Maladaptive Behaviors Theory

Students do not always choose to be successful. Sometimes they choose a maladaptive behavior. We call this misbehaving. However, the student is behaving according to a combination of their intellectual abilities and emotional needs.

Dreikurs and Cassel (1972) view misbehaving children as discouraged children trying to solve problems with faulty logic. For them school is hopeless. They feel weak and helpless and choose behaviors that most often produce failure. Each failure contributes to a feeling of pessimism and others interacting with them may treat them as weak and useless. This treatment confirms their perceptions of themselves. Continued confirmation of their perceptions perpetuates the maladaptive behavior that defeats them see maladaptive self-fulfilling cycle.

Interventions

Talk with students to help them set realistic goals, and use encouragement to help them develop positive feelings about their achievements. Doing this enables students to make wise choices and is the best antidote for the debilitating effects of a cycle of defeat. A belief in helplessness and powerlessness must be replaced by a belief in their self-efficacy. Only such a belief brings renewed faith in oneself and a sense of adventure in living. (see model or interventions chart).

Four categories of maladaptive behavior

Attention-getting behaviors result when students feel they are not having their needs met. The attention-getting behaviors provide them relief from routine, escape from responsibility, and enlarge the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Students seldom considered the costs. Their behavior seems a logical way to be a part of a group by giving them a mistaken sense of significance and belonging. Only when noticed do they feel accepted and if the teacher and/or students ignore them they may escalate the frequency, duration, or intensity of their behavior. Punishment, to make them think twice before they do it again, will give them the attention they seek. Time-out that deprives them social stimulation may increase their desire for attention when they return and require all or much of their energy to refrain from misbehaving or used to misbehave to get the needed attention.

Some teachers recognize this and provide students the attention they seek through academic activities. They find constructive worth while activities in which the student will choose to be involved. In a teacher centered classroom the teacher will involve the student by having them take attendance, collect work, pass out papers... In a student centered classroom the teacher diagnosis the student's needs and guides the student's explorations to acquire attention through their achievement rather than undeserved attention getting behaviors.

Power-seeking behaviors result when the student does not get attention and acts out of jealousy or envy to keep anyone from looking good or being in control. They seem to decide that if they can’t be number one, then no one will be. They try to prove that they can't be controlled and only they will decide what they do. An inexperienced person may try to establish superiority. That is not the best solution. As long as both parties view the situation as a win-lose situation there can be no reconciliation. The educator must refuse an emotional conflict and look for ways to de-escalate the conflict, withdraw from provocation and invite conversation for negotiation. Most students do not want an emotional conflict but if backed into a corner they will be left without an alternative. After each conflict the student has learned more about the teacher or other person’s vulnerability and how to provoke future incidents. The teacher must give and share power to support responsible behavior. In a teacher centered classroom the teacher often keeps the power and students who feel controlled may resort to power-seeking behaviors. In student centered classrooms the teacher will find ways to share and give power to the students and keeps the power only when necessary. These teachers listen to students to find their interest, their developmental levels, and what they know. Then use that information to suggest activities that meet the students needs, give students choices, and allow the students to construct meaningful knowledge. Students who desire power often have very good leadership qualities that can be enlisted beneficially.

Revenge behaviors result when the student feels they have lost control, that they have been controlled by another, and seek to punish them. By getting even or hurting them they feel satisfied for the indignity caused them. They are not out to prove themselves at all costs, but desire to discredit or hurt the person who has control no matter what it cost them. Teachers are tempted to return hurt for hurt. However, we must refuse to retaliate and increasingly destroy self-esteem, and cause other students root for the underdog, and boo the bullying teacher. A student so discouraged and desperate lacks a sense of belonging or significance. To build significance and a positive sense of belonging and reciprocity kindness, understanding, and cordiality are needed to invite the student to beong to a community. The teacher’s attitude might be: You do this to me because you know I will return hurt with help. In a child centered classroom a teacher communicates with students and avoids most revenge behaviors. In a teacher centered classroom the teachers may desire to win a power struggle and often contributes to revenge-seeking behaviors.

Display-of-inadequacy behaviors are seen in students that are physically present but withdraw from interacting with the school community, its intellectual ideas and become emotionally absent. They are content to let the educator have their way but choose passive resistance to express their dissatisfaction, discontent, defiance, or defeat. They know the educator can not force them to whole-heartedly cooperate and learn. They mistakenly believe that if they do nothing they avoid the hurt of trying to achieve what they believe is not possible and inevitable failure. Teachers may decide to let them alone since they are not causing trouble and invoke temporary measures by helping as time permits, but have no long range plan for helping students to learn how to set and achieve appropriate goals. An appropriate plan is to help students set acceptable goals, teach them necessary skills, encourage them to feel the positiveness of change, and achieve a little more each day. Care must be used in increasing requirements. Some students are fearful of the need to do a bit more each day and not being able to meet increasing demands. They see their teachers; and /or parents’ expectations as goals that are expanding faster than their growth of self-efficacy. Unconditional love gives students the ability to feel they can be loved without the need to constantly do better. (see model or interventions chart).

Inadequate behaviors are shaped by:

Over ambition: I cannot do as well as I want to.

Competition: I cannot do as well as others.

Pressure: I cannot do well when it really counts.

Failure: I just know I will fail.

Robert Sweetland's Notes ©