Please read the chapter assigned for this week.
(Reading Schedule: http://www.uni.edu/~maclino/hybrid/bm_book_s11.pdf)
After reading the chapter, please respond to the following questions:
Of the various aspects of Behavior Modification presented in the chapter, which did you find the most interesting? Why? Which did you find least interesting? Why? What are three things you read about in the chapter that you think will be the most useful for you in understanding Behavior Modification? Why? What are some topics in earlier chapters that relate or fit in with this chapter? How so?
Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.
Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.
Let me know if you have any questions.
--Dr. M
After reading the sections for behavior modification I found the most interesting aspect to be the topic of self-directed behavior. Self-directed behavior occurs when we exert our free will to choose a behavior that we want to increase or decrease. I at first figured that self-directed behavior would be a hard thing to do and that most people are not motivated to do it. However, I learned that its easier for us sometimes to accomplish a behavior change when we have the free will to set our own goals and create our own behavior interventions. By doing this we can set goals that we feel we can achieve more and have more motivation to achieve. I really didn’t find any information in these sections that I found uninteresting; I felt that all this information was important to understanding self-directed behaviors.
The 3 pieces of information I feel were the most important were 3 aspects that dealt with self-directed steps. I feel that creating your goal and knowing what to set as your goal is quite important. You need to set a goal that isn’t so broad and you need to narrow your goal down. If you make it too broad you could easily fail and change your goal. If you make it more precise you will know what you want to achieve. Another aspect that is important is defining the target behaviors you want to change with your goal. You need to make sure that your target behaviors are precise, manageable, measurable, and fit within your daily life. The last piece of information I found important the importance of determining contingencies. We need to either decide if we want to use a reinforcement action or punishment action. Then we need to decide the reinforcement or punishment you want to use. You need to consider this carefully and don’t pick something that can affect you in another way. Like eating something, because then you may get fat and want to change a behavior to losing weight. This section relates to other sections in that it talks about how reinforcements and punishments can be used in self-directed behaviors. Also this section relates to the past section about target behaviors and how we need to know how to pick out good target behaviors.
Terms: self-directed behavior; reinforcement; punishment; target behaviors
I also found this very interesting and I also see this as self teaching or self learning!
What I thought was most interesting in the sections that I just read would have to be the self-directed behavior, which is pretty much what the two sections that we read this for this week are about. I just think that it is interesting on how to go about changing your own behavior that you may think you can’t change. There are several steps (6) that will help you self-direct your own behavior. I didn’t really think there was anything in the two sections that weren’t interesting or least interesting. I actually really enjoyed these sections. This would have to be one of my favorite sections to read.
There are several things that were in these two sections that are useful in understanding behavior modification. One would have to be the difference between self-directed behavior and other-directed behavior. Other-directed behavior is used when in a classroom and a teacher is reinforcing behaviors and has the control of the behaviors of the students, where they will punish or reinforce the behavior they want to see or don’t want to see. In self-directed it is just that. You are in control of the punishments and reinforcements for what you want to change about yourself. You will usually change that behavior based on the four reasons to change your behavior and that is 1. They both you the individual and 2. They bother others. Those are the two most common out of the four reasons. In self-directed you choose the behavior you want to increase or decrease. Another thing out of the chapters was that you have to have a specific target behavior to change in self-directed. You really won’t increase or decrease a behavior as successfully if it is vague and unmanageable, i.e. get better grades. This is way too vague to be successful. The next thing that was useful in the chapters was the six steps to being successful in changing the target behavior. The first step is to Set the Goal. You have to have the target behavior in mind that is reasonable and manageable to do, and that isn’t too vague. While reading this section I thought about what my goal is, and yes it is sort of vague. I would like to loss a certain amount of weight before I graduate. I have a goal set in my mind and I believe that it is pretty manageable. The second is Define/specify the goal as a set target behavior, and within this there are four things that must be considered and they are precise, manageable, measureable, and fit within the practical scope of our daily lives. For my goal I told myself that I wanted to go to the gym every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and once during the weekend. I set this because usually on Mondays I work (which I said I could go after if I really wanted) and Fridays the gym closes early and I work until 9 and the weekends are when I put in a lot of my hours at work so I wouldn’t have time only on Sundays so I go then. The third is to keep record. This is setting a baseline and keeping a diary to make sure that you are actually increase/decreasing that behavior. If you write it down you are keeping better track of what you are doing. I keep track by tallying the times I go to the gym in my planner and when I went and what I did when I was there. The fourth is Graph the baseline. Before I was in bmod I didn’t know this step so I haven’t done it from the beginning but I am going back and looking at the times I went and seeing if I have increase my time going to the gym, and I have. You have to have a measureable way of keeping track and being able to see the progress. The fifth is determine contingencies. This is when and how often to reinforce. The sixth step is determine antecedents. I put my clothes on my bed with my shoes to remind me to go the gym before I can sit on my bed. I can easily move them but they are a reminder of what I really want to do. So I change and go to the gym. Antecedents are a powerful thing if used right. There is a seventh step and that is implement and adjust the contingencies. You can always go back and change so it is better for you to do. My original was to go to the gym every day! I wasn’t able to go and I felt like I was letting myself down, and at first I didn’t ever go because if I couldn’t go every day I didn’t want to go. Soon I adjusted so it was go on my days off (TWTH and Sunday). That was easy to do and now I go for 30 minutes on Friday and Monday before work so then I still have some time to get ready and I am working myself up to going everyday but I had to adjust what was manageable to me before I could get up to what I originally wanted to do.
This was one of my favorite sections to read because I could easily relate to it and know that the behavior that I wanted to change is being done correctly!
Something else we learned about this week that I thought was interesting was about the Premack Principle. This is basically stating that the higher frequency bahavior will reinforce a lower frequency behavior, and the behaviors can function as reinforcers. It says that you can do the low desire bahavior before the high desire behavior. This is used instead of keeping a reinforcer on you such as candy to reinforce a behavior. There are some pros and cons to this and one pro is what I just mentioned is that you don't have to carry anything with you, and this principle works! The cons to this is that you need to identify hiearchy and that it is different for each individual. You must to the lowest before you can move up to the next desirable thing. I thought it was an interesting principle!
I was interested in the use of behavior modification to accomplish personal goals or resolutions. I think when people think of behaviorism, they tend to picture a rat in a box, but this is something behavioral that can be applied to one's everyday life. I was less interested in the part about defining specific goals, since we've been over it before in this class.
Three useful things from these readings are 1) the self-directed behavior modification steps, 2) the antecedents, and 3) the idea to keep a diary and graph a baseline for the behavior. The first will be useful because having a clear and defined process helps avoid confusion, and gives me direct ways to influence the process. Of these three, I think the second will be the most useful to me. I tend to underestimate the importance of antecedents in eliciting behaviors, focusing instead on the contingencies of reinforcement and punishment at the other end of the ABC spectrum. The third idea will be useful practically more than conceptually, but it allows for an accurate assessment of whether or not my target behavior is increasing.
One topic that relates to this week's readings (and to my self-directed behavior modification project in particular) is section 2.4's discussion about extinction. Depending on the target behavior, extinction can be the goal or the enemy. In my case, eating a certain number of calories per day is my target behavior, and I have to reinforce that particular behavior consistently enough (with the strongest known reinforcer: beer) to avoid extinction.
Terms: self-directed behavior modification, antecedents, eliciting, contingencies, reinforcement, punishment, target behavior, extinction.
The section I found most interesting was section 4.1. The reason this is, is because I felt I learned more in this section than the following one. I found the idea of self-directed behavior to be interesting because it's the behavior that drives most of us to do things. Self directed behavior occurs when we exert our free will to choose a behavior that we want to increase or decrease. This, as Dr. MacLin said, is much like new years resolutions. Many people have one every year and they either want to incease a postive behavior or decrease an aversive behavior. There are several target behaviors that each of us want to changes, and we can do this by either rewarding or punishing ourselves. Another thing I found interesting was the importance of defining a specific goal and determining the baseline for that goal. You can't just simply say "I want to drink less", you need to define the specific target behavior. Want to drink less what? One would assume alcohol. So let's say you want to drink less alcohol, you must first have an operational definition as to what is 'less' when it comes to the amount that you consume. In doing this, you need to first define the amount that you currently drink. If you want to drink 5 less drinks a week then you previously do, you must keep a diary and track the amount that you drink so you can better your progress in hopes of reaching your target behavior!
The least I enjoyed the least in this section was-well nothing. It was all pretty basic so I understood it and enjoyed reading it!
The ways this could apple to bmod is basically what I stated before, if you want to change a target behavior you must go through all the steps mentioned in 4.2 to successfully do so. The steps are 1. set a goal 2. define/specify the gaol as a set of target behaviors 3. keep a record. 4. graph a baseline 5. determine contingencies 6. determine antecednents and 7. implement and adjust the contingencies.
Three things I found helpful are: the use of diaries, graphing a baseline, and self directed behavior! This also relates to other chapters in that uses target behaviors, it's emitting a behavior, it uses punishments and reinforcements, and a baseline is needed.
Terms: baseline, punishment, reinforcers, emit, self dirceted behavior, antecendents, contingencies, target behaviors, aversive
Something we also talked about this week was Premack Principle. These are behaviors that can serve as reinforcers and a higher frequency behavior will reinforce a lower frequency behavior. The pro of the Premack Principle is hat it's free, you don't have to carry around reinforcers, and it works. The cons are that you need to identify a hierarchy, and it may be different for each individual. We did a few examples of this in class and the one my group chose was a tball came and how we wanted to increase sportsmanship. We said that the reinforcer at the end would be more time spent with your teammates!
Both section 4.1 and 4.2 were incredibly interesting and useful. I think they fit really well with each other. The most interesting thing to me was the definition of self-directing in one part of the reading. Self-directing behavior is one ability to exert free-will to choose behaviors we want to increase or decrease. The reason this was interesting to me, is that if you read up on behaviorist such as Watson and Skinner you see their emphasis being on the idea that a controlled enviornment is what determines someones behavior. That behavior has to be learned through the reinforcements and punishments that occur in specific enviornments. This sort of contradicts the idea of free-will that is stated in the self-directed behavior approach to behavior modification. I found that the most interesting. I hate to point at anything and say it was less interesting beacuse really the two sections were incredibily interesting.
The three things that I found important and useful in learning how to modify my own behavior would be that since many haviors we want to change are behaviors we wish to reduce it would mean punishment was administered. Since reinforcement works better it's helpful to use differential reinforcement of incompatable and find a behavior you want to increase that would conflict with you emitting the behavior you wish to reduce, so you an reinforce the DR havior. I guess its important that the alternative behavior needs to be a specific target behavior as well.
I also found step three of how to self-direct useful. I is important to look at the ABC's to understand how and when behaviors occur, what maintains the behavior at the current level and how it functions in life. THe idea that recording this information as close to the time that the behavior was emitted is important too, so that the record is the best it can be.
Thirdly, I found that step six is very useful to understand. Here we can set up discriminative stimuli to signal when a behavior should occcur. WE ourselves can change our environment to help elicit specific behaviors. I like the idea that we can creat discriminative stimuli on our own.
Understanding what DR, target beahviors, baselines and discriminative stimuli are, from previous sections and chapters, is important to understand how you can effectively modify your own behavior. Without knowing these things we probably would get very far in actually being successful with our modifications.
Terms: Self-directed behavior, elicit, emit, differential reinforcement, target behavior, baseline, antecedent, discriminative stimuli, reinforcement, punishment, Skinner.
Out of the sections 4.1 and 4.2 the parts about setting up self directed behavior and the steps one must follow to achieve it were the most interesting to me. I especially like the parts about the 6 steps to change a behavior which were 1. Set a goal, 2 define the goals as a set of specific target behaviors, 3. Keep a record, 4 graph a baseline, 5 determine the contingencies, and 6 determine antecedents/ implement and adjust the contingencies. I think that this process is really helpful in helping a person set up a goal and continue it until they have met their target behavior and sustain it. Also, the 6 steps also help you figure out how to define the goal you want so they aren’t just broad or topographical. The goal you want should be manageable and be a specific function. Another great thing the 6 steps stress is to keep track of an organism’s behavior. Most people don’t keep track of their goals and they lose their motivation to continue to pursue them but a person who is organized and keeps track of them can build from that and continue to push themselves.
Out of all the things I read in sections 4.1 and 4.2, I really couldn’t find anything that wasn’t of interest to me. I think that these sections are very useful to us as individuals. We’re always trying to change are behavior but rarely do we ever see any positive outcomes. I believe though through the use of behavior modifications we can condition ourselves to be the person or do the behavior we have always wanted through the use of reinforcement and punishment. I believe that is the premise of these two sections, to show that an individual can change their behavior if they are willing to work and follow certain guidelines.
Three things that I will take away from these sections are self directed behaviors, the 6 steps in self directed behavior, and how to define alternate behaviors that will decrease the target behavior. Self directed behavior is easy to remember for me because that’s how I do most of my reinforcement. No one is telling me what I should or shouldn’t do so I emit behaviors I believe are correct and most of those behaviors elicit form society. So if society doesn’t like the behaviors I emit, it’s up to me to try and self direct the behavior I think will fit society the best or mainly fit me the best. The 6 steps of self directed behavior I will remember because they will help me try and change my target behavior. An organism can’t just say they want to change something and it will just happen. They have to work through the step by step process of trying to change that behavior and it’s not always successful. Alternate behaviors are behaviors that are trying to reduce the target behavior such as chewing gum instead of chewing tobacco.
The concepts we have learned to use on other organisms are also now going to be used on use. So we’ll be reinforcing the good behaviors we emit and punishing the bad behaviors we emit. We have to make sure our target behavior is well defined so that we are trying to accomplish something too daunting, which goes hand in hand with shaping and individual. When you shape something you have to do through a process, otherwise the behavior is too complicated for the organism to learn or do.
Organism, reinforcement, punishment, shaping, emit, elicit, alternate behaviors, self directed behaviors, topographical, functional.
The topics that I found most interesting from the reading was self directed behavior and the seven steps to change a behavior. Self directed behavior is when you use behavior modification techniques on yourself to help you accomplish goals. I found self directed behavior interesting because I didn’t realize that behavior modification techniques could be used on the self. Self directed behavior relies on the self to manage the behavior and administer the consequences, which is also self reinforcement. Rather than punish oneself, one should instead use differential reinforcement by reinforcing incompatible behaviors. The most important step in self directed behavior is to define a good target behavior that you can reinforce. The two main reasons people use self reinforcement is to change behaviors that bother themselves or bother other people. The reading also introduced the steps to change a behavior. The first step is to set a goal, which allows the individual to know what they are trying to accomplish. The second step is to define goals as a set of specific target behaviors. Target behaviors need to be precise, manageable, measurable, and fit practically within our lives. The third step is to keep a record, possibly through a behavioral diary. The fourth step is to graph a baseline, which should be done using a line graph. The line graph should include both a Y( dependent measure) and X axis (time). The fifth step is to determine the contingencies, which deal with the behavioral intervention. The reading expresses the fact that reinforcement should not occur before or during the target behavior. The sixth step is to determine the antecedents, which elicit/cause behaviors. Step seven is to implement and adjust contingencies. For example, you might need to change the reinforcer or how the reinforcement is being delivered. I didn’t find anything present in the reading that I didn’t enjoy. Four things that I will remember from the reading are the reasons to change behavior: when the behavior bothers us, when the behavior bothers other people, when the behavior might lead to trouble, and when the behavior is illegal. Some earlier topics that fit into the chapter are the four reasons to change behavior, which were previously mentioned in an earlier chapter and again mentioned in this chapter. Also the importance of defining a clear target behavior relates to the chapter because if goals are too broad then the goal represents a behavior class versus a target behavior, making it harder to recognize if you’re actually accomplishing your goal. Reinforcement is also important in regards to the chapter. In particular, differential reinforcement is important because it’s an alternative to punishment, which isn’t as effective.
Terms: Self directed behavior, differential reinforcement, punishment, reinforcement, target behavior, behavioral diary, baseline, antecedent, elicit
Because I got the weeks mixed up I am doing 3.5 this week. Skinner believed in social engineering and became a very intelligent inventor. He invented the operant chamber or skinner box. The skinner box is a closed chamber where an animal is put to study reinforcement and punishment. When using a rat in the box, scientists train the rat to press a lever that gives it a bite of food. They teach it to do this by shaping it which is used to shape the desired behavior like pressing the lever.
Along with shaping, they use a technique known as successive approximation. This means that when the rat does something close to the behavior it gets reinforced. Conditioned emotional responses are also common when using operant chambers. With the rat, an electric shock was administered into the floor of the chamber which causes the rats to freeze up giving off a conditioned emotional response.
Skinner also believed that all human behavior was determined by the environment in which he wrote his book. He extended his social engineering concept in his writing. His place in this was that the technology of behavior modification could be used to solve important social issues.
Some things I found useful here were learning more about Skinner’s work and the research and writing he contributed to psychology. Also learning more about experiments with the animals gives perspective about how the studies work.
Terms: operant chamber, reinforcement, punishment, successive approximation, conditioned emotional response.
I would like to add to my reading assignment. Skinner distinguished between Type S (classical conditioning) and Type R (operant conditioning). With classical conditioning the stimulus comes before the response (S->R) and the response was more reflexive in nature. With operant conditioning the stimulus follows the response(R->S) and the response was more voluntary. His social engineering theory means to use behavior principles to guide and direct behaviors. Along with the skinner box, he invented the air bed for babies that created a warm and comfortable environment for the baby since he believes our behavior is derived from the environment. Something to add to the information about his operant chamber is that it can help serve as a functioning discriminative stimulus.
I thought self-directed behavior to be one of the most useful concepts in the section. It is different from regular behavior modification because we rely on ourselves to manage the behavior and in most cases to administer the consequences. The purpose of this modification is the change and modify our own behaviors and aquire more adaptive patterns of behavior in our every day life.
Something I found useful pertaining to self-directed behavior was the thought that we must select a very specific target behavior we want to change rather than a behavioral class. For instance, in the section it talked about how many new years resolutions are enormously broad which makes the behavior very hard to adapt to and change—if we want to “spend time with family” then we need to pick specific behaviors that classify under that topic, like “play xbox 3 times a week with my brother.”
I found the seven steps for achieving the modification of self-directed behavior to be the most useful topics in the sections. The first step would be choosing and setting a goal, and making it specific.
The second step is the make sure it fits the criterion and is specific enough with manageable target behaviors. Within this goal we need to define one or more target behaviors that help us accomplish the goal. They need to be precise, manageable, measurable, and fit within the practical scope of our daily lives—they need to be something we can actually accomplish. They must be compatable with your every day life or they simply will not work.
the third step is to keep a record because we need to know our baseline performance, so we can keep track of how much we have progressed (or digressed). A behavior diary is a helpful way to help you keep track of your progression. You can go back and reflect on what you did well or what you did poorly on and effectively trace the ABC’s to understand how and why you behaved in such a way. Additionally, it is the most effective if you make notes directly after the behaviors have been emitted so they are fresh in your mind and exact.
The forth is to graph your progress, which you can use from reading over your diary and creating one from that information. This was also probably the least interesting information in the sections as well just because I’m not a huge fan of graphs.
The fifth step Is to determine contingencies, we need to decide how we will reinforce and punish ourselves for performing or not performing the target behavior.
Sixth is to determine the antecedents—the example they gave in the sections for this would be if you want to write more, then keep your journal in places that are easily obtainable, like right next to your bed, so you are more likely to notice them and emit the behavior.
The seventh is to implement and adjust your contingencies as you go, because not everything works the first time we try it, but it’s important to not give up and try new ways of reinforcing yourself to continue to modify your behavior.
terms: emit, behavior, contingencies, antecedent, modification, reinforce, punish
Since both of the chapters deals with self-directed behaviors, I do not have a favorite chapter. I like the fact that we are not learning about self-directed behavior but I feel that we have been actually talking about it in the class room for a while now. Self-directed behaviors are behaviors that we exert our free will to choose a behavior that we want to increase and decrease. We also get to choose our punishment or reinforcement that we want as well. Many people pick a new year’s resolution but many people do not get to it because there is lack of motivation or they make a goal because “everyone else does”. In class Dr. Macin always asks up what goals we have set for ourselves like after the New Year he asked us. What he was truly asking was what self-directed behaviors you are attempting to emit. There is also other directed behavior as well which is where the behavior is directed by others. I feel that this is easy because someone else is making sure that you are eliciting the behaviors that you once stated that you were going to emit. There are also steps that one must follow for everything to work as it should. First you set your goal which is something that everyone does. Many people however are goal setters and not goal achievers. This was a problem that during high school our track coach always pushed. He always told us that he wanted goal achievers on our team and not goal setters. This was something that changed the ways that I set my goal. Many people set goals that are too broad or they are unreachable no matter what. One should always get a goal that is one that is able to be rewarded or reinforced quickly. In the reading you will be able to see what the other steps are, but I find that if you cannot set reasonable goals that are achievable that you are not going to be able to even get to end.
These two chapters were very interesting and I found them very informed but at times I felt like I had already known what I was reading throughout the chapter. There is nothing that I could / would say should be better or that I did not like about either chapter.
I think that it would be interesting for everyone to set a goal at the beginning of the class and see if they are able to achieve it at the time they reach this chapter.
The most interesting thing I found this week for the readings, was the Self-Directed behavior. Though it was sort of boring during times, the overall topic I found interesting. I always found the emitted behaviors of New Year resolutions a little weird. They seem pointless when you can do the same thing any time. However, people all over the place are trying to elicit the behavior of improving their lives and behavior by modifying their life to indulge in a more desired outcome. I
The possibly least interesting is the steps taken to modify one's behavior. Long and detailed explanations were boring, however, these steps are needed and the reasons that are needed to modify one's behavior. The three things I believe to be important are more of categories, keeping in mind that the reasons for behavior modification, the series of steps one has to go through to achieve the desired behavior. But I think above all else, that if one plan doesn't work to modify the plan to better fit it, rather then giving up right away. This is what most people do, instead they should rethink the behaviors needed and the reinforcement needed to achieve the desired behavioral response. These are things that are simple relatively but are key factors in modifying one's own behavior.
Other topics that may apply, are the types of reinforcement used, or punishment depending on the behavior being modified. Schedule of reinforcement applies being the type of schedule can get a more higher rate of response.
Terms:
reinforcement, response, behavior, behavior modification, punishment, scheduled reinforcement, self-directed behavior, emit, elicit
I enjoyed both sections equally. It seemed that section 4.1 was mostly about target behaviors and the importance of defining them to the best of our ability. If we do not define them clearly so everyone involved understands them without question, there could be confusion about what is supposed to happen. Both sections talked about self-directed behavior. The definition of this as presented in section 4.1 is that self-directed behavior occurs when we exert our own free will to chose a behavior that we want to increase or decrease. We are able to make our own decisions about how we want to go about changing a behavior and the frequency of that behavior. This is where the 7 steps from section 4.2 come in. The first step is to set the goal. The second step is to define and specify the goal as a set of target behaviors. It is important to remember that target behaviors have four properties: 1. they need to be precise, 2. they need to be manageable, 3. they need to be measurable, and 4. they need to fit practically into our lives. The third step in the self-directed behavior is to keep a record of your behavior. To start, we need to know our baseline performance. Once we know this, we are able to see what we are currently doing and better able to change our behavior. An easy way to do this is to keep a diary or journal of the behavior. It is important to write it down right away so we don't forget the behavior or write it down incorrectly. Step 4 is to graph a baseline. Doing this is an easy way to see the progress that has been made to change the intended behavior. Step 5 is to determine contingencies. At this step, we have to decide if we are going to use reinforcements or punishments. Because it is self-directed behavior, we our saying that we know what are reinforcers and punishments for ourselves, so we must implement that idea into our decisions. Step 6 is to determine the antecedents. I like to think of the example given in the section to interpret this idea. To increase the writing behavior, he could have placed his journal in places where he knows that he will be, such as on his bed, by the refrigerator, by the sink, and so on. When the journal is by these places, he will definitely see them and be thinking about them, so he will be more likely to write. These will elicit a writing behavior, which he will be more likely to emit. The last step, step 7 is to implement and adjust the contingencies.
terms used: target behaviors, self-directed behavior, reinforcers, punishment, contingencies, emit, elicit
I enjoyed reading about self directed target behaviors because I am working on one specifically right now, which is to get to a target weight by May 16, 2011. I initially had the goal to just work out and lose weight, and found this wasn’t working for me. I learned in this class how to be more specific with my goals and in this chapter it talks about the alternate behaviors I also have to do. In order to get to this weight by this day, I am going to set an even more specific goal of losing 2 lbs each week and wieighing myself on Sunday at 4:00. This will help my weekend eating and exercising habits be consistent with my week day habits. My other alternated target behaviors include things like writing down my calorie intake daily and having a goal of eating 1700 a day, and same with water intake, having a goal of 8 eight oz glasses a day. Same with exercise. Each one of these are a self directed goal step in getting to my weight loss goal by my specific date. I have also determined my antecedents and contingencies like going out to eat and not knowing my calorie intake, therefor avoiding restaurants that don’t have this on their menu. The most difficult thing has been going to visit my grandparents cuz they always want to cook for me, so I have to avoid going there during meal times. The biggest help in getting to this goal has been keeping a visual record of everything I am doing and the specific target behaviors to get there
Terms used: target behaviors, self-directed behavior, contingencies, antecedents
The technique of self directed behavior, how we use behavior modification to develop desired behaviors in ourselves is interesting because if more people knew that they could self direct themselves towards their own target behaviors and goals, I think that more would get done. Such as weight loss. If people knew how to direct their own goals they would be more successful. In order to achieve this on your own, you must create a pattern that you will eventually get used to. I also find the 4 reasons why we should change behavior is interesting. These include 1) because it bothers us 2)it bothers others 3)might lead to trouble later 4) it's illegal. It is somewhat common sense, but I like that it can be broken into 4 different groups. Other-directed behavior is used in a classroom, it is when someone else has the control of the reinforcers. With these self directed behaviors there must be a baseline and a goal, but these goals must have a measurable target behavior, which simply means to manage the amount of time spent achieving your goal.
Both positive and negative reinforcers are used when trying to achieve goals. Such as quitting smoking or drinking is negative because it is removing an aversive, which is smoking or drinking.
I also thought it was interesting that this section listed what the target behaviors need to fit under in order to accomplish a goal, such as 1)precise 2) manageable 3) measurable 4) fit in practical scope of daily lives. Some of the common terms that I will always remember ans will be useful later are baseline performance, behavioral diary and behavioral intervention, which is actually emitting the desired behavior. There isn't anything in this chapter that I thought wasn't interesting. I think that all of the chapters have interrelated with one another.
self directed behavior, other-directed behavior, baseline performance, target behavior, measurable target behavior, positive and negative reinforcers, aversive, behavioral diary,behavioral intervention, emit
I actually found this whole section very interesting. Reading these two parts were very helpful in teaching me how to set realistic and logical goals for myself. When we learn to set and maintain our own goals, we are more likely to succeed and be in control. There wasn't anything about these sections that I did not find interesting.
Three things that will be useful for me to remember:
-The steps to achieve a self directed behavior. (Set goal,define the goals as a set of specific target behaviors, Keep a record, Graph a baseline, Determine the
contingencies, Determine the antecedents, and Implement and adjust the contingencies.)
-self-directed allows ourselves to manage the behavior and in most cases administer the consequences
-when setting a goal, try to base it on increasing a desirable behavior rather than decreasing an undesirable
behavior to avoid the need for punishment.
Topics in previous chapters would be the ABC's of behavior, reinforcement, target behavior, and punishment. It greatly depends on what behaviors you elict on situations now, so you know what you want your new emmited behavior to be. We have to learn to be very observant of our behaviors.
terms: reinforce, punishment, elict, emit, target behavior, ABC, self directed behavior
Both of these sections were very interesting and very informative. The information on self directed behaviors and how they relate to setting and achieveing goals stood out the most to me because it seems to be the most logical concept that we can apply to daily life. It's not everyday that we are in the position to set goals for ourselves but when we do want to set some goals it is important to know how to do it effieciently and effectively. The most important piece of information regarding self directed behaviors are the seven basic steps that are involved. Step one: Set your goal, step two: define your target behavior based on your goal, step three: keep records of the behavior youre going to change (organized in terms of the ABC's of bmod), step four: graph a baseline so you have a defined starting point, step five: determine contingencies such as how and when effective reinforcers will be delivered, step six: determine antecedents that will elicit the desired behaviors, step seven: implement your plan and adjust the contingencies until they work to meet your goals!
Three things that are most meaningful to me from both of these sections is, The importance of a daily diary when atempting to alter a behavior... it is important to keep a solid record of the behaviors you are emitting to insure that you are emitting the correct behaviors and that you are actually making progress to achieve your goals. Self directed behaviors are usually better than others directed behaviors because it allows you to have control over your goals and more free will, so you don't have to rely on someone else to help you or manipulate you into achieveing your goals. When setting goals insure that you are focused on increasing a desired behavior instead of decreasing a aversive behavior... that way you are reinforcing yourself instead of punishing yourself.
There were many things from previous chapters that were revisited in this section. Target behaviors are important when setting goals, defining antecedents can help when changing behaviors, ABC's can be used when recording behaviors in a diary, establishing a baseline will help track your behavior change on a graph, Determining effective contingencies such as reinforcers that are reinforcing will help change a behavior, we can use DRO's instead of punishment to reinforce our behavior and help elicit behavior change.
Terms: Target behaviors, antecedents, ABC's, baseline, contingencies, reinforcers, punishment, DRO's, elicit, emit, self directed behaviors, others directed behaviors, goal setting, aversive, seven basic steps of self directed behaviors, recording behaviors.
Chapter 4.1 discusses self-directed behavior, which is when we choose a behavior we want to increase or decrease, we are free make our own goals and how to structure our own behaviors, we use this when we have a goal we want to reach. I found it interesting the number of how many people have a New Year’s resolution, but mostly how many of us make these list and don’ t follow through with what we plan. It takes a total change in behavior for us to accomplish these goals and we have to set up sets in ways to change our daily lives to be successful. For example my target behavior for a resolution was to stop smoking, which I did succeed, as a reinforce I decided if I went without smoking for so long I could get my nails and done keep them up as a reward to myself, for a punishment if I bought cigs I had to give the entire pack away, this only happened once, after I had smoked 3, never smoked again and have had my nails done for months, I continue not smoke and to get my mails done. I found the in section 4.2 the 6 steps involved in changing a behavior, “1) Set goal, 2) define the goals as a set of specific target behaviors, 3) Keep a record, 4) Graph a baseline, 5) Determine the contingencies, 6) Determine the antecedents, and 7) Implement and adjust the contingencies,” to be the most interesting, there are so many more steps we need to setup to help us follow and change our behavior, defining the baseline and recording your steps and changes are crucial so at end we will be able to see our progress, what worked, what didn’t, what did to change our behaviors . We need to be more realistic of what we can do and change on our own in our lives.
I found this whole section to be interesting because so many times I have tried to change my behavior but didn’t really make a very well in-depth plan and this chapter discusses how to go about changing a behavior and focusing on the target behavior. I will remember mostly the steps to be taken for changing behaviors.
Terms: target behaviors, punishment, reinforce, self-directed behavior
These sections were about self-directed behavior which is a concept I had not heard of before taking this class. Self-directed behaviors are behaviors that we choose to increase or decrease and we have freedom to make our goals to reach our target behavior. The example of new year’s resolution I knew about previously, that is why gym memberships always go up significantly the first of the year, but eventually taper off. A lot of people just lack motivation and will power, yet it can be easier to reach a goal that we set ourselves. Creating a goal and sticking to it is a very important aspect in self-directed behavior. The target behavior needs to be specific and manageable. The section goes a long with the recording behaviors which would also be very helpful in reaching a target behavior. These steps are 1. Set a goal 2. Define and specify the goal as a set of target behaviors 3. Keep a record. 4. Graph a baseline 5. Determine contingencies 6. Determine antecedents and 7. Implement and adjust the contingencies. Another thing I thought was interesting was with determining contingencies and the importance of it. The contingency could either be reinforcement or punishment. It would be very hard for me to decide what mine would be and if I would actually follow through with it.
We also learned about the premack principle this week with the cartoon video. The premack principle are behaviors that can be reinforcers and a high frequency behavior would reinforce a low frequency behavior. We worked on this in class and it was harder than it sounds to come up with a hierarchy of reinforcers