Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Behavior Modification

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

  • 126 Accesses

Synonyms/Abbreviations

Behav. Mod; B. Mod

Definition

Procedure in which learning principles and procedures are systematically applied to observed behaviors and environmental conditions to increase adaptive behaviors and decrease maladaptive behaviors.

Introduction

Behavior modification entails methodically applying techniques and principles of learning theory to change an individual’s observable behavior through environmental manipulation, primarily focusing on events that occur immediately before and immediately after the behavior (Martin and Pear 2015; Horrow and Gochros 1970). Behavior modification gained popularity throughout the 1950s and 1960s as an antithesis to the prevailing psychodynamic approach to the treatment of mental illness. The earliest behaviorists were interested in manipulating the stimulus-response connection in order to change a maladaptive behavior into an adaptive behavior (Bruck 1968), extending and elaborating upon Thorndike’s “law of effect” (Waters 1934)....

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2016). Ethics for behavior analysts. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruck, M. (1968). Behavior modification theory and practice: A critical review. Social Work, 13, 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, W. S., & Seidman, E. (1974). Studies of behavior modification and juvenile delinquency: A review, methodological critique, and social perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 81(12), 998–1011. doi:10.1037/h0037475.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128(4), 539.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gerson, P., & Lanyon, R. I. (1972). Modification of smoking behavior with an aversion-desensitization procedure. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 38, 399–402. doi:10.1037/h0032907.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanley, G. P. (2012). Functional assessment of problem behavior: Dispelling myths, overcoming implementation obstacles, and developing new lore. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 5, 54–72.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson, I. H. (1992). From reflexology to operant conditioning. American Psychologist, 47, 1318–1328. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.47.11.1318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasl-Godley, J., & Gatz, M. (2000). Psychosocial interventions for individuals with dementia: An integration of theory, therapy, and a clinical understanding of dementia. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 755–782.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kazdin, A. E. (2012). Behavior modification in applied settings. Long Grove: Waveland Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovaas, O. I. (1987). Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, G., & Pear, J. J. (2015). Behavior modification: What it is and how to do it. Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. (2010). Early and intensive behavioral intervention in autism. In J. R. Weisz & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents (pp. 312–326). New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, M. K., & Bragg, R. A. (1970). Comparing behavior modification approaches to habit decrement smoking. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34, 258–263. doi:10.1037/h0029000.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, R. H. (1934). The law of effect as a principle of learning. Psychological Bulletin, 31, 408–425. doi:10.1037/h0073664.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA

    Laura K. Hansen

Authors
  1. Laura K. Hansen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura K. Hansen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Bradley A. Green

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Hansen, L. (2017). Behavior Modification. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_883-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_883-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation