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22 SEPTEMBER 2008
NO 1351
Reinforcement theory
"Active ignoring" is based on one of the first principles of reinforcement theory: attending to and rewarding desired behavior while at the same time ignoring unwanted behavior. It sounds simple enough, but in practice this technique competes with staff members' instincts to "get control of" an acting-out child "before his behavior gets any more out of hand." When Billy storms out of the group meeting a typical response is to run after him and use threats or pleas to get him to return. Instead, the staff member needs to note calmly that "Jennifer is sitting quietly" and "Paul has raised his hand" and "I think Tyrone has something important to say." Billy, Jennifer, Paul, and Tyrone (and the rest of the group) get a clear message that sitting quietly and raising one's hand is what gets staff attention. A good rule of thumb for group leaders is to find at least two or three positive behaviors to compliment before criticizing a negative one (Canter, 1976). Not only is giving compliments an effective way to shape behavior (not to mention being more pleasant than threats or nagging), but it also provides a role model of positive social interaction.
An answer to the problem of unintentionally creating martyrs, as discussed above, is to establish cooperative incentive structures (group consequences). This helps the residents invest in helping each other stay out of trouble and relieves staff of the sometimes impossible task of figuring out who the guilty party is. ("Somebody has poured detergent all over the laundry room floor. That means that no one can go out until we clean it up.") The children appropriately blame the acting-out child for their loss of privileges instead of seeing her as an antiestablishment hero. The flip side is to reinforce individual achievement and good behavior with a group reward. Instead of resenting and ostracizing the "good child," the peer group learns to support and encourage him because everyone benefits. ("Kendrik did a super job on chores today. The whole group gets a `clean cottage' award." "We can help Harold today by ignoring his silliness. If he stays on task we'll all finish sooner and everybody will get extra free time.") Similar cooperative incentive techniques have been promoted in educational settings for some time (see Canter,1976; Stipek, 1993).
The pattern of escalating punishments described earlier reflects a simplistic and perverted misapplication of reinforcement theorywhich ideally should feature a complex pattern of rewards to reinforce desired patterns of behavior and use extinction [ignoring], not punishment, to eliminate unwanted behaviors. Punishment may be effective in arresting some behaviors, but it does nothing to teach positive alternatives and, if severe, may encourage feelings of persecution and vengefulness. Negative consequences need to be mild and short term if they are to be effective. In most cases, punishments should not extend beyond bedtime so children can start each new day with a "clean slate."
MIRIAM MCNOWN JOHNSON
Mcnown Johnson, M. (1999) Managing perceptions: A new
paradigm for residential group care. Child and Youth Care Forum, 28,
3. pp. 168-169.
REFERENCES
Canter, L. (1976). Assertive discipline:A take charge approach for today's educator. Seal Beach, CA. Canter and Associates.
Stipek, D.J. ((1993). Motivation to learn: From
theory to practice. (2nd ed.). Boston. Allyn and Bacon
