Behavior Modification: Limitations and Liabilities

The discussion concerns limitations inherent in the behavior modification paradigm and common misuses of the strategy by naive practitioners. The behavioristic explanation of learning often oversimplifies the human situation. Some pure behaviorists view motivation as extrinsic to learning and commonly separate the reward from the behavior. The separation may be justifiable in early stages of a shaping program, but desired behavior must come under the control of natural reinforcers as soon as possible. Various programs have been adapted to incorporate some of the evidence presented herein. Others have been less flexible, in which cases one can only speculate about the benefits derived by those whose behavior was modified.