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1. Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery:
Behavior Modification
Basics/Part 2
Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes
Executive Director, AllCEUs
Host: Counselor Toolbox
AllCEUs.com Unlimited CEUs and Specialty Certifications $59

2. Objectives
 Continue to explore the usefulness of behavior
modification
 Review basic behavior modification terms:
 Unconditioned stimulus and response
 Conditioned stimulus and response
 Discriminitive stimuli
 Learned helplessness
 Learn additional modification terms:
 Reinforcement
 Punishment
 Extinction Burse
 Premack Principle

3. Why Do I Care
 Change means doing something different or
modifying a response
 While stimuli prompt a behavior, reinforcement
and punishment are associated with motivation
 Understanding these principles will help you
 Elicit a behavior
 Increase the likelihood it will happen again
 Decrease the likelihood of unwanted behaviors

4. Review basic behavior modification terms
 Unconditioned stimulus and response
 Loud noise  startle
 Bright light  squinting
 Conditioned stimulus and response
 Doorbell  answer the door
 Yellow light  slow down
 Discriminitive stimuli
 Set the occasion for the behavior (reminder stickies,
pictures, alarms,
 Learned helplessness
 Lack of responsiveness to a stimulus when all options have
been exhausted

5. New Terms
 Positive Reinforcement
 Providing something positive in order to increase the
likelihood a behavior will occur again
 Examples
Food
Money (Paycheck)
Validation
Promotion
Power (Choosing activities)
 What can be added that is rewarding AND helpful for the
person

6. New Terms
 Negative Reinforcement
 Removing something negative in order to increase the
likelihood a behavior will occur again
 Examples
Reducing mandatory counseling sessions
Dropping restitution or additional charges upon
completion
Can leave the table once vegetables are eaten
 What can be eliminated that would be considered
rewarding AND helpful for the person

7. New Terms
 Positive Punishment
 Adding something negative to decrease the likelihood
that a behavior will recur
 Examples
Antabuse
Spanking
Additional sessions
Rubberband snaps
 What can be added that would be considered
unpleasant for the person

8. New Terms
 Negative Punishment
 Removing something positive to decrease the likelihood
that a behavior will recur
 Examples
Grounding/priviledges
Money (Fines)
Jail
Relationship/Setting boundaries
Control/power
 What can be eliminated that would be considered
undesirable

9. Types of Rewards and Punishments
 Rewards and Punishments can be:
 Emotional (Happiness)
 Mental (Improved decision making, cognitive clarity)
 Physical (Appearance, health, pain, energy, sleep,
relaxation)
 Social (Acceptance, admiration, support)
 Spiritual/Karmic
 Financial
 Environmental (freedom, pleasant conditions)

10. Apply It
 The more rewards that can be gained the stronger
the motivation to repeat the behavior
 Drugs/Addictive Behaviors
Positive Reinforcement: Dopamine
Negative Reinforcement: Numbing of Pain
 Self-Injury
Positive reinforcement: Endogenous opioids, feeling of
control
Negative reinforcement: Numbing of pain

11. New Term
 Behavior Strain
 The point at which the reinforcement or punishment is
no longer effective
 Effected by:
Age
Cognitive development
Strength of the reinforcement or punishment
 Smaller, more frequent rewards for completion of
smaller goals:
Provide rapid benefits
Maintain momentum

12. New Term
 Extinction Burst
 A temporary increase in a behavior when rewards are
absent or insufficient
Child in the store
Pigeon wanting food
“Acting Out”
 The behavior ceases when the demands/costs of the
behavior exceed the potential reward
Promotion
Treatment

13. New Term
 Premack Principle
 Concurrently pairing something undesirable with
something desirable
 Examples
Laundry folding with watching television
Exercise with socialization/puppy time/nature
Studying with peer pressure
Cleaning with music/tv/aromatherapy
Work with coffee

14. Applying it
Old Behavior New Behavior
Benefits These are the reasons the old
behavior was rewarding—the
person was motivated to
engage in it
Must be made less rewarding
through punishment or
alternatives
These are the reasons the new
behavior is rewarding and need to
be strengthened. Add additional
reinforcers to strengthen the power.
Drawbacks These are the reasons the old
behavior is punishing.
They need to be
strengthened/highlighted and
additional punishments
considered. (Antabuse, fines)
These are the reasons the new
behavior is
punishing/unpleasant/unrewarding.
These “drains” need to be
addressed (Premack principle and
meetings)

15. Apply It
 Behavior 1: Social Withdrawal
 Social withdrawal is rewarding mainly due to negative
reinforcement (elimination of the unpleasant)
Old Behavior: Social
Withdrawal
New Behavior: Social Support
Benefits Avoid extra stress
Won’t disappoint anyone
May increase depression
More time with my cats
Won’t burden anyone else
Buffer against stress
Can increase positive
neurotransmitters
(serotonin/oxytocin)
Drawbacks Does not help Some friends will disappoint
Not everyone will understand
I will feel needy

16. Apply It
 Behavior 2: Explosive Anger
Explosive Anger New Coping Behaviors
(call a friend, walk, journal)
Benefits Power
Pushes away the threat
Get my own way
Gives time to get past adrenaline
surge and think clearly
Enables me to make better, long-
term decisions
Enhances teamwork and
communication
Drawbacks Exhausting
Alienates people
Makes it difficult to get
genuine feedback
Feel vulnerable
May be taken advantage of

17. Apply It
 Behavior 3: Emotional Eating
Emotional Eating Coping Behaviors
Benefits Love food
Comforting—releases dopamine
and serotonin
Easily available
Help me eat when I am hungry
Can enjoy food when I am eating
Assist in addressing the problem
Drawbacks Gain weight
Feel bloated
Feel weak
The problem is still there
Can disrupt sleep
Embarrassed to eat in front of
others
Compulsions are hard to overcome
Coping behaviors are not as
satisfying

18. Summary
 If you eliminate a behavior, you must replace it with
at least one, preferably 3 new ones
 People are “motivated” for rewards and to avoid
punishment.
 Decisional balance exercises can help people make
new behaviors rewarding and old behaviors…less
rewarding
 Reinforcers must be reinforcing to the person (i.e. jail
avoidance to a career criminal, money to Trump)
 Likewise, punishments must be unpleasant

19. Summary
 Rewards and Punishments can be:
 Emotional (Happiness)
 Mental (Improved decision making, cognitive clarity)
 Physical (Appearance, health, pain, energy, sleep,
relaxation)
 Social (Acceptance, admiration, support)
 Spiritual/Karmic
 Financial
 Environmental (freedom, pleasant conditions)