Please read section 4.2 - Self-Directed Behavior Steps
After reading the section, think of all the terms and concepts used in all of sections we have covered so far. Please respond to the following questions and try to use these terms and concepts as you respond to the following questions.
What are three things you will remember about steps of self-directed behavior? If you were to use self-directed behavior what behavior would you change?
Please work through the steps of self-directed behavior using the target would change.
What if anything would you like me to be sure and go over in class when we meet next?
Include a list of the terms and concepts you used in your post. (example - Terms: positive reinforcer, extinction, reinforcer, discriminative stimulus...)
After reading this section, the biggest thing I learned was the importance of keeping a diary and graphing your behaviors. Without doing these things, it is hard to tell what aspects of your behavioral plan need tweaked and if it is working successfully. When tracking your progress via a diary, you can easily tell the antecedents (perhaps the events that lead to breaking your target behavior pattern or even events that elicit progress in your target behavior pattern). Knowing these things can help you better understand why the behavior is occurring and helps to know what needs to be done to further progress. For example, if you realize that every time you are in the union you get a chocolate chip cookie, maybe you can alter you behaviors by going to study in the library instead. Or maybe, you realize that you tend to exercise for longer durations of time when you go with friends instead of going alone. Because of this, you adjust your schedule to be able to work out at the same time as your friends everyday to ensure that you will exercise longer.
Along with that, I learned that it is helpful to in a sense leave yourself reminders. For example, the book gives the example of putting a journal on your bed where you will have to move it in order to go to sleep. Because of this, you will be reminded to keep up your writing behavior because you are reminded. I actually do something like this a lot. If I have something I can’t forget, I will leave a sticky note or put the item I can’t forget by the door where I will see it when I leave. I also do this with homework that I need to do as well. Every night before I go to bed, I write a list of the homework that I need to work on/get done the next day and leave it on my computer and put the homework beside my computer on my desk. For the most part, this is effective, but it is sometimes easier to just move the note/books away – out of sight, out of mind right?!
This chapter also made me realize why so many resolutions are never kept. Although the self-directed behavior steps really aren’t difficult, many people do not take the time to graph their progress or journal their behaviors. Along with that, a lot of people don’t set themselves up to be reinforced when the reach little goals that in turn, reinforce their big goal (differential reinforcement of other).
If I were to implement a program like this, I would definitely choose to study more since finals are creeping up. Here are the steps I will go through:
1. Set Goal – study more
2. Define/Specify the Goal as a set of Target Behaviors – set aside an hour per day to study biopsych, limit daily facebooking time (it is a distraction!), and study in a place where there is no computer and/or t.v.
3. Keep a record – at the end of the day, I would record all of the behaviors I emitted throughout the day that I will either email/text myself if I am not able to write in my diary.
4. Graph a baseline – Before I begin reinforcing my specified target behaviors, I will graph my normal routine for a week to get a sense at where I am at.
5. Determine Contingencies – Decide what reinforcements I want (massage, etc.) and when I will get them (after a goal is reached, etc.)
6. Determine Antecedents – by tracking my behaviors, I can determine what is making and breaking my regimen.
7. Implement and adjust the contingencies – after knowing what helps and hurts my cause, I can adjust accordingly to lessen those things that hurt my cause and increase those that help.
Terms used: antecedent, target behavior, elicit, differential reinforcement of other, emitted, reinforcement, contingencies
The three things I will remember about self-directed behavior steps are:
1. All 7steps for self-directed behavior.
I learned more specific ways to do self-directed behavior in this chapter. There are 7steps from set goal to implement and adjust the contingencies. I think they are requirement to success the technique of self-directed behavior. As we use these steps, we can manage our behavior that is desirable of undesirable.
2. Target behavior has four criteria.
I already learned about target behavior, it should include certain characteristic that is specific before chapters. But, there are other characteristic of target behavior in this section. These are Precise, Manageable, Measurable, and Fit. So, we can set up the target behavior following these criteria. As we use those, it makes us easily when we decide specific target behaviors.
3. The real application of baseline
When I learn about baseline so far, I didn’t fully understand how it can apply in our behavior modification. I could understand it though this part also, it included in self-directed steps 3 and 4. Recording and drawing graph a baseline is very important part among steps. It helps us to do next time and steps.
I would like to change about my speaking English behavior. Here are the steps for changing my behavior that I want to change.
1. Set Goal – Speaking English more
2. Define/Specify the Goal as a set of Target Behaviors – set a time for conversation with my roommate(eat lunch together every day), speaking in English with my friends for 10minutes a day.
3. Keep a record – I would record all of my behaviors in my note for only this one. I will record which I emitted in every day at before going to bed.
4. Graph a baseline – As I use my record about my behavior that I want to change I can draw graph a baseline.
5. Determine Contingencies – When I achieve my daily goal I can get a time for watching movies or drams. These are a great reinforcer to me.
6. Determine Antecedents – I will reduce a time for meeting Korean friends.
7. Implement and adjust the contingencies – If I didn’t get an effective result to modify my behavior, I can adjust or redefine my goals while emitting these behaviors.
Terms; self-directed behavior, baseline, emitted, target behavior, reinforcer
After reading this section, I came to realize how much of a failure I am (Kidding). But really, I realized that it is hard to keep goals and resolutions for many people, including myself. One of the things that I will remember to achieve a goal is to set a specific target behavior. This is important because some goals may be too broad which would make the goal hard to achieve. I will also remember to keep track of my goals and use different techniques to elicit a behavior that would reinforce the behaviors used to achieve that goal. Lastly I will remember to try to use a graph as a baseline. This will help because it will display the results in a picture, rather than in words. There are numerous graphs that can be used such as a line graph, a pie chart, or a histogram. It is important to remember that the dependent measure is the thing we are measuring, and that it is located on the y-axis.
If I were to set a goal, it would be to stop sleeping in past ten. On the days I wake up before ten I find myself being more productive and less groggy. These would be the steps I would take to achieve that goal.
1. Set Goal: Stop sleeping in past ten.
2. Define/specify the goal as a set of Target Behaviors: Keep a blog of the times I wake up for a week. Keep a blogs of the time I fall asleep the night before. Another target behavior would be to try to not take a nap during the middle of the day. This way I will be more tired when I try to fall asleep at night.
3. Keep A Record: I would use a behavior diary such as what happens when I wake up and what happens before I go to sleep to act as a baseline for my goal. This way I would be able to keep track of my sleeping behaviors in order to wake up before ten.
4. Graph A Baseline: I would make a bar graph with the dependent measure being the times of me waking up during the week, and the x-axis being the days of the week. This way I would be able to see my results.
5. Determining Contingencies: I would reinforce my behavior of waking up before ten by letting myself sleep in on Saturdays. Obviously I can’t use this as continuous reinforcement because it will interfere with my goal.
6. Determine Antecedents: In order to increase the chances of me achieving my goal I would have to use an alarm clock. The alarm clock would always be right next to my bed, and the buzzer would elicit a behavior of waking up every day before ten.
7. Implement and adjust the contingencies: After knowing what time would be best for me to go to bed every night in order to wake up before ten, I would then have to adjust my life style to achieve that goal.
Terms used: target behavior, elicit, baseline, dependent measure, continuous reinforcement
Three things I’ll remember about this section are to use a proper reinforcer, use a diary to record when the behaviors are being emitted, and graph the behaviors to see the progress. I think it’s very important to record when the target behavior is being emitted because it helps you to remember how often it’s happening and also what kind of situations elicits the behavior. A behavior I would like to modify is how I spend my money; I would like to save it better.
Here are the steps:
1. Set Goal: Save more money
2. Define goal as specific target behavior: Don’t buy items that aren’t absolutely needed such as clothes or food from a restaurant
3. Keep a record: I will enter a note into my phone every time I spend money. I will record how much money was spent and what I spent it on.
4. Graph a baseline: After the first week, I will make a graph for how much money I spent each day of the week.
5. Determine the contingencies: I will use the reinforcer of going to Cold Stone after I have saved $50. As a little time goes on, I will raise the goal to $75 and then again to $100.
6. Determine the antecedents: Going to the mall and other shopping centers makes it difficult to not spend money so I will refrain from going to those places. I will also have an envelope in my nightstand to put all my tips from work into. I will only carry $15 in cash so I don’t spend too much at one time.
7. Implement and adjust: as stated earlier, I will change the amount of money that needs to be saved in order to be reinforced so that I’m not satiated by the ice cream. I may also need to adjust the amount of money I carry in my purse.
Terms: reinforcer, emitted, elicit, target behavior, contingencies, antecedents, satiated
The first thing I will obviously remember about this chapter are the steps of self directed behavior. They are:
1. Set a goal. This goal should have to do with increasing behavior so reinforcement can be used
2. define/specify the goal as a set of target behaviors. The target behaviors need to be precise, manageable, and measurable and be something we can practically fit into our lives every day.
3. Keep a record.
4. Graph a baseline
5. Determine contingencies. What is the reinforcer? When and how often to reinforce? What determines reinforcement?
6. Determine antecedents. Have reminders, different things that will be more likely to either elicit the behavior, or remind you to elicit the target behavior(s)
7. Implement and adjust the contingencies. Things won’t always work right away, so contingencies can be adjusted to better fit the self-directed behavior project.
Another thing I will remember are the details the go along with keeping a record. For starters there is a baseline performance, and that is what we do currently. It is like a starting point, and it needs to be recorded so we can better plan our target behaviors and make sure that our self-directed behavior project meets all the criteria for setting a goal. It also mentioned a behavioral diary before starting the self-directed behavior to gage what happens before and after, if there are times that work better, etc, also to help better meet the criteria under setting a goal. This diary needs to be manageable, something easy and quick and available when the behavior happens.
The last thing I will remember that surprised me was the graphing a baseline. It can be any kind of graph, but typically is a line graph. The y-axis is the dependent measure and the x-axis is typically time. I would have never thought about having an actual graph for m baseline performance.
I think I would use the self-directed behavior steps to work out more. I’ve gotten better about it this year but I still have trouble sometimes getting up and going to work out.
1. Work out at least 5 days a week.
2 Run/do elliptical 30 min 5 days a week
Do some arm exercises at least 2 days a week
Do ab work outs at least 4 days a week
3. After working out I would record the work outs I did that day. I could try different work out times and see if one is more convenient for me and then stick to that as much as I can. Also record what I am doing before I decide to skip a day.
4. I would take a week or two and see how much I worked out before I changed anything.
5. My reinforcer could be something like strawberries or raspberries or something healthy that I really like that I could only eat after working out. I would do it every day for the first couple of weeks and then on the third week try to do it every other day, and the fourth week every three days, etc.
6. Going back to #3 I would record somewhere what I am doing before I work out, when I actually get up and go, and what I am doing when I decide to skip a day.
7. After implementing my behavior I could see what is working for me, deciding a time of day to go, or if my reinforcer makes sense and helps me get to working out, and seeing if my target behaviors are specific enough.
Terms used: reinforcement, reinforcer, steps of self-directed behavior, elicit, baseline performance, behavioral diary.
The first thing and major thing of importance in this section was the 7 steps involved to analyze self-directed behavior. theses include, 1-set goal, 2-define the goals,3-keep a record,4-graph a baseline,5-determine contingencies, 6-determine the antecedents, 7- implement and adjust. everything seems pretty self explanatory except the graphing the baseline part. I am not sure how that can be completed. with many different x and y variables depending on what you pick will give you a different looking graph. besides it being a visual stimulator, i think it is basically what you make it and may not be true to reality
Another thing i will remember is how to determine contingencies. This is the part where behavioral intervention comes into play. I think it is strange that you cannot reinforce yourself during the activity. only afterwards. the only way that i can stay motivated is if i get the reward as fast as possible.
1. Set Goal – stop picking
2. Define/Specify the Goal as a set of Target Behaviors – pick 10 less hairs a day
3. Keep a record – I will keep a record of what i was feeling and what triggers caused the picking and how many i ended up picking
4. Graph a baseline -I will graph my picking rate and at what times then compare after doing a reinforcement schedule
5. Determine Contingencies – Decide what reinforcements I want
6. Determine Antecedents – i will determine from the graph what causes it and identify the situation and remove myself from that situation
7. Implement and adjust the contingencies – After knowing when i pick and am able to avoid the urge i will then reward myself and hopefully be able to see the change in behavior
terms:self-directed behavior, baseline, emitted, target behavior, reinforcer
Now that we have covered the many different concepts involved in modifying behaviors, we can get into actually going about changing behaviors in ourselves. This is referred to as self-directed behavior modification. If the seven steps are implemented properly then we should be able to focus on a target behavior within ourselves and make desired changes.
The first thing I will remember from reading this section are the seven steps that may be involved while modifying behaviors. Step 1= Set the Goal; Step 2= Define target behaviors, Step 3=Keep records of behaviors, Step 4=Graph a baseline, Step 5=Determine contingencies, Step 6=Determine the antecedents, Finally Step 7=Implement and adjust contingencies. Now that I know the behaviors I can try out the modification for myself.
The next thing I will take with me from the section is the example I used for my own behavior modification. I choose to increase my studying behaviors. It would help to keep a chart of hours I have studied and a planner of exactly what times I plan on studying. Also increase the amount of time I spend in the library to decrease distraction.
The final thing to remember is that all target behaviors must be measurable, manageable, and practical. When setting up a technique for modification it would be pointless to set goals that are not accomplishable. A person wouldnt want to set a goal to become a doctor tomorrow because that is just obviously not a "practical" plan. They need to break that big goal down into smaller behaviors and work their way to the final goal.
Terms: Self-Directed, target behavior, contingencies, antecedents, baseline, practical, manageable, measurable.
1.The overall goal I would like to set myself up to achieve is to study more for my classes.
2.Some target behaviors I will use to suceed at this goal include: Study for at least one hour every night; only go out 1 week night per week; and only watch one hour of television a night.
3.To keep track of our baseline performance, I will write a specific time to sit down and study in my planner every night and keep a long of every hour I am studying.
6. Graphing this may be hard, but I could either make a graph of the hours I have been studying and what time of day it occured, or a graph of the grades I recieve on exams to reinforce my behavior.
5. A contingency I would like to set up for myself to reinforce my studying behavior, is after every hour of studying I get to watch a half hour of television (I love my reality tv shows!)
6. As an antecedent to my studying behavior I think it would work to go to the library after my last class each day to force myself to sit down and study and not have the distraction at home.
7. Finally I will be sure to keep up with all the steps to reach my goal and suceed at study more for my classes.
After reading section 4.2, my knowledge on self-directed behaviors has expanded. Specifically, the six step routine to self-direct behavior. I learned that the initial goal can be broad, and the target behaviors should be more specific. I would have never thought of keeping a graph as a behavioral diary. Without specific observation of a behavior, it is easy to forget, or not know at all why the goal failed to be achieved. This section also emphasized the importance of determining the antecedent that elicits the target behavior.
If I were to initiate the six step process on myself, I would use it to increase my getting-fit behavior.
1. Set your goal: Lose weight
2. Define your target behaviors: Go for a one mile run every other night, stop eating out, replace frozen pizzas with frozen vegetables, suck it up and drink light beer
3. Keep records: When it is time for lunch or dinner, I need to note my thought processes when deciding what I want to eat
4. Graph a baseline: My y axis can be calorie count per day. The x axis can be used for every day of the week
5. Determine contingencies: With the money I save from not eating out or buying beer, I can take a road trip once a month to see a concert or something similiar.
6. Determine antecedents: Sell my Pizza Pizazz, don't keep beer in the fridge, make big healthy meals for convenient leftovers.
In theory, my plan would work perfectly. It might be helpful to go over steps 3 and 4 in class. I think it would be easy to not know what to look for when recording your own behavior.
Terms: contingency, self-directed, target behavior, antecedent, elicit, baseline
First I will remember the importance that a behavior is specific. When I first starting filling in my target behaviors in the example boxes I was using very broad behaviors. I enjoyed that the steps helped to look at every aspect of a behavior and forced me to think more specifically about which behavior to target. Second, I will recall the power of the antecedent. Simply changing an environment can have a dramatic effect on the behavior. This also plays into the fact we really need to have a specific behavior so we can know of the antecedent in which we want to change our behavior. Knowing the context in which our specific target behaviors take place can help us to modify our behaviors. Let’s say we wanted to stop drinking, but every Thursday at Carlos o kelley’s we had to have a drink. We would then know that that context would be one we need to change in order to change our behavior because that discriminate environment elicits strong responses from us. Third, I will recall the importance of recording your behaviors. I think this is great technique. When wanting to cut back on snacking, I made a list of all the snacks I ate, when and where and how much. I was amazed at how many snacks I I was eating. Keeping a record of your behaviors helps us to have a form of data we need to fix. It may even give us numbers we then need to decrease. All of the above things really help us to key in on a behavior from many different angles.
If I were to change a behavior through self-direction, I would change my snacking habits. Because it would need to be more specific than this I might say that I would want to change the snacks I ate while studying in my room.
1. Set Goal – Stop eating snacks while studying in my room
2. Define/Specify the Goal as a set of Target Behaviors – No eating in my room at any time
3. Keep a record – I would record my eating behaviors throughout the day, and then find set times in which I should sit down and eat meals (not in my room) each day. I need to decrease the habit of eating in my room all together.
4. Graph a baseline – I will graph my normal routine for a week. I would see when and where I ate and at what times. This can give me an idea of my normal schedule, so I can them implement what needs to be changed. This will also be used to later compare things to the progress I am making.
5. Determine Contingencies – When I don’t snack at night for a whole week I will reinforce myself by getting my nails done that weekend.
6. Determine Antecedents – In order to increase the behavior of not snacking I plan on getting rid of many of the snack foods in my house, only eating in the kitchen and not in my room, and also setting aside specific time for my important meals of the day.
7. Implement and adjust the contingencies – I would implement the changes of buying less snacks, and stopping eating in my room all together
Terms used: discriminate, self-directed behavior, reinforce, elicits, antecedent, response, context, behavior, target behavior
1. Defining and specifying the goal as a set of target behaviors. I have learned more and more in this class that identifying a behavior is not enough to be able to work at it and change it. One must specifically identify the target behavior or behaviors in order to be successful at modifying his or her behaviors.
2. Keeping a record. I found this part interesting because I did not think that keeping a behavioral diary for every behavior modification would be beneficial. After reading this I realize that keeping track of your progress is always a good idea and it can sometimes even serve as a small reinforcement on its own.
3. Determining the antecedents. This stuck out to me because I feel that I have never completed this step effectively when trying to modify certain aspects of my behavior. I always set a goal and tell myself what I am going to do to achieve it, but I do not set myself up to elict the particular behavior. This is a very powerful part of modifying behavior and therefore I will apply it to my modifications from now on.
If I were to use self-directed behavior I would try to allow more time for studying.
1. Set Goal: Study more
2. Define/Specify the goal as a set of target behaviors: reading my school books more often, not put studying off until the last minute, putting more time/effort into my studies
3. Keep a Record: I will document when I study and how long I studied for each subject/class I am taking that requires me to study on a regular basis, this includes reading textbooks, filling out study guides, doing worksheets, and working on projects/papers.
4. Graph a Baseline: I will graph the amount of time I have studied based on what I have documented in my journal/record of study time.
5. Determine Contingencies: I will positively reinforce myself by going on a small shopping spree (40$ or less) after every three A’s earned on papers, tests, or projects.
6. Determine Antecedents: I will clean off my desk and make it more of study friendly place, find out what environments I work best in, allow myself plenty of time to engage in my studies.
7. Implement and Adjust the Contingencies: After knowing what environments I work best in I will put myself in those types of environments more regularly and build a schedule to allow myself the most time to study.
(Terms: target behaviors, behavior, modify, behavioral diary, reinforcement, antecendent, elicit, self-directed behavior, positive reinforcement.)
Three things I will remember from this chapter are:
1. Always try to base my goals on increasing desirable behaviors rather than decreasing undesirable behaviors.
2. When noting behaviors in a journal always try to document antecedents and what occurred before and after the behavior, also try to record the behaviors as soon as they occur.
3. Adjusting the reinforcer may be necessary to find the right self-management project, along with other things.
If I was to change behavior through self-direction, it would be to work out more frequently.
1. Goal- Lift weights more frequently, hence getting in better physical shape.
2. Target behaviors- Lift at least three times a week, for over an hour each time. Hit a target area each different time I lift, such as arms, chest, shoulders, legs.
3. Record- I would keep a record of how many times/how long I lift a week, and also how much my lifts increase in weight on a weekly basis.
4. Graph- pretty much goes along with what I record, time could be the days of the week, and I would show how often I lifted/for how long by the Y axis.
5. Contingencies- Just feeling physically accomplished is enough of a reinforcer to get back in the gym, but, I would also allow myself to go to 23rd street market after each workout to get a good drink.
6. Antecedents- Open up times in my schedule specifically for lifting, get a lifting plan that has strict guidelines, involve a friend for dual motivation.
7. Implement and adjust contingencies- I guess we'll see what happens as it comes along. I may have to lower the times I go to 23rd street per week, etc.
terms- contingencies, reinforcer, self-direction, antecedent, target behavior, desirable/undesirable behavior
Reading Section 4.2, I have learned that creating the steps to achieve your goal is very important because it breaks it down in components rather goal = result. An important thing to remember is when wanted to use reinforcement try increasing the desirable behavior, not so much decreasing undesirable behavior. Another thing is you have to have a specific target behavior, and make sure you know exact behavior of your target behavior not in a vague sense, but actual observable behavior.
1. Set Goal: Save half of my pay-check every time I get payed which is every two weeks.
2. Define/specify the goal as a set of Target Behaviors: Go the bank and withdraw half of my paycheck in cash and that’s how much money I can spend in a 2 week period. And I will give my debit card to my sister so she can hide it from me.
3. Keep A Record: I could keep a diary every time I spend money, so I can keep track of how much am I spending on what items, and I would do this every night to make sure it’s up to date.
4. Graph A Baseline: I would make a line graph, put the days of the week on the independent variable (on the bottom) and the amount of money on a dependent variable (vertical line). I would have 5, 10, 15, 20 dollars and so on. The line graph will help me see my peak days of spending.
5. Determining Contingencies: I want to reinforce myself for saving half of my paycheck every two weeks. I would reinforce myself by attending my friend’s social gatherings and staying up longer with my friends during weekends, so I would increase my behavior of saving money.
6. Determine Antecedents: I would have to use a journal and like in the book, put it somewhere where I would make sure to fill it out each day no matter what. So seeing the journal would elicit the behavior of writing down my spending for that day, which is going to be easier to keep track of the money I am spending.
7. Implement and adjust the contingencies: When there is an event and I have to spend more money, like a concert, then I have to adjust my spending patterns and include that’s why I had to spend more than usual, so I have to adjust to changes.
Terms used: elicit, target behavior, antecedent, reinforcement
Three things I will remember about self-directed behavior are:
1. There are six steps involved in changing a behavior (set a goal, define/specify goal as a set of target behaviors, keep a record, graph a baseline, determine contingencies, determine antecedents).
2. It's important to adjust the contingencies. Many people give up when they can't reach their goal. If they tried adjusting it so that it was more manageable they would see some progress.
3. It's important to record a behavior immediately after it occurs. This helps with memory problems.
Something I would like to change about my behavior is the amount of milk I drink. I know this seems strange to some people, but I really hate drinking milk; however, I know that it is important for my health.
1. Set Goal - Drink more milk.
2. Define/Specify Goal as Set of Target Behaviors - I will drink at least two glasses of one percent milk everyday. Each glass should contain at least 1.5 cups of milk.
3. Keep a Record - I will keep a notepad and pencil next to the refrigerator, because that is where the milk is stored. It will allow me to immediately record whether or not I drank the milk. It will also serve as a reminder that I want to drink more milk.
4. Graph a Baseline - I would make a bar graph. The dependent variable (y-axis) would be number of glasses of milk I drink and the x-axis would be the days of the week.
5. Determine Contingencies - For every glass of milk that I drink, I will get a Hershey's Hug. Since I love this type of chocolate, it will be a powerful reinforcer.
6. Determine Antecedents - Drinking milk is undesirable to me, so I may have to be creative. I could buy some hot chocolate mix to make the milk have a more desirable taste.
7. Implement and Adjust Contingencies - If I really am not enjoying the milk, I may have to have more than one Hershey's Hug for every glass I drink.
Terms: self-directed behavior, target behavior, antecedents, reinforcer, undesirable
The three things I will remember from section 4.2 is that: 1) That it is esential to to be specific about what the target behavior is. 2)It is necessairy to break down the goal into more manageable components by looking at exact behaviors. 3)It is better to reinforce than punish that is why is important to fiqure out altenative behaviors.
My goal would like to procrastinate less so I could put more effort into assignments.
1.Set goal: Not to procrastinate, complete project a day before it is due instead of an hour before it is due.
2. Specify target behavior: When assignment is given, devise a schedule to have completed assignment done a day ahead of time
3. I will actually use my planner and write down deadlines and what exactly needs to be completed at an exact time
4. Baseline: I would write down the time distribution of a project to observe how I spend my time on a project.
5. Determine contengincies: For every project that I complete a day before the deadline I will be able to watch 1 DVD since I don't have much leisure time this would be very reinforcing
6. Determine Antecedents: I could remind myself that instead of spending a week dreading a project that if I break it up into small pieces and get it done right away that I wont be stressed and will ultimately have more leisure time at the end of the week.
7. Implement/Adjust contingencies: Since I absoultely hate writing papers, I will have to make sure that I figure out how much time to spend on it per day and adjust it though trial and error.
Terms: Target behavior, antecidents, contingecincies
Well, its about time I catch up with these blogs, I believe that starting where I left off is a good idea.
The first thing that I will remember about this section is the fact that it takes so much to self-direct a behavior change. In fact, there is seven steps involved when doing it. The second thing that will stay with me is the fact that you need a very specific and to the point target behavior. Without this specificity, the behavior modification goal will be in jeopardy from the get go. Lastly I will remember that recording the progress of the attempted behavior change will elicit better dedication to the acievement of the goal.
The behavior I am going to use in this blog is one that I have used in a previous blog: hair pulling.
Step 1(Set Goal): stop pulling hair
Step 2(Define Target Behavior): to decrease the amount of hair pulled each day by 5 hairs
Step 3(Keep a Record): I would have to mark down in my planner whenever I pull a hair. Tally it up sort of.
Step 4(Graph a Baseline): I would use a line graph to show how many hairs I pull a day. Hairs Pulled vs. Time(In days)
Step 5(Determine Contingencies): I would reinforce myself for gradually decreasing in number of hairs each day by going to dollar a slice night at Old Chicago. If I was successful the previous week, I would be able to go enjoy good pizza one night a week.
Step 6(Determine Antecedents): If the hairs on my neck/chin are long enough to pull, I need to shave immediately. My fingernails too will reach a length that maximizes hair pulling behaviors. Also if my hands have nothing to do, I know to find something to do to keep them busy.
Step 7(Implement/Adjust the Contingencies): After beginning this strategy, I may have to change my reinforcer to something that can happen more often, such as Life cereal. Its my favorite and it would be quite pleasing and a great reinforcer to be able to have a bowl every night.
Now that I've started the last few blogs, I can finish them. More to come.
Terms Used: reinforcer, reinforcement, reinforce, elicit
Three things that I will remember from this section are:
1. When setting a goal be sure to make it a specific behavior rather than a behavioral class. Also make it something that can be reinforced rather than punished. Then break the goal into specific target behaviors that are precise, manageable, and can fit into your life easily.
2. Keep a behavioral diary by recording the behavior as soon as it is emitted. Note the events that elicit the behavior so that you are able to determine what situations set the occasion for the goal. Graph the behaviors emitted in order to determine a baseline.
3. Select effective reinforcers and be willing to adjust them as needed.
If I were to use self-directed behavior the behavior that I would choose to change is running more often.
Step 1: set your goal -- Running more often.
Step 2: Define your target behaviors based on your goal -- Run at least 3 times a week. Run for at least 3 hours a week with a maximum of 10 minutes walking each time. Move at a pace faster than walking that causes an increase in heart rate.
Step 3: Keep records of the behaviors you are going to change using a behavioral diary -- I will write down how long I exercised at a pace faster than walking with an increase in heart rate. I will also record how long I walked at each time. I will also record my heart rate before and after my run.
Step 4: Graph a baseline using a spread sheet or by hand. The y-axis (vertical) is for the dependent measure and the x-axis (horizontal) typically represents time.
Step 5: Determine contingencies such as effective reinforcers, how and when will they be delivered -- I will use a candy bar as a reinforcer, and will be reinforced every Sunday provided that my target behaviors are accomplished.
Step 6: Determine the antecedents that will help elicit the desired behaviors -- Antecedents include, free time, temperature outside, availability of treadmill in WRC.
Step 7: Implement and adjust the contingencies.
Terms used: Contingencies, antecedents, elicit, behavior, reinforcer, baseline, behavioral diary, target behavior, goal, self-directed behavior, emitted, behavioral class, reinforced, punished.
The Three things I will remember about this section is that you must make the reinforcer relevant to the target behavior. Such as for every A you get to take one night off of studying. You must keep a diary so that you are able to look back at the antecedents and the consequences surrounding the target behavior and see what is causing you to emit the behavior. Third you must graph the behavior to see the progress. We tend to be very visual so seeing the progress in the graph format will be more reinforcing and therefore more productive. If I were going to use self directed behavior I would want to study more. This is slightly broad but I want to work through it.
#1 Set Goal: My goal is to study more
#2 Define Goal: Read through notes after class and read assigned readings.
#3 Keep Record: I will keep a diary in my phone of everytime I do a reading or read over notes.
#4 Graph a Baseline:I would graph how many readings I had vs how many hours I spent reading each week.
#5 Determine Contingencies: I will get to watch one hour of tv for every 2 hours I read.
#6 Determine Antecedents: I will keep notes and a book in my bag at work and in class incase I have some extra time my reading will be accessable.
#7 Implement and adjust the contingencies: I may have to adjust my reinforcer because I may not have enough time to read and watch tv.
Terms: Implement, reinforce, reinforcer, emit, contingencies, antecedents, consequences, target behavior.
Reading this section has really instilled the need for keeping an accurate record and following measures in order with me. Not only does this benefit me in understanding the steps needed to change a behavior, but also has to do with the behavior i wanted to change. The one behavior that is most important to change for me would be studying in a broad sense. To break it down to be more defined, I understand that i need to be very concise in what I want. I want to set aside a day for each of my classes. More than that i want to set aside 30 mins on a specific day for each class where i spend time either reviewing old material or advancing further into the material if I feel comfortable moving on. To do this I need to control my antecedents and environment. So in the context of time, location, lighting, and organization of my material, i will increase my study habits by 30 mins for each topic on a set day in which i will read or review new material in my downstairs office, where it is well lit, kind of cool, and the chair demands an upright posture, so that i dont become un-attentive to my tasks at hand. The time frame for me to do this will be 9-10 pm regular material and then 10-10:30 pm new material or review. After this I will be able to reinforce myself with a block of game time from 10:30 pm to 12a.m and still have enough time to get 7 hours of sleep before my next day.
step 1 goal: study more
step 2 define goal: increase study by 30 mins each day
step 3 keep record: I will keep track of my habits on excel each evening after completion.
step 4 graph baseline: form graph to see which days I keep up on my goal and if i spent the full amount of time
step 5 determine Contingencies: If I get this done I will increase my base knowledge and preparedness, along with being reinforced by a little over an hour a day of vids
step 6 Determine Antecedents: set up a shelf that has my material readily available to access in my office, where it is well lit and cool to keep awareness up
step 7: Adjustments: is it too late for studying, do i need additional study time depending on course load
terms reinforce, contingecy, baseline, record, antecedents