Host: How can parents determine what enforces or discourages a behavior? Peggy Halliday: Behavior that is reinforced continues and behavior that is not reinforced goes away. So, one way to find out whether we are reinforcing a behavior is, is that behavior continuing. Sometimes, we may be reinforcing behaviors inadvertently; we don t even know where we are reinforcing them. But if a behavior is increasing or continuing there is something that we are doing that s reinforcing that behavior.