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From DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition  by Marsha M. Linehan. Copyright 2015 by Marsha M. Linehan. Permission 
to photocopy this handout is granted to purchasers of this book for personal use only (see copyright page for details).interpersonal effectiveness Handout 22a  
identifying e ffective Behavior c hange Strategies
For each A and B pair, check the more effective response.
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1a. When you are trying to increase a 
behavior, it is most effective to wait for the full desired behavior before 
reinforcing, so the person does not 
think that halfway is good enough.
1B. When you are trying to increase 
a behavior, it is most effective to 
reinforce small improvement in the right direction, or else the person may not continue to improve.•
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•••5a. If a person’s problem behaviors 
work to get things he or she wants, it is most effective to punish those 
behaviors to make them stop.
5B. If a person’s problem behaviors work 
to get things he or she wants, it is 
most effective to stop reinforcing