Implementation of the Good Behavior Game in Classrooms for Children with Delinquent Behavior

Abstract

The good behavior game (GBG) is an interdependent group contingency procedure designed to reduce disruptive behavior in classroom settings. In the GBG, a class is divided into groups, simple rules are made, and contingencies are placed on the students’ rule-following behavior. This procedure has been proven effective across various student ages, and its simplicity and long-term effects have contributed to its popularity in school settings. Although it has been systematically evaluated across a wide range of student ages, research on the GBG is lacking in the area of population- and setting-specific assessments. In this evaluation, the GBG was implemented in three classrooms (student ages 7-12) at a school for children with severe problem behavior; in particular, these students had already displayed behavior that might be described as “delinquent” or “predelinquent.” Disruptive behavior substantially decreased across all three classrooms as a result of the intervention. This application extends the current literature by systematically replicating the results of the GBG with a different population. Implementation of the GBG, population-specific obstacles, results, and future directions are discussed.