Modification Charts? 10 mistakes and 3 ways to avoid them.
What do you do if a child has acquired a bad habit, like pretending to shower, not doing homework or solving problems in school with violence? One often used tool is the behavior modification chart, that table with little smilies and angry faces that helps keep track of a child's doings on a day to day basis. Behavior modification charts have become a common place phenomenon in the home and in the classroom. They work on the theoretical basis that a token system of prizes and punishment can be used to persuade children into modifying their behavior. This can be a very useful tool but it can as easily be a very frustrating and counterproductive one. Very often parents and teachers find themselves disheartened by failure to get results with this time consuming and effortful endeavor. Even more so, children can get distressed and confused by this overbearing system. On the other hand, I personally have witnessed very positive, even life-changing results for children that took part in behavior modification programs that emphasized the three things that will be discussed below. But first, let’s see what common mistakes are made when administering behavior modification charts:
1. Parent’s were not involved enough.
Very often students are enlisted in a personal or classroom program without full participation of the parents. This often happens because of a failure of communication between parents and teacher. Children need parent involvement in order to help them appreciate success, especially when it comes to modifying behavior.
2. Teachers felt that they were carrying a burden alone.
Behavior modification charts are hard work. They require consistent consideration and usually draw a lot of attention from other students. Teachers often feel stranded with this extra burden. Not to mention if the chart does not work, they may further find themselves under scrutiny for the failure, causing a sense of guilt. Teacher’s guilt is a serious issue that can affect the classroom environment.
3. Inspections of behavior were too overbearing.
In many situations the belief is that it is most beneficial to give marks for behavior in every lesson or if at home then two three times a day. This can be overbearing for a child and truthfully, also overbearing for a teacher/parent, who now has to work much more. This can cause frustration and animosity between teacher,parent and child.
4. There was no clear deadline to inspections.
Generally the inspections carry on until the end of a school year or until someone has had enough and calls it quits. Having no deadline makes the goal of the method less clear. Is the chart being used because of a specific goal in clear site or is it because of a specific problematic kid that needs constant critique? Many children may assume the latter.
5. There was no clear final goal.
Wanting a child to stop doing something (e.g. shouting in the classroom) or to start doing something for his environments sake (e.g. doing dishes) is not a clear goal in the eyes of a child. At a young age when character is being developed a goal needs to emphasize personal skills and not just the needs of the environment.
6. Children were in competition against each other.
Although competition can be a very positive tool for socialization, there are cases where it is better for a child to compete with himself, thus emphasizing the personal aspect of the exercise. Behavior modification is personal since in order for the behavior to continue after the program, an internal motivator like a sense of capability needs to be established. A person needs to uncover an inner strength in order to be capable.
7. The charts did not belong to the child.
Behavior modification charts are usually locked in a teacher’s drawer or portrayed publicly, like on the kitchen fridge. This makes the chart much less approachable. If you were expected to modify your behavior wouldn’t you want the method used to be private and personal?
8. The chart was not well suited to the child.
The elements to be inspected in a chart are almost always decided upon without the participation of a child (e.g. you will bring all your books to school and you will talk nicely to the teacher). Furthermore, these charts are often commonly unified between children of the same school/household. How can a child relate to a program that is forced, standardized and not personalized?
9. There was a fear of negative marks.
Most behavior modification charts include elements of punishment or loss. If an unwanted behavior is presented or a certain goal not achieved this may result in a loss of points and possibly even punishment. This can have an adverse affect, especially on children that fear criticism. Since the existence of a chart that clearly emphasizes that a child needs to modify his or her behavior will already be experienced as extremely negative, is there really need to incorporate more negative elements into the chart? How will this emphasize a child’s capabilities?
10. Success was not clearly emphasized.
Behavior modification charts usually emphasize rewards and often also represent punishment. These are environmental motivators but the real reward needs to be an internal sense of success and capability. My belief is that very often children act in ways not beneficial to themselves simply because they do not think that they are capable of behaving in a beneficial manner. The most important thing a behavioral modification chart can do is to show a child that they are more capable than they realize.
After reviewing these 10 common mistakes with children’s behavior modification charts, it is possible to see why this method has such a checkered past. So what can be done to better ensure all-around positive results?
1. Establish a therapeutic triangle
By working as a team, parents, teacher and student can form a therapeutic triangle. In this situation parents will be more involved and the teacher will most likely not feel that they are carrying a burden alone. If a child perceives that their parents and teacher are communicating there is a higher chance of him/her getting on board with the program. In cases where the program is only related to the household then communication between parents is no less important.
2. Plan the chart with the child
By choosing elements of behavior to be inspected, together with the child, the exercise becomes his or her personal mission. The program is not a contest, it is not the mark of Cain but simply a means to an end. Optimally this should be done as a therapeutic triangle, where certain issues are gently brought to light and then a clear goal set. The child then gets a say and feels more capable, simply by being part of the process. Furthermore, since all three parts of the therapeutic triangle are involved, a clear plan of action that will not be too overbearing for any party involved can be discovered. There is no need to inspect a child in every lesson. No-one gets any enjoyment out of it.
3. Emphasize capability and success
The point of the chart is not to bring short term change but rather to see long term success. This can be achieved by not losing track of the goal, letting the child experience success and perceive themselves as capable. Set a clear deadline so that it is clear, this is just an exercise. Give the chart to the child. It is theirs, their chart, their success. Refer to it on a weekly basis, focusing on the successes. Only these will be marked down and no negative marks since the point is not to "train" children but to let them experience when they have shown to be capable. Most people that experience success are motivated to experience it again. For this reason there is also no real reason for prizes to motivate the child. The prize is being part of a therapeutic triangle and being given the opportunity to experience capability and success.
Why did I write this? As a working school psychologist I have a love of tools to aid families and educators. I developed the "Success Diary" as a way to humanize and personalize behavior modification charts. For more information regarding positive behavior modification methods like the Success Diary please feel free to contact me.
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??ChangeAgent ?The Art of Doubt‘??MSc Psychologist UZH; Career Counselor; Systemic Therapist *One Health*; Psychologische Beratung; Laufbahnpsychologie; Systemische Therapie; Sozialp?dagogische Familienhilfe; Coaching
9 年Thank you for reminding me - very interesting. It fits my intuition not to give negative written marks like a diagnosis in education but to encourage in a positive direction. I looked at positive psychology and learned to focus more on the everyday positve little events and give them importance. Lately I was just wondering why in society with all the knowledge we have gained in psychology and educaton competition and discrimination is so powerful. My son some years ago read a satire a gave him about hitler, stalin, mussolini and he took it for granted what was written: They were all in a buggy together and the story was, that they were lacking to be carried around as babies and therefore became dictators...have a nice day