Behavior contracting

Behavior contracting is a therapeutic technique in which an agreement is reached with a client, usually in the form of a written, signed contract. This would make clear the consequences that would follow certain identified behaviors. For example a contract might be drawn up with a child specifying their reward of a star for not bed-wetting. These agreements make clear the schedule of reinforcement being applied and in signing up to the agreement it is understood that this might motivate the client to cooperate with the program. The contract may be seen as an adjunct to a behavior modification program or a behavior therapy intervention.