
ationale: Anxiety is maintained byavoidance— the person never stays long enough to
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learn the stimulus is not actually dangerous. Sustained exposure without escape allows the
nervous system to habituate and the conditioned fear response to extinguish.
aution: Flooding can be distressing and should only be used with well-prepared,
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consenting clients under professional supervision.
6. Response Cost and Time-Out
esponse costis the loss of a specified amount of reinforcement (tokens, privileges)
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contingent on undesirable behaviour — commonly used in token economy programmes.
ime-out from positive reinforcementremoves the individual from an enriched
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environment for a brief period. It is most effective when the current environment is genuinely
reinforcing and when the duration is short (typically 1 minute per year of child's age).
Behaviour Modification Technology to Increase Desirable Behaviour
Overview
Increasing desirable behaviour is fundamental to behaviour modification. Rather than merely
suppressing unwanted behaviour, effective intervention always involves building a repertoire
of adaptive, functional alternatives. The key techniques are positive reinforcement, token
economies, shaping, modelling, and biofeedback.
1. Positive Reinforcement (in depth)
ositive reinforcement remains the cornerstone of increasing behaviour. Its effectiveness
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depends on several factors:
Immediacy: The reinforcer must be delivered as quickly as possible after the behaviour to
create a clear S-R-reinforcer link. Delay weakens the association.
ontingency: The reinforcer must be clearly contingent on the specific behaviour — not
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given randomly.
agnitude: The size or amount of the reinforcer should be meaningful but not so large as to
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produce satiation quickly.
Individualisation: What is rewarding differs across people. A functional assessment of
reinforcer preferences is important. This can be done through direct preference assessments
(offering choices) or indirect methods (caregiver interviews).
ariety: Using the same reinforcer repeatedly leads tosatiation(the reinforcer loses value).
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Rotating reinforcers maintains motivation.
ading: As the behaviour becomes established, reinforcement should be gradually faded
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from continuous to intermittent schedules to promote durability and prevent dependency.
2. Token Economy (in depth)
oken economy is astructured behavioural management systemin which tokens serve
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as generalised conditioned reinforcers. It was widely developed for use ininstitutional
settings(psychiatric wards, schools, residential facilities) and is equally applicable in homes
and classrooms.
Components:
● learly defined target behaviours (what earns tokens)
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● Clearly defined backup reinforcers (what tokens can buy)
● Rules about how tokens are earned, lost (response cost), and exchanged
● Consistent implementation by all adults in the environment
hy it works: Tokens bridge the gap between behaviour and reward when immediate
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delivery of the backup reinforcer is impractical. Tokens are portable, immediately deliverable,
and flexible.
xample in classroom: A student earns a star sticker for every completed assignment. After
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20 stars, they can choose from a reward menu (free reading time, choosing a classroom
game, a homework pass). Undesirable behaviour (disruption) costs 2 stars.
ading the system: As behaviours become stable, tokens are gradually reduced. The goal
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is that the behaviour becomes self-reinforcing (intrinsic motivation) or maintained by natural
social reinforcers (teacher approval, peer acceptance).
3. Shaping (Successive Approximation)
haping is used when thetarget behaviour does not yet existin the individual's repertoire
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— it cannot be directly reinforced because it has never occurred. Instead, behaviours that
areprogressively closerto the target behaviour are reinforced step by step.
Procedure:
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1 efine the terminal target behaviour clearly
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2. Identify the individual's current behavioural baseline
3. Break the terminal behaviour into small, achievable steps
4. Reinforce each successive approximation
5. Only move to the next step once the current one is stable
xample: Teaching a non-verbal child with autism to say "water" — first reinforce any
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vocalisation, then reinforce approximations like "wah", then "wawa", then "water". Each
successive approximation brings the child closer to the target.
haping is widely used inApplied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)for developmental disorders
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and in rehabilitation settings.
4. Chaining
or complex, multi-step behaviours (e.g., dressing, tooth-brushing, cooking),chaining
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breaks the task into a sequence of individual stimulus-response links. Each step in the chain
becomes both the reinforcer for the previous step and the discriminative stimulus for the
next.
orward chaining: Teaching from the first step and reinforcing completion of each step in
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order.
ackward chaining: Teaching the last step first (which is closest to the natural reinforcer at
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the end of the task), then adding steps backward. Often more motivating as the individual
always completes the sequence with the reward.
otal task presentation: The person is prompted through all steps each time and reinforced
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for overall completion.
5. Modelling (Observational Learning)
ased onBandura's Social Learning Theory, modelling involves demonstrating the
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desired behaviour so the individual can observe and imitate it. The observer learns without
direct reinforcement — simply by watching amodel(live or video) perform the behaviour
and receive reinforcement.
ffectiveness increases when the model is: similar to the observer, perceived as competent
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and credible, and the observed behaviour is followed by positive consequences (vicarious
reinforcement).
In clinical practice, modelling is combined withrole-playing and rehearsal— the client
observes the behaviour, practises it in a safe environment, receives corrective feedback, and
is reinforced for approximations.
pplication: Teaching social skills, assertiveness, interview skills, parenting behaviour, and
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coping skills.
. Biofeedback
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Biofeedback useselectronic monitoring equipmentto provide the individual with real-time
information about their own physiological state — heart rate, muscle tension (EMG), skin
temperature, galvanic skin response, or brainwave activity (EEG). This information is "fed
back" via visual (screen display) or auditory (tones) signals.
echanism: By becoming aware of a physiological signal (e.g., rising heart rate preceding
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an anger outburst), the individual can learn to voluntarily regulate it through relaxation,
breathing, or cognitive techniques. Over repeated sessions, this regulation becomes more
automatic.
Clinical applications:
● nxiety and stress: learning to reduce arousal
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● Anger management: detecting and controlling escalation
● Chronic pain management: reducing muscle tension
● ADHD: neurofeedback to improve attention and impulse control
● Hypertension: reducing blood pressure through voluntary control
he advantage of biofeedback is that it makesinvisible physiological processes visible
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and controllable, empowering the individual to take charge of their own regulation.
7. Behavioural Contracts
written agreement between the therapist/teacher and the client specifying: the target
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behaviour to be performed, the conditions under which it should occur, and the reinforcers
that will be earned. Contracts promoteself-regulation, accountability, and clarity of
expectations. They are especially effective with adolescents and adults.
8. Self-Management Techniques
he ultimate goal of behaviour modification is to shift control from external reinforcement to
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internal self-regulation. Self-management involves the individual monitoring their own
behaviour (self-monitoring), setting personal goals (self-evaluation), and delivering their own
reinforcement (self-reinforcement). This is how behaviour modification produces lasting,
generalised change beyond the therapeutic setting.