Professional Documents
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to sincerely thank all of our colleagues at Pearson who
have provided us with continued support and direction on this project. A
special thank you to Ann Davis, our wonderful editor, who has provided
us with guidance and leadership throughout this creative process; Penny
Burleson, former editorial assistant, for her kind and patient support; An-
drea Hall, our very capable editorial assistant, for helping us shepherd the
project to completion. We would also like to thank the reviewers who
shared their expertise in providing us with guidance in the development
of the text: Summer Ferreri, Michigan State University; Aubrey Fine,
California Polytechnic State University; Gail Hartin, Southern Methodist
University; and Joy Xin, Rowan University.
And, finally, our heartfelt thanks to our families, for their continued
love and support and encouragement that made the completion of this
text possible.
We especially want to acknowledge the many contributions of the
most talented and passionate educators we know—Karen Wheeler and
Linda Richey.
REFERENCE
Depnam, K.J., Pas, E.T., & Bradshaw, C.P. (2012). Secondary and tertiary
support systems in schools implementing school-wide positive behavioral
interventions and supports: A preliminary descriptive analysis. Journal of
Positive Behavior Interventions, 14, 1–11.
Brief Contents
Chapter 1 Understanding Behavior in Children and Youth 2
ix
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Contents
Chapter 1 Understanding Behavior in Children
and Youth 2
Concepts to Understand 3
Key Terms 3
Theoretical Models for Understanding Human Behavior 4
Biological Model 4
Developmental Model 8
Psychodynamic Model 10
Ecological Model 12
Behavioral Model 17
Social Learning Model 21
Applied Behavior Analysis 22
Applications of ABA 22
Positive Behavior Supports 24
Components of PBS 25
Reauthorization of IDEA 28
The Application of PBS Across Learners and Learning
Environments 28
Schoolwide Applications of PBS 29
Factors Influencing the Development of PBS 30
Summary 33
Activities to Extend Your Learning 34
Further Reading and Exploration 34
References 34
xi
xii Contents
Summary 183
Activities to Extend Your Learning 184
Further Reading and Exploration 184
References 184
Time-out 361
Use of Aversives to Reduce Behavior-Punishment 362
Summary 364
Activities to Extend Your Learning 365
Further Reading and Exploration 365
References 366
KEY TERMS
Applied behavior analysis (ABA)
Behavioral model
Biological model
Developmental model
Ecological model
Positive behavior supports (PBS)
Psychodynamic model
Social learning
4 Chapter 1
Biological Model
The biological model examines the presence of atypical development and
subsequent behavioral differences from an organic standpoint. This model is
most evident in the medical profession, which addresses changes in physio-
logical functioning (optimal health) within the context of presenting symp-
toms. These physical symptoms are often present as the result of pathogens
in the body or other organic causes. Pathogens alter the body’s equilibrium
and are defined as any causative agent of disease. Within the field of spe-
cial education, we frequently employ the biological model when explaining
the presence of specific disabilities that affect cognitive and behavioral func-
tioning in children and youth. Many of these conditions stem from organic
causes that alter typical development in children, thus producing disabili-
ties. Early studies, for example, identified brain dysfunction in children with
autism and subsequently moved theorists from viewing autism as a psy-
chogenic disorder (a disorder with no known organic basis that was likely
caused by emotional stress) to viewing it as a condition stemming from or-
ganic causes (Golden, 1987). Advances in medical science have contributed
to our understanding of the causal factors associated with autism, including
the neurological and neurochemical aspects of this disorder, examples of
which include the difficulty of children with autism with modulating sen-
Understanding Behavior in Children and Youth 5
TABLE 1–1
Theoretical Models for Understanding Human Behavior
Consider This
● What are your thoughts on the treatment of ADHD?
● What are your concerns about the use of medications in the treatment of
ADHD?
It is apparent that the biological model has been very helpful in fur-
thering our understanding of the origins of developmental disorders in
children and in the diagnosis and medical treatment of these conditions.
Current research in the etiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is
another major initiative using the biological model as the basis for ex-
panding our knowledge concerning the effects of this disability on the
development of children. The dramatic increase in the prevalence rate of
autism has indicated that 1 in 150 children are affected by this condition
(Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2007). The dramatic rise of ASD has
fostered the need for research initiatives in the diagnosis and treatment
8 Chapter 1
Developmental Model
The developmental perspective has traditionally been associated with Swiss-
born biologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980). Piaget’s contributions are notewor-
thy in the field of human development and have served as a cornerstone
among developmental theorists. His theory was built on the premise that
children’s adaptation to their environment was contingent on two proc-
esses: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is the process by which
children fit new stimuli into their “comfort zone” or their current ability
to understand this new information. Accommodation refers to how children
modify their cognitive processing to fit these new or novel stimuli.
The developmental model has evolved over time; it essentially
maintains that children develop in a predictable and predetermined man-
ner that is internally organized (Cobb, 2001). Developmental theorists
also contend that as children age, they proceed through several stages of
development, each with its own unique set of characteristics.
The developmental model is most prominent in the education of young
children. Contemporary early childhood educators and early childhood
special educators rely on the principle of developmentally appropriate
practice (DAP) as the philosophical foundation for the provision of edu-
cation and related services to young children.
The book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs
(Bredekamp & Copple, 1997) outlines a synthesized list of research-based
principles that undergird DAP. These principles include the following:
(a) recognizing that physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains
associated with child development are related, and that development
in each of these areas is interdependent; (b) development is an orderly
Understanding Behavior in Children and Youth 9
Jean Piaget
Psychodynamic Model
The psychodynamic model is a stage theory used to explain human
development and behavior. The stage theory viewpoint is best char-
acterized by a series of progressive developmental life stages that we
experience as we move from childhood into adolescence and later pe-
riods. The psychodynamic model emphasizes the critical importance of
unconscious processes (i.e., psychodynamic) as the determinants for ab-
normal behavior. Although the psychodynamic model represents a cog-
nitive perspective, it does acknowledge that environment contributes to
development through internal processes and the battle between inter-
nal processes and these external events (Cobb, 2001). One viewpoint
for understanding cognitive theories such as the psychodynamic model
is offered by Pear (2001), who likened cognitive processing approaches
in human beings to those of computers. In short, the view held by psy-
chodynamic theorists is that all people have internal states or thought
processes operating as they attempt to process the environmental events
that influence the development of these thought processes and, subse-
quently, their personalities.
The most noted psychodynamic theorist, of course, was Sigmund
Freud (1859–1939), a well-known Austrian-born psychoanalyst. He is
best known for his theory of personality development and the terms id,
ego, and superego, which are associated with the formation of personality.
Each of these components of Freud’s structural model serves a unique
function, yet they must ultimately balance one another to accommodate
the development of the personality. The id is the area of the personality
that demands immediate gratification of biological impulses, thus oper-
ating on the “pleasure principle” (Freud, 1961). The ego, on the other
hand, attempts to satisfy these impulses in a more socially acceptable
manner. The superego is the area of the personality that serves as the
moral conscience as one attempts to internalize moral standards. Freud
acknowledged the interaction between biological and environmental
forces in the development of the id and superego in the development
of personality (Cobb, 2001). In Freud’s view, development occurs as a
result of the conflicts between a child’s internal drives and his or her so-
cial environment. As a result, a psychological balance must be obtained
that channels, represses, and/or redirects these drives and thus lays the
foundation for the development of the child’s personality (Tharinger &
Lambert, 1990).
Erik Erikson (1902–1994) expanded Freud’s theory on personality
through his own theory of psychosocial development. Erikson’s theory
maintained the importance of ego identity and the healthy personality.
This perspective asserts the importance of the ego and emphasizes the
process of adaptation and the resolution of opposing forces. Erikson is
best known for his eight stages of moral development, each of which
is critical for subsequent development and involves a conflict involving
Understanding Behavior in Children and Youth 11
Sigmund Freud
Erik Erikson
each of these stages of development is consistent for all people and that
at critical periods within each stage, the developing personality is most
sensitive to outside influences.
One prominent characteristic of the psychodynamic model is its fo-
cus on the underlying motives that govern behavior. The psychodynamic
model assumes that the developmental stages previously described are
consistent across individuals and that they rely on internal processes to
explain subsequent development and learning. This characteristic has be-
come one of the major areas of criticism concerning the application of this
model. Given the focus of the psychodynamic theory on the development
of personality with regard to the internal processing of environmental in-
fluences, it is difficult to empirically validate the role these forces play in
individual human development. In short, it is impossible to observe and
measure the internal thoughts and feelings of individuals. Thus the ap-
plication of this model in educational environments serving children has
been limited in terms of its applied efficacy.
Ecological Model
The ecological model perspective on behavior and learning is a very im-
portant viewpoint, especially given the focus of this text—that is, posi-
tive behavior supports—and the importance of understanding behavior
within the relevant environments (home, school, community) in which
the learner lives and functions. Environments and the individuals found
within them constitute one form of an ecological system. What occurs
within this system affects not only one individual but also all who func-
tion within it. The ecological model is focused on the interactions that
Understanding Behavior in Children and Youth 13
Lev Vygotsky
occur within these environments and how they influence behavior and
learning in each of us.
An early theorist who achieved much notoriety in recent times from
his work in the area of young children and learning was the Russian psy-
chologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934). His theory stated that children learn
by engaging and participating in activities that they enjoy and that learn-
ing is enhanced when children are in social contexts, working with other
children who have the same aims (Vygotsky, 1978). Thus environment
and social context are important aspects in Vygotsky’s theory. Vygotsky
emphasized the development of cognitive processes and behaviors in the
child through interactions within the social context. His theory pointed
out how children who approximate a certain skill level can learn from
other children who are more skilled at a particular task. He termed this
phenomenon the zone of proximal development, meaning the distance sepa-
rating a person’s current performance level from that of optimal perform-
ance levels. Although not exclusively an ecological theorist, Vygotsky
reminds us of the importance of social interaction in meaningful environ-
mental contexts and how such interactions foster cognitive development
in children.
Uri Bronfenbrenner (1917–) is widely known for his application of the
ecological model in reference to families. Bronfenbrenner (1994) asserted
that a child’s development is inseparable from the environments in which
they function, which thus constitute his or her ecology. Bronfenbren-
ner’s theory comprises a concentric circle that has the child at its center
and five systems emerging from the core of the circle: the microsystem,
the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chromosys-
tem. The microsystem is basically the child’s immediate environment,
14 Chapter 1
Vignette 1.1
The Ecological Model Applied to Children and Families in Poverty
An elementary teacher working in an Appalachian community beset by poverty,
high unemployment, and reliance on subsidized programs commented to a state
politician that people do not really understand the complexities of poverty and its
effect on children and families as far as development and learning are concerned.
In this example, the community was once a thriving coal-mining community in
which people were gainfully employed; however, when the demand for coal di-
minished, the mines closed, and subsequently the community’s economy was de-
stroyed. As a result, stores closed, people were left jobless, and some families left
the region in search of new opportunities, whereas those families who remained
behind worked at less fruitful jobs paying minimum wage and offering no insurance
or benefits for themselves or their families. The impact began to be felt within all
facets of the community, including the local schools. Evidence of this impact was
seen as greater numbers of children began to receive free breakfasts and lunches
through subsidy programs. Increasing numbers of children began coming to school
without their basic needs met. Local teachers began to see the impact on individual
children. This problem was evident as increased numbers of children were over
time identified as at risk and with developmental delays. Other changes were noted
within the community, such as increased alcohol and drug abuse, family problems,
and criminal activity.
Understanding Behavior in Children and Youth 15
Reflective Moment
Respond to the problems posed in the vignette by examining the following
questions:
● How can the ecological model help us better understand this scenario?
● What strengths does the ecological model provide as we attempt to identify the
contributing factors and ripple effects of these causal factors?
● What are the limitations of this model in assisting us as classroom teachers in
facilitating optimal learning outcomes for children affected by such conditions?
FIGURE 1–1
Ecological Model
Home School
Community
others in the design and delivery of supports to children and their fami-
lies. The ecological model is important in promoting the implementation
of educational and behavior supports across multiple environments with
persons who are significant in the life of the learner. This approach views
the persons within these settings as agents for change and, indeed, targets
for change.
Consider This
● How can you, as a teacher, have a meaningful influence in the life of a
child?
● Does your influence as a teacher play a part in a child’s ability to deal with
stressors beyond his or her educational environment?
Behavioral Model
One defining characteristic of the behavioral model is that it views be-
havior from a functional perspective in terms that are both measurable
and observable. The behavioral model recognizes that all behavior serves
a function and has evolved as a direct result of the individual’s learn-
ing history coupled with interactions within their environment (Sulzer-
Azaroff & Mayer, 1991). The historical development of the behavioral
model provides the foundation for the development of applied behavior
analysis and the later evolution toward PBS. Given the importance to the
current text of understanding this model, we want to examine it in a way
that illuminates the critical points in the evolution of this very important
perspective.
The origins of the behavioral model were steeped in the research of
many prominent theorists who empirically derived the scientific princi-
ples that served as the cornerstone of behavior modification. These in-
clude Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936), a Russian psychologist credited with
discovering the principles of respondent conditioning. In Pavlov’s famous
experiment, he demonstrated that a dog would salivate when presented
with meat (a reflex response). He then paired the presentation of the
meat to the dog with the ringing of a bell (a neutral stimulus), and later,
after repeated trials, Pavlov would ring the bell alone, and the dog would
salivate (Pavlov, 1927). This illustrates what is referred to as respondent
conditioning. Miltenberger (2001) defined respondent conditioning as
Ivan Pavlov
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.