Behavior modification is the process and procedures used to change maladaptive behaviors. In behavior modification theory, all behavior is defined as being externally controlled by agents of the environment. In this sense, both inside and outside of our body constitutes an environment.

• Edward Thorndike (1874-1949) – he introduced the theory of LAW OF EFFECT; it is based on the idea that rewarding consequences increases or strengthens behavior while undesirable consequences decreases or weakens behaviors. Hence the first use of the term “behavior modification” was by Edward Thorndike in his article “PROVISIONAL LAWS OF ACQUIRED BEHAVIOR OR LEARNING”, where he makes frequent use of the term “MODIFYING BEHAVIOURS”
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) a second landmark for behavior modification took place when Ivan Pavlov’s conditioning principles were extended to humans. Pavlov used behavior modification principles with an experiment with dog, bell, food and a lab coat. Behavior modification relies on the concept of conditioning. There are two types of conditioning, classical conditioning and operant conditioning. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING relies on a particular stimuli or signal for the desired behavior to manifest for example, if a family member often comes to the kitchen every time you baked cookies because of the delicious smell. The second type is OPERANT CONDITIONING which involves using a system of reward/punishment example the dog trainer uses this technique all the time when they reward a dog with a special treat.

Behavior modification was developed for these theories because they supported the idea that just as behaviors can be learned they can also be unlearned. As a result many different techniques were developed to either assist in eliciting a behavior or stopping it. This is how behavior modification was formed.

• John Watson (1878-1958) was referred to as the “father of behaviorism”, he believed that all behaviors is learned. He is most famous for his research on a young boy known as Albert. Initially, Albert was not afraid of rats but he was afraid of loud noises. Watson now conditioned the young boy to fear rats by repeatedly pairing a rat with the loud noise. In addition to rats, Albert also became afraid of other furry things like dogs and beard men. When Watson stopped repeating the experiment after a long time, Albert stopped being afraid of rats and other furry objects. This introduced the behavioral concept of extinguishing a learned behavior.
• F. SKINNER (1904-1990) – he observed the importance of reinforcement on the frequency of a particular behavior. According to him, behaviors that are reinforced, that are rewarded in some way, are more likely to be repeated. This is a common behavior modification technique often used to encourage particular behaviors by rewarding them.
• JOSEPH WOLPE- his contributions to behavioral thought is extensive. He developed the powerful behavioral technique known as “systematic desensitization”. This technique is still used today as an effective treatment for phobias and other types of anxiety problems. In his search for a more effective way in treating anxiety he developed different reciprocal inhibition techniques which used assertiveness training. Reciprocal inhibition can be defined as anxiety being inhibited by a feeling or response that is not compatible with the feeling of anxiety.