Behaviour Interventions: Getting Out of the Criticism Trap

Ms. Lang saw Clark out of his desk again and said, “Clark, you must sit in your seat and do your work.”  Five minutes later, “Clark, in your seat.  How much work have you done?”
-A teacher caught in the trap!

What is the Criticism Trap, and how does a teacher get out of it? During a search online I found a simple definition of The Criticism Trap; “An increase in the frequency of a negative behavior that often follows the use of criticism, reinforcing the behavior it is intended to punish” (Lahey, 2002). Essentially what happens within The Criticism Trap is a cycle of negative reinforcement, that does not cause an unwanted behaviour to decrease, but in effect causes it to increase or escalate.  Corcos (2003) used the example of nagging to illustrate the trap.  Nagging, or only pointing out the behaviours that are unwanted, does not reduce or redirect behaviours but causes the behaviour to need stronger nagging to be changed.  The simple example of cleaning the dishes was used; at first the child was asked and then asked again until the task was complete, over time the asking turned into lengthier nagging sessions before the child completed the task.  The nagging was acting as a negative reinforcer.  To change this, and get out of the trap Corcos (2003) and others suggest not focusing on the unwanted behaviour and giving praise for wanted behaviours and investing energy on noticing and commenting on these behaviours.

On a daily basis in order to remove oneself from the trap and/or not become caught in the trap there is a classroom management strategy called “catch’m being good” which shifts the teachers focus from unwanted behaviours to wanted behaviours and offers praise for desired actions.  This strategy, like others that look at the positive actions of students, is part of staying out of the trap.  Consider how to say out of the trap and build a “… positive climate [for] the classroom” (Corcos, 2003, p.239).


Check Out These Helpful Sites!

Positive Feedback and Ratio of Interactions
Link:http://www.safeandcivilschools.com/research/references/positive-feedback-ratio-of-interactions.php

This site discusses positive feedback and although The Criticism Trap is only mentioned once, the site provided some information about staying out of the trap.

From the site: "Dr. Becker called this phenomenon the Criticism Trap because, although the teachers thought they were doing something effective (for example, reprimanding or issuing a consequence for an inappropriate behavior), the students who were starved for attention were getting out of their seats, at least in part, to get their teachers to look at them and talk to them. The students' need for attention was satisfied when their teachers told them to get back in their seats—which they typically did, at least initially. This, of course, tended to reinforce the nagging on the part of the teacher because the students usually sat down when asked to do so. But before long the students would realize, consciously or unconsciously, that they were not getting attention when they were doing what the teachers wanted, so they would get out of their seats again. The teachers would reprimand again, giving the desired attention, and the students were again reinforced for getting out of their seats. Although these studies were done at elementary level, the phenomenon can continue into secondary level" (Becker & Englemann, 1971). [pg. 157]”


Understanding Special Education
Link: http://understandingspecialeducation.blogspot.com/2010/10/cycle-of-criticism.html

In this blog post the author has presented, what is called The Cycle of Criticism from Unit 9 in the book Teaching: A Course in Psychology.  Although the book was published in 1971 the information provided is useful today and links with The Criticism Trap.  The author has put together a simple to read article with bulleted points, first about the trap and then how to get out of the trap, along with multiple examples.

From the site: 

• “Provide signals or reminders to praise more
  
• The misbehavior of one child signals you to praise another child behaving well
  
• Take your attention off the misbehavior
  
• Prompts the misbehaving child to what he should do
  
• Given tokens to prompt praise
  
• If you know you need to give tokens with the praise you may be more likely to give both
  
• Put up signs to remind yourself to praise”
  

 

Classroom Management: Avoiding the Criticism Trap
Link: http://www.aps.edu/human-resources/substitute-services/current-substitutes/july-2006-substitute-newsletter.htm

The article on this site has a short and simple description of The Criticism Trap and I have included it here because it was the most compact resource and found.  As well under the article a list of recommended books were listed.

From the site: “The cure for this malady is simple, yet it takes some conscience effort and practice to become second nature. To successfully avoid the criticism trap one must think before he or she speaks and convey positive messages as often as possible. In the classroom, reinforcing appropriate behavior, even if it is in other students, will be more effective in changing inappropriate behavior than criticizing a student who is acting out.”


References

Corcos, E. (2003). Teaching children and adolescents with behavioral difficulties: as educational approach.  Toronto: Tigress Publications.

Lahey, B. B. (2002). Essentials of psychology. Retrieved May 03, 2015 from
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/007243404x/student_view0/chapter5/glossary.html