Intermittent/Variable ratio reinforcement[1]. I use a form of it in my house, to good effect. Consistent positive behavior (with schoolwork, chores, etc) gets

Intermittent/Variable ratio reinforcement[1]. I use a form of it in my house, to good effect. Consistent positive behavior (with schoolwork, chores, etc) gets intermittently rewarded. Negative behavior resets any potential reward. But it's all implicit, with no attempt to threaten or coerce using rewards. The only exception being if they've already been told of a reward but significant negative behavior occurs before receiving the reward, in which case I explain why the reward was being rescinded. But there's no attempt to coerce them to stop the negative behavior by dangling the impending reward, because by the time I tell them that then it's a fact I hold firm to and not just an option/possibility. It's just something I started doing without realizing it, and my daughter picked up on. When my girlfriend and her kids moved in, they didn't pick up on it as naturally as my daughter did. But at some point my daughter told them how I worked. And once she did, it became really effective for them too, and the attempts to barter with me when I'd ask them to do things like clearing the table slowly ended. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement