Behavior Management Definition,
Decision screen for making decisions to change behavior, Implementing change, and the
Fair-pair Rule

Behavior management is all of the actions and conscious inactions to enhance the probability people, individually and in groups, choose behaviors which are personally fulfilling, productive, and socially acceptable (Shea & Bauer, 1987).

Decision screen for making decisions to change behaviors

Every educator must create a decision screen for making decisions. Such a screen should have the following questions or ideas:

  1. Will changing the behavior be detrimental, in any situation, for the person?
  2. Will the person find the behavior, we desire them to learn, to be personally self-fulfilling and productive?

If the answer to the first question is: no and the answer to the second: yes, then we can be better insured the person will not only learn the behavior and satisfy the educator’s needs, or any other significant other person desiring a change, but the person will want to learn the new behavior and when the do, will find it better satisfy their personal needs.

This is necessary to achieve: self-discipline.

Implementing a change

Identify a socially acceptable behavior you believe the student will see value to learn for the purpose of replacing an inappropriate behavior.

Fair-pair rule

The fair-pair rule requires: an inappropriate behavior be replaced with an appropriate behavior.

When this is achieved it will provide the person with something they desire: replacing self-limiting behaviors with mastery oriented behaviors.

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Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes