Student behavior in classrooms is a major challenge for educators. Notwithstanding the reasons behind student misbehavior, teachers and administrators continually seek to improve student behavior using positive behavioral incentives; yet, research concerning the effectiveness of external stimuli used in incentives and the determination of the most successful incentives has been limited. The purpose of this qualitative interpretive phenomenological study was to explore teachers' experiences with positive behavioral incentives for third-grade male students in a rural elementary school in the Southeastern United States. The research participants were teachers with at least 2 years of experience teaching third grade. Skinner's (1936) behaviorism served as the theoretical framework for this study. According to Skinner, behaviorism reinforcements increase the frequency of desired behaviors, although punishments reduce the frequency of undesired behaviors. The theory constructs of reinforcement and punishment were used to frame the research questions. This study explored several incentives that use reinforcements and punishments and documented teacher experiences with third-grade males. The study found that although reinforcements elicit successful behavioral responses, consequences or punishments alone cannot bring about desired behaviors in third-grade males. The implications of these findings are a critical reference for educators in promoting positive learning environments and successful classroom management. The goal of this study was to provide thick, rich, and descriptive data concerning behavioral incentives that should also help future research. More research is needed to determine whether different ethnic groups or genders respond similarly to the same behavioral incentives. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]