Behavioral contracts are often useful tools
for students with poor self - regulation skills, both to teach and self - monitor difficulty with self - regulation as
well as teach and
reward appropriate or «replacement»
behavior.
The traditional «behaviorist» approach of punishing misbehavior and
rewarding good behavior is based on animal research conducted in the 1940s and «50s modifying the
behavior of lab rats and is not an
appropriate treatment paradigm
for use with children and families, although concepts regarding the communication of authority hierarchies remain valid.