How Behaviors are Learned: The ABC Model

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We can understand why challenging behaviors happen and how to change them through the ABC model.

A is for Antecedent (Trigger)
B is for Behavior (Action)
C is for Consequence (What happens right after the behavior)

The main idea behind this model is that many behaviors we do are what we call learned behaviors. However, when we say that behaviors are learned, we don’t mean that you purposely taught your child to throw a tantrum. Rather, tantrums usually happen because of what happened right before or right after the tantrum, and children might learn from that without even realizing it.

For example, think about a common situation that many caregivers have found themselves in. You are getting your child ready to leave for something they would rather not do, or maybe something that makes them anxious. This could be something like leaving for school, a family gathering, or something else. When you let your child know it is time to start getting ready, they respond by yelling, arguing, and telling you they do not want to go. You initially try to reason with your child, but then you find yourself saying they can leave in ten or twenty minutes, or maybe that they can skip the activity that day. You then feel a sense of relief as your child is no longer yelling or arguing.

The A in the ABC model stands for antecedent. Antecedent is a technical term for what happens right before a behavior occurs. Antecedents can be thought of as triggers for behaviors. They can be anything from events (like instructions; someone playing loud music; changing the schedule for the day), people (like dad helping with bedtime instead of mom; grandpa picking up the child from school instead of mom), or objects (like a plate of broccoli being placed on the table; serving meals on a blue plate instead of a green plate). Going back to our example from earlier involving your child getting ready to leave the house, the antecedent to your child yelling, arguing, and saying they don’t want to go might be you telling your child it is time to start getting ready to leave the house.

The B in the ABC model stands for behavior, which is what someone does after the antecedent. Examples of challenging behavior could include a child hitting their sibling, throwing themselves on the floor and screaming, or interrupting a caregiver who is talking on the phone by yelling. When we describe a child’s behavior, it is important to be specific. For instance, instead of saying that a child is “having a meltdown”, you could say that a child “screams and throws his body to the ground.” Getting specific helps us know whether changes that were made to address a behavior have been helpful. In the example above, the behavior would be your child yelling, arguing, and saying they don’t want to go.

The C in the ABC model stands for consequence. Consequences are what happens right after a behavior. Sometimes, when challenging behaviors keep happening over and over, it can be because of the associated consequence. Going back to our example earlier about leaving home, the consequence for your child’s behavior is that they got to stay home longer. Once again, you might feel relief in the moment, but how might your response create future problems?

You’re exactly right! Your child is likely going to do these same behaviors the next time you tell them to get ready to leave the house.

Let’s put this all together by taking a look at our example with Neil. In the chart below, we have used the ABC model to learn more about Neil’s behaviors.