Chapter 1 Behavioral Principles

Section 1.1 - The ABCs of Behavior Modification

When we look at behavior modification it is helpful to break it down
into the ABCs where A = Antecedent, B = Behavior, and C = Consequence.
According to behaviorists such as B. F. Skinner, almost all behavior can be
broken down into the ABC components. Ante means before. The
antecedent occurs before the behavior while the consequence occurs after
the behavior.

Imagine if all behavior could be explained by these three simple boxes

Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence. How simple it would be to change,
manipulate or control your behavior or someone elses behavior. In many
ways it is that simple and throughout this book we will refer to the ABCs
of behavior.

We dont need to know about the ABCs of behavior in order for

behaviors to occur. Behaviors occur because of the ABCs, but they occur

naturally or automatically. For every behavior we emit (do) there is an

antecedent and a consequence. Always! However, we can benefit by
knowing about the ABCs if we want to learn behavior modification.
We will learn that controlling the antecedents can set the occasion for a
behavior (make happen). And we will learn that by controlling the
consequences, we can determine if a behavior is more likely to happen in
the future under the same antecedents. Knowing about the ABCs is pretty
powerful and this is why we named this book The ABCs of Behavior
Modification.
For most of us we are completely unaware of the majority of behaviors
we emit day to day. As such, we are even more unaware of the
antecedents that set the occasion for the behaviors we emit. When the
consequence is surprising or aversive (unpleasant) then we are for the most
part aware it. For example, you might say that the clerk at the store was
upset because you brought in a bunch of change in order to purchase your
coffee in the morning. The clerk being upset was a consequence of you
spending the change. Upsetting the clerk is a clearly a noticeable
consequence that can easily be attributed to my coffee purchase. However
there are many consequences that occur without us hardly noticing them.
For example, being cold is a consequence of going outside without a coat.
Automatically with little thought, you return to the house and collect your
coat.
Lets look at some more complete examples of the ABCs of behavior.
Example 1:
Behavior = Telling a joke.

What is a consequence of telling a joke? People laugh right?

The relationship between the behavior and consequence is fairly clear.

Usually, when people tell a joke, other people laugh. Jokes often occur at
public gatherings such as a party. Therefore the party is the antecedent for
tell the joke. Being at a party sets the occasion for telling a joke.

We could say that A) the party set the occasion to, B) tell a joke and C)
people laughed. And when people laugh at the joke in the context of a
party, it will become more likely that jokes will be told more often in that
context. Notice on the figure below that an arrow has been added to show
that relationship between the consequence and the antecedent. The ABCs
are not Linear. Not just A then B then C. It is important to understand
that they are fully connected with a feedback loop of sorts. This feedback
loop is always there because the relationship is always there. However,
we will not always explicitly put it in our diagrams for the sake of
simplicity. We will use it primarily when we are emphasizing the full
ABC relationship.

Can you think of another situation or circumstance where emitting the

exact same behavior, telling the exact same joke, might lead to a totally
different consequence?
What might happen if the same joke was told at a funeral? Would
people laugh? Most likely not since funerals are solemn occasions.

What might a consequence of telling a joke at a funeral be? People

might give you a sour look and turn away.

This is actually a good example of how important the antecedent is. In

the context of a funeral, people will emit a sour look when a joke is told.
Because antecedents are so important we can tell the same joke in
different circumstances and get a totally different response (consequence).
Put a different way, depending on the antecedent the consequences can be
either pleasurable (People laugh) or aversive (People make a sour face and
turn away).

Notice here too the consequence is related to the antecedent. However,

in the context of a funeral, the consequence of sour looks, will make it less
likely jokes are told at a funeral in the future because the sour looks are
salient (strong) social cues that are aversive to us.
When we talk about consequences, we often want to say the outcome
was positive or the outcome was negative. We are avoiding using these
specific terms (positive and negative) because they are reserved words and
mean something very specific in the language of behavior modification. So
please, for now, get in the habit of using the terms pleasurable and aversive
even though we understand what they mean in everyday language.
Lets practice what you have learned about the ABCs by filling out the
boxes below. We will provide part of the ABCs and you provide the
antecedent, behavior or consequence depending on what is missing.

Notice that the same behavior is emitted however, different

consequences result because of the antecedent. We will learn in later
chapters that similar behaviors can have different functions.
Here are some more practice examples for you to complete.

You may have noticed that given the Antecedent and the Consequence
the behavior is fairly obvious. It would appear if you know the
relationship between the Antecedent and the Consequence, the Behavior

is clear. This is not to say that there is only one behavior a person could
emit at the market to bring home food. They could buy it with change,
buy it with a hundred dollar bill, or buy it with food stamps. They could
also steal it, trade for it, go dumpster diving, or work for it for that matter.
Even so, knowing the Antecedent and the Consequence makes the
Behavior fairly predictable. This is what makes behavior modification so
powerful because in many situations we can control the antecedents and
the consequences. Often antecedents directly refer or relate to the
environment. Thus we say that controlling the environment controls the
behavior.
Because behaviors can be dictated by the environment, some people
will even go as far as saying that the behaviors exist in the environment.
We will discuss environments and how they elicit (bring about) behaviors
in later chapters.
Notice now, when you fill in the blanks for the consequence, a wide
variety of behaviors can occur.

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During this class you will become more aware of the behaviors you
emit. Think of three behaviors you have emitted today. Write those in the
boxes below. Once you have your behavior written down, fill out the
ABCs for each behavior.

In summary:
The ABCs are the building blocks
Understanding the ABCs is the
of behavior.
basis of behavior modification.

In day to day life we are

generally unaware of the ABCs.
Depending on the antecedent,
similar behaviors can result in
different consequences.
Once you know the antecedent
and the consequence, the types of
behaviors become much more
predictable.
When we can control the
antecedents
and
the

consequences we can start to

control the behaviors.
The environment has a strong
impact on behavior.
Manipulation is not necessarily a
bad thing.
Emit means to do a behavior.
Elicit means to make a behavior
occur.

Students often become uncomfortable when we discuss manipulating and

controlling someones behavior. They view manipulation and controlling as undesirable.
However, we manipulate and control behavior constantly. Is it bad to insist that someone
go before us when we arrive at a traffic intersection at the same time? Is it bad to put up a
wet paint sign in order to manipulate someone from not touching fresh paint? Our
point is when manipulation is used in a helpful manner, it is not a bad thing.
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Imagine as a consequence of being at the market you were arrested. What was the behavior?
Imagine while hunting the consequence was receiving an award? What would the behaviors have
been for that to occur as a consequence?