What is the main concept behind chaining in behavior modification?

• A. The process of ignoring undesirable behaviors
• B. Adding small behaviors together to create a larger behavior
• C. Removing reinforcement from a specific behavior
• D. Restoring a situation to improve it after misbehavior

Answer: (B)

Chaining is a behavioral modification technique that involves breaking down a complex behavior into smaller, manageable steps and then linking them together to form a complete behavior. This process allows individuals to learn new skills by mastering each component before moving on to the next. For example, teaching a child to wash their hands may include individual steps like turning on the water, wetting the hands, applying soap, scrubbing, rinsing, and drying. As each smaller behavior is learned and reinforced, it is added to the sequence, ultimately resulting in the complete task being performed independently.

In this context, the other options do not accurately describe chaining. Ignoring undesirable behaviors does not contribute to developing new, desirable behaviors; rather, it is an approach that focuses on not reinforcing negativity rather than actively teaching a positive skill. Removing reinforcement from a specific behavior may discourage that behavior but does not assist in building a new behavior through incremental steps. Restoring a situation after misbehavior is also not aligned with the chaining concept, as it focuses instead on rectifying past actions rather than constructing new behavior through a series of connected actions.