1. ABC Behavior Chains

2. Vocabulary (from last year) Review
Antecedent: What comes before a behavior.
Weather changes, actions of classmates, having a bad lunch, being sick, what the teacher says, etc.
You can’t control antecedents or change them.
Behavior: What you do. You are responsible for your own behavior.
Consequence: What happens as a result of your behavior.
positive (earn money!)
negative (lunch detention)
natural (if you run barefoot, you might step on something sharp)
imposed (if you run barefoot, I’m taking away computer privileges)
ABC Behavior Chain: Map of the antecedent, behavior, and consequence that you can use to understand your behavior and its consequences.

3. Using an ABC Behavior Chain: why?
It’s easy to explain our behavior by blaming other things– other people, our childhood, terrible rules, the weather, etc.
To be socially appropriate and successful, we should understand that our own behavior is our own responsibility.
By changing our behavior, we can change the potential consequences.
If we don’t want that consequence, we can adjust our behavior to get more (positive) consequences that we do want.
This is true for small, short-term situations and large, long-term situations.

4. ABC Behavior Chain: An example

5. Using an ABC Behavior Chain: An example
Antecedent: Another student calls you a loser
Behavior: You kick the student
Consequence: VP s mom, you get lunch detention, other think you are mean, etc.

6. Your Turn!
Fill out the ABC Behavior Chain on your paper with a real- life example that has happened to you or someone you know this year.

7. Long-term consequences
Last year, we learned how to “Change the Chain” by changing our behavior, which then changed the consequence.
We talked about short-term examples, like behaviors in school that cause consequences that only last a day or two.
Our behaviors also have long-term consequences. A
You strongly dislike math B
You refuse to do math homework in 9th grade or any make-up work C
You can’t graduate because you don’t have math credits
Long-term C
You don’t get into the college you want and have a low-paying job

8. Long-term Consequences: positive and negative
Choose one positive behavior and one negative behavior/consequence pair.
On your ISN, create a long-term behavior chain with the information. After the first consequence comes another, more serious and lasting consequence.
You have to make your own logical antecedent.
Positive:
Work hard in class every day/4.0 GPA for your college application/______________
Kind to others consistently/teacher writes a great recommendation for you and you get a scholarship/_________
Help family while at home/parents let you live with them after graduation/__________________
Negative:
Punch someone you’re mad at/assault charge, fines, jail time/_____________________
Open the car door while driving with family/fall out, seriously injured/____________________
Refuse to do any work in science/not prepared for high school science classes/____________________________