Reading Activity Week #11 (due Tuesday)

5.2
After emitting a reading behavior of this section, the thing I will remember most about this section was the sources of rules and how our behaviors are modified because of certain rules by the government. For example, last year when I was twenty years old, I was not allowed to drink legally in public in the United States. I went to Italy during the summertime and their drinking age was 18 and I was able to drink legally in front of the law and in public (at bars). Although I was legal, I still felt a bit awkward thinking in my mind that I was doing something wrong and that I would get caught. I will remember that rules are important in different countries because I love to travel and when going to other countries, I'll remember it is important to understand ones rules according to their culture including dress code, law, and traditions. In Italy, it was also unlikely to find anyone wearing tank-tops and shorts on the street because it was known to be "provacative" or too revealing. We had to cover our shoulders and wear pants or capris that went past our knees. Although some of us still wore shorts and nice shirts because it was so hot, we still got strange looks from Italians because of the way we dressed.
I believe that almost every day my behavior is being modified because of governed rules. I know when I park on the side of street, I have to move my car by 8am the next morning or i'll get a ticket. Everything we do that has rules modifies our behaviors otherwise the world wouldn't be a stable place to live in.
5.3
After emitting a reading behavior of this section, I will remember that functional analysis of behavior can be either direct or indirect or a combination of both. Direct assessment of behaviors can be done by observation and recording of behaviors in which for our self directed behavioral program, we are using a direct assessment on our target behavior. Indirect assessment involves questionnaires or interviews which do not include recording. I think these two assessments are important especially in research and of course modifying our own behaviors and maybe even trying to modify others as well.
After reading both of these sections, I have added information on how to modify a behavior even better with documenting and recording a timeline of my behavior through direct assessment or even indirect assessment by asking my friends questions about myself (getting an opinon) as well as continuing to document my ABCs. This way, I can understand my target behavior better and concentrate on the changes I need to make in order to achieve that behavior.

5.2 After emitting the behavior of reading section 5.2, I will most remember the rules and the exceptions to rules. More specifically, I will remember the exercise that elicited writing in the examples of rule governed behavior using the “ABC’s”. For example, the antecedent is having coffee. The behavior is waiting for it to cool off. The consequence is not burning your tongue. This is a way that breaks up your behaviors so you can focus in on each aspect (Antecedent, Behavior & Consequence).
I think that most of the “rules” are social rules- or unwritten rules. For example, you wouldn’t just scream at the top of your lungs in a public place. I would say almost all of our behaviors are rule governed. In class, you are to not cheat. At work, you are not to be on your phone (for the most part). These would elicit aversive responses. Almost all actions have been punished or reinforced, which essentially “make” a rule.

5.3 After emitting the behavior of reading section 5.3, I will remember that we can focus in on the functions of behaviors, so that we can change them if needed. For example, just a couple functions of smoking are

1) Calm you down
2) Lose weight

Some ways to intervene are to replace these with better things for you

1)You could emit the behavior of drinking water every time you feel stressed and reach for a cigarette.
2)You could start a workout schedule and/or eat healthier—this would be a pleasurable response, not damaging your lungs as well

If I were to do a functional analysis on my behaviors, it would probably be that I bite my nails. I would try the direct assessment. Someone could observe when I tend to bite my nails most to discover the ABCS. I could write in my phone when I bite my nails, and why I do (what the antecedent was).

From both sections—I would mainly take away the power of rules. They govern nearly every behavior, and you can manipulate them, or work with them to apply to your own behaviors of your daily life. It is interesting to take a look at things you just do normally, and realize they are rules that are elicited by punishment or reinforcement.

Section 5.2
After emitting a behavior of reading section 5.2, I will remember that rules that dictate rule governor behavior can be rules created by almost anyone or anything. I will remember this because I always thought of rules in a more official capacity with an organization or group detailing the rules and then doling out punishment if the rules are violated. This section introduced the idea that rules can come from the individual, self-help books, etc. This class in general has also brought up the idea that rules do not always have to be punished. It is often the better option to reinforce following the rules rather than punish violations of rules.

I think that almost all of my behavior is rule governed. Being a student and employee involves following a lot of rules first of all. For example, being a work and school elicits the behavior of me not using my cell phone because there are rules against emitting the behavior of using one’s cell phone. Also, being a well behaved member of society also involves elicits a lot of rule governed behavior. Emitting the behavior of driving 60 mph on the high way is rule governed based on the speed limit and the rule (which is a law) that one should follow the speed limit. Social rules also influence behavior. There are not too many people that go out in public without clothes because our society has a rule (and many laws) against this behavior. There are also rules that one sets for him or herself. For example, I have a rule for myself about the behavior of drinking soda. I only allow myself to emit this behavior when I go out to eat or during special occasions. The only case of behavior that is not rule governed that I can possibly think of is breaking the rules such as speeding but even then, the antecedents and consequences are laid out in relation to the rule.

Section 5.3
After emitting the behavior or reading section 5.3, I will remember that functional assessment of behavior is a way to hypothesize what intervention will work best for a behavior. I will remember this because this concept deals with the motivation behind a behavior. This gives behavioral interventions a more human aspect for me. It is very important to determine to function of a behavior to successfully create an intervention that will elicit the behavior more frequently or less frequently. For example if a person wishes to emit the behavior of eating less frequently, it is important to know why the function of eating. The person might be truly hungry or the person might be bored. The person could even be stress eating. Each function of eating would have a different intervention. For example, the person who is truly hungry might focus on eating foods that take longer to digest such as fiber or protein so that he stays full for longer. The person who eats when he is bored might focus on alleviating boredom rather than focusing on what types of food to eat.

If I were to do a functional analysis of a behavior I emit the behavior of doing a functional analysis of my sleeping behaviors. I would look at my sleeping behaviors because sleeping has several functions for me. The most obvious function is when I am tired but I also sleep to avoid homework I do not want to do as well as when I am really stressed. Sleeping takes up a lot of time so if I changed my sleeping habits, I would have time to do other things.

After emitting a reading behavior of section 5.2 and 5.3, I learned that almost all behavior is rule governed. These rules can be created and enforced by almost anyone or anything. Some rules might be created and enforced by professors, bosses, police officers, organizations but rules can also be created and enforced by the individuals or the consequences of an action. I also learned that the ABC’s of a behavior make up the functional assessment of a behavior. A functional assessment leads to success in a behavioral intervention and helps evaluate when an intervention is not working.

5.2--After emitting a reading behavior of section 5.2, one thing that I will remember is that rule governed behavior can be a form morals, norms, laws, etc. I will remember this because of all the examples that were given in the reading. The first example was about family members having sexual relations. Another example could be a moral of not talking about to adults. This is not a law that is run by the government, yet for some people it may seem like a “moral law.” Another thing that I will emit a remembering behavior for would be that rule governed behavior can be anything really, such as simple things such as making a pizza. This makes it less aversive to think about because it can relate to everyday life. An example that I thought after while emitting a reading behavior was when I went to Cancun. I have been there the past 3 years, and I just turned 21 so I was never “of age” to drink, yet Mexico’s drinking age was 18. I could emit a drinking behavior all I wanted over there in from of bartenders, adults, and even law enforcement without getting in trouble, yet at times I got nervous and tried to hide the drinking because I was used to it being against the law to drink under 21. With this, I think that majority of the behaviors I emit are rule governed. I am a person who does not like to get in trouble, and try my best to not do things that would result in an aversive consequence. I think that everything we do modifies our behaviors and many of those behaviors are rule governed!

5.3--After emitting a reading behavior for 5.3, there are a few things that I will remember. The first thing I will remember from this reading behavior would be the 6 steps that are involved in the behavior modification process. It goes 1. Describe target behavior, 2. Describe consequences, 3. Describe antecedents, 4. Examine the ABC’s, 5. Devise new antecedents and consequences, and 6. Evaluate the outcome. Another thing I will remember from reading this section would be the functional analysis of behavior. It can either be direct or indirect. I have learned this in other classes as well, so that may be a reason that I will definitely remember it now, because emitting a reading behavior over it again refreshes my memory and makes it easier to remember. With direct assessment observation comes into play. I will remember that this will come into play with an individual’s naturally occurring conditions. In my abnormal psych class we learned that this is used in certain interventions with some mental health disorders. The other is indirect, which involves things such as interviews and talking to other people (not observing!). We also talked about this concept in other classes, which makes me emit a remembering behavior even more. In my opinion, I think someone would need to emit the behavior of indirect and direct, because I believe it would make someone’s findings more accurate. If I could chose to do a functional analysis of me I would chose my nail biting, which was also an example in the reading. I have such a problem with that where sometimes my fingers even bleed because of emitting the behavior so often, and when it comes to that then it feels aversive to me. Honestly I think the biggest function for me biting my nails would be stress (and that I straight just don’t know I am even emitting the behavior since it is such a normal habit of mine). I feel that I am always stressed about something, doesn’t have to be anything big. Some things that I could possibly do would be putting nasty nail polish or something of that sort on my nails, so when I bite them it will leave an aversive taste, which will act as a punishment (yet I have done this and it doesn’t make me stop). Also, I have actually heard of people going to a hypnotist and use hypnotherapy to stop biting their nails, but I think that emitting a behavior of that sort is a little extreme.
After emitting a reading behavior of both these sections, one thing that added to what I already knew about behavior modification was that rule governed behaviors are really all around us no matter where we look. They can be norms, morals, or laws. I think that emitting reading behavior of these sections helped me realize how many behavior modification concepts are out in the world that we don’t even realize. Also, I think a lot of our rule governed behaviors come from our society, and our society is very different than others across the world, and after reading this section I think I have realized that behavior modification and concepts are the same, but the specific examples can be different.

5.2
The thing I will emit most to memory after reading this section is what rule governed behavior actually is. It is a behavior that is maintained by the obligation of maintaining order where the antecedent is verbal. I never knew what or how simple ruled governed behavior is until emitting the behavior of reading this section. It is something that happens so commonly throughout everyone’s daily lives.

I think at least 85% of my day to day behavior is rule governed. Being a student I am always being told what to do by professors. If they wouldn’t tell me to do an assignment or there is a test coming up I probably wouldn’t not emit the behavior of completing the assignment or study for the test. At work my supervisors are always telling me things to do also, which their requests are always the antecedent to my next behavior. I feel as a college student I don’t have much room to make a lot of behavior actions for myself because professors, group members, coaches and bosses or supervisors are always telling me what actions to perform and when they need to be performed by.

5.3
The thing I will remember most from emitting the behavior of reading this section is the different functional assessments. There is direct which can be recorded by the individual, others or electronically. And there is indirect which is where the assessments are done by an interview or a questionnaire. It helped me see that there are different ways of figuring out behaviors.

If I had to do a functional analysis of one of my behaviors it would be my behavior of eating. I would want to do this because some days I’m totally hungry and eating everything in sight and other days food isn’t even a thought that crosses my mind. I would like to know why my eating behavior is so inconsistent.

After reading both sections I have added to my knowledge of behavior modifications by learning that a lot of my daily behaviors are ruled by governed behaviors. And for behaviors I would like to change I could come up with an intervention.

After reading this chapter on rules governing behavior, I will remember how much our daily lives are based on rules. You subconsciously apply these rules to your life not understanding that your behaviors are directly being influenced my outside sources. I will remember this because when trying to modify behaviors, you need to understand where these behaviors are coming from; what the antecedents to the target behaviors are. I believe that in our lives almost all of our behaviors are based upon rules. As humans, many of our actions are based upon how we think we should react to a situation and not just natural instincts.
5.3 Reading these chapters will elicit a behavior of remembering the use if indirect and direct assessment. I will remember that both of these assessments function the same but are topographically different. They are both used to find antecedents and to create hypothesis for changing the target behavior. I will remember these two methods because they create the same outcome yet, there are some situations where one method will provide much better assessment than the other.
If I had to do a behavior analysis of a behavior of mine it would be, eating junk food. I would do this because it would be quite beneficial to find the antecedents to eating these foods, such as being bored. If I knew the antecedents to these behaviors I could make them occur less (keep myself busy). This would decrease the behavior of eating junk food and would hopefully lead to cutting off this behavior by not resulting to it whenever the antecedent did occur.
After reading both sections I will better understand the importance of antecedents to all behaviors. Rules in our society and daily lives affect our behaviors constantly. We must know the antecedents to our behaviors to be able to modify them.

After emitting a behavior of reading section 5.2, I will remember most that rule governed behaviors maintain order by having a verbal antecedent. I did not know that the antecedent could be verbal until I read this section. I also learned that rule governed behaviors can be established through many different reasons such as established norms, morals, or ethical standards, rules, etc. This really got me thinking about what behaviors I emit because people tell me to do so. Socialization procedures are huge in why individuals do or do not emit certain behaviors. I realized that the majority of my behaviors are elicited from such sources that are rule governed. I am definitely a rule follower always without questioning.

After emitting a reading behavior for section 5.3, I learned what functional assessment of behavior is. At the beginning, I was feeling very aversive towards this section because I didn’t fully understand the concepts but by the end there are a few things that I can take from the reading. First I learned that making a list of hypotheses is a good idea and from there the individual can decide which applies to them and can learn the functions of their behaviors and therefore be able to eventually conduct an intervention. Understanding the function of a behavior will make it much easier to intervene and make yourself a better person. A specific behavior of mine that could become a big problem is snacking when I’m bored. Instead of relying on food to relieve boredom, I will occupy myself with TV, computer, friends, school work, working out, and so on so that I have other options. I can also simply grab something to drink instead of eating something.

After emitting the behavior of reading both sections, I can conclude that the function of a rule is extremely important. Knowing why an individual emits specific behaviors is key to transforming (increasing or decreasing) those behaviors. Functions are all around us- the majority of reasons why we do things are because they are rule governed and we feel that we have to. Other reasons could be selfish, personal, peer pressured, because of social norms, or even because of unusual circumstances. There are hundreds of reasons why behaviors are elicited and it is important to be aware of them and how they affect your behaviors.

5.2
After emitting the behavior of reading this section what I will remember most is ruled governed behavior and how it can result from almost anything. I found it very interesting how it seems that a lot of behaviors that we emit are rule governed and that the rules we follow can differ depending on our culture, religion and family. I never realized until reading this that the majority of the behaviors and decisions I emit on a day to day basis are rule governed. I also could relate to following certain rules only sometimes when I know I will not be punished for emitting a certain behavior. For example drinking, even though I am underage there are times when the probability of getting caught are low, so I emit the behavior.

5.3
After emitting the behavior of reading this section what I will remember most is the functional assessment of behavior and how it helps you modify a target behavior. This allows you to come up with a hypothesis about what is reinforcing the behavior so that you can begin to design an intervention to decrease the behavior. I found this interesting and easy to remember because I can easily relate this to my life. There are many behaviors I would like to modify and using the functional assessment of teh behavior would make it much easeir to accomplish. For example I would like to emit the behavior of losing weight and by using this functional assessment I could find alternate behaviors to eating so much of the wrong foods and alternate behaviors in how to lose weight.
After reading both sections I learned a lot about how many of the behaviors that we emit are rule governed. I also learned how to better modify unwanted behaviors by using a functional assessment of the behavior.


**5.2


 After emitting a reading behavior of this section of 5.2, I will remember that there are many rule governed behaviors in our everyday life. I will remember this because in my everyday life I experience and emit rule governed behaviors of state laws and everyday “laws.” I found that it was very interesting that rule governed behaviors do change from state to state, and country to country. The religious laws also play a part in everyday life styles of most individuals plus the “known” federal laws. I believe that most of my everyday activities, actions, behaviors are rule governed, but I sub conscientiously do them. Before emitting a behavior of reading this section I never realized how much of our lives are controlled by these laws and how much we follow or break these laws.



**5.3


 Emitting a reading behavior of this section was very interesting because this section tied together previous terminology from other sections. This section explained that functional assessment of behaviors can be followed by intervention that is designed to decrease or increase the frequency of a behavior. I found that it was very easy to think of functions of certain behaviors and find interventions that are designed to test our hypothesis. Many everyday behaviors can be tested by using the ABC’s and then examining it through functional assessment.


 If I had to do a functional analysis of one of my behaviors it would be procrastinating. I would use this to decrease the behavior and use different intervention techniques to help keep me on task and finish homework ahead of time. I would use a hypothesis and then test it using different techniques like I mentioned before to see which intervention would work the best with my lifestyle. I personally have been wanting to find new ways to help decrease my procrastination of school work.


 
 Both sections gave great information to add to my knowledge of the behavior modification process. In many sections before it discussed different ways to test behaviors, but I really enjoyed learning about the interventions of functional behaviors and rule governed behaviors. I never realized before emitting a reading behavior of section 5.2 that so many of my actions in life are rule governed behaviors. In one way that scared me, but then I realized that I have been socialized since I was little to abide by these governed behavior “rules.” I now know by reading these sections that it is very important to analyze our behaviors with their functions and find ways to intervene the aversive and pleasurable behaviors.

5.2
I will emit a remembering behavior of the entire chapter because I did not have the information about rule governed behavior. After reading the chapter I realized that I knew what the chapter was talking about but I did not know the proper name of the behaviors. I will remember the chapter because I have added something new into my library of behavior modification information and I enjoy learning it. i believe that almost all our behavior if not at least 50% of our behavior is rule governed. We are always doing something either for reinforcement or to avoid the punishment and all our behavior depends on consequences.

5.3
I believe that I will emit a remembering behavior of the information provided in this chapter. The most i will remember is the theory of functional analysis of behavior and how it is related to hypothesis of why the behavior is occurring. This term was very well explained and though all the examples and explanation I understood very well what the chapter was trying to get across. A behavior of mine is drinking soda and some of my hypothesis for this behavior is because..
1. it provides me with caffeine
2. it tastes good
3. it relives some of my tension.
This is one of my more obsessive behaviors that I would like to change because soda is not good for the body or the teeth.

5.2 and 5.3
As i said earlier in my post I did not know much about these sections. I learned a lot about rule governed behavior and I learned all about the functional analysis of behavior. I added this information because I emitted the behavior of reading the chapter and filling out the exercises.

5.2

After emitting the reading behavior of this section, I have learned about rule goverened behaviors. By re-reading the section, I will increase the frequency of remembering the terms and understand them better. I found it interesting to think about the social norm rules that are common among our culture, that nobody really thinks of, such as not marrying within the family. I emit rule goverened behaviors every single day without knowing it. I attend class reguarly, I go the speed limit (most of the time), I go to work and follow the rules and I choose to follow these goverened rules to increase the frequency of "fitting in".

5.3

After emitting the reading behavior of this section, I have learned that when changing the contingencies of behaviors, we can change the outcomes. Say for instance, we want to go out to eat for lunch. Instead of skipping our class, we can go out to eat on the weekends, we can go out for dinner, or we could not give into our friends peer pressure. I will elicit the remembering behavior of contingencies because they are self-explanitory and easy to understand. A functional analysis of one of my behaviors would be drawing in my sketch book.
1. It relieves my stress
2. It cures my boredom
3. It's enjoyable to me
This is not an aversive behavior, so I would like to increase the frequency of emitting it.

5.2 AND 5.3

In both of these sections, it talked about how important behaviors are and all the different ways that we can change our actions that influence our behaviors. It emphasized how important contingencies are and how easily changeable they are. It also went back to using the ABC's and reinforced how important they are in behavior modification.

After emitting a behavior of reading section 5.2, the thing I will most remember is just that I am more aware now of how often I follow rules. I realized that there are some rules I never follow, and some that I only sometimes follow. This idea of rule governed behavior will stick with me because I related it to a lot of examples in my life and this way it was easier to understand. I think a lot of my behavior is rule governed, especially since I am a student and also live on campus. The university provides students with rules they must follow while they are on campus, and since I live on campus, I spent a majority of my time on campus. However, sometimes I do not necessarily emit a behavior of following all of these rules.
After emitting a behavior of reading section 5.3, the thing I will most remember is the different functional assessments. There is indirect, where the interviews are done by the interviewer or a questionnaire. Or there is direct, in which the assessments are recorded by the individual, others, or some other form electronically. These two functional assessments helped me see that there are different ways to analyze or figure out behaviors. If I were to do a behavior analysis of myself, it would be on my behavior of eating. I always tell myself that I need to eat healthy, but I rarely ever stick to that guideline. Also, some days I feel like eating everything I possibly can, and other days I do not really have much of an appetite. After reading both of these sections, I feel that I learned more about the power of rules. Rules govern almost every behavior we emit, but we do not always have to follow them as strict as they may seem. We can manipulate behaviors, and in this way, we can apply certain reinforcement or punishment to behaviors in our own life to modify them how we would like. I think it is interesting to look at how people behave based on the rules that are governing their behavior, and whether or not they are being reinforced or punished for that behavior.

5.2

Reading this section elicited me to emit remembering of several things. First of all, I will emit remembering that rules are everywhere. In order to be rule governing, the antecedent is verbal. While thinking about rules before did not elicit me to think about my behaviors, it does now. How much of our behavior is emitted based on rules varies, depending on where we received the rules. For some, religious rules are the primary source of governing behavior. For others, law or family members may elicit a rule following behavior. A big part of our rule governing that we may not realize is deadlines, especially those of us in school. I will emit remembering these things the most because they are very applicable to my life. These are applicable because reading this elicited me to realize that much of my behavior is rule governed. Anytime I am driving, my behaviors I emit are governed by rules. How I drive, where I drive, when I drive, etc. can be attributed to rules laid out by the government. As listed in our section, they can also be attributed to social rules, such as waving when someone lets you in, using a blinker, etc. Often times we learn these social rules from our family members when we learn how to drive. Just this example in itself shows that there are several sources of rules and that much of my driving behavior is governed by them. Besides driving, my life is also governed by rules. This section elicited me to think about my schooling and how many rules govern the behaviors I emit during it. Deadlines highly govern my emitted behaviors. An example is for this class, we have a deadline of midnight for our homework, so this governs when I emit my homework. It is kind of eerie to think just how much of my life is governed by rules.

5.3

Reading this section elicited me to remember that in order to successfully alter behaviors, we must emit functional analyses of behavior. This is when you emit recording the behavior either through direct or indirect documentation and emit hypotheses about the function of the behavior and possible interventions to either increase or decrease the target behavior. In order to do this, as we have learned previously, everything must be specifically defined, especially the target behavior. Once we define everything and emit hypotheses and begin intervention, we realize how much the behavioral intervention process is dynamic. Failing to alter the behavior may elicit us to give up; however, we need to remember that using the functional analysis of behavior elicits us to go back to our list of hypotheses, choose a new intervention, and continue on the dynamic path of self-directed or other-directed behavior. Most often this is useful with self-directed behavior. While reading this section, it did seem extremely similar to what we have discussed before with the steps for self-directed behavior. Since it seemed similar, it elicited me to remember the concepts better.

If I were to emit a functional analysis of a behavior of mine, I would choose to emit the analysis of my sleep habits. I have, for years, had sleep problems, and it has gotten to the point that I can’t fall asleep until about 5 or later in the morning! This is a severe problem, especially during the school year. I actually had to drop a class because of my insomnia. Besides insomnia, when I do sleep, all I do is dream, so I never actually get deep, restorative sleep. I have had several sleep studies for this problem and they couldn’t figure it out. Prior to the sleep studies, I had to emit a record keeping behavior of when I went to bed, when I woke up, how often I woke up during the night, etc. When I emitted this, I was getting even better sleep than I am now, so I think it would be helpful if I emitted a functional analysis of my sleep patterns currently. I have several hypotheses of why I can’t fall asleep till that late, so this would be a perfect behavior to use. I think it would elicit better concentration throughout the day, better school habits, and many more desired outcomes if I could successfully determine the problem.

After reading both sections, I was able to add to what I already knew about behavior modification. I did not think of rule governed behaviors as previously being a part of behavior modification. It has opened my eyes to how much of my life is actually controlled by others. I also did not realize how many different sources of rules there are. The biggest source of rule governed behaviors in my life would probably be familial and social. I also am able to now explain how the process of behavior modification is dynamic and requires many more parts to actually be successful.

5.2
What I think I will remember most about this chapter section would be ruled governed behavior. The reason I will remember this is because it was a new thing we learned about that you can relate to. The reason you can relate to this is because everyone has adhered to the rules in our society, but now you have info on what to call it when you do adhere to the rules.
I believe that mostly all of our behavior is rule governed. The reason for this is because even if it isn't law governed our actions are governed by norms, morals, or ethical standards. So with every behavior we emit, without realizing it, we seem to know if it's right or wrong.

5.3
The part of this section that I will remember most would be the part about experimenting with behavioral interventions. I found this interesting because it's kind of neat to find why the behavior would be happening in the first place, and then working towards fixing that behavior.
A functional analysis of a behavior of my choice would be excercising. The function that this behavior would fulfill would be getting healthier, releasing stress, or to becaome more athletic. I think this would be a good behavior to analyze because from previous posts it seems to be on about 80% of everyone's minds. Information that would add to my knowledge of behavior modification would just be new wording to your thoughts. It seems like with every week I learn new words to my vocabulary and in turn am able to communicate better with other classmates.

5.2
After emitting the reading behavior of section 5.2, I think that the thing I found the most enjoyable and will remember is that rules have many different sources and that they vary from country to country. Just because we have our set rules here in the US doesn't mean that rules in other places are going to be the same. This is something that really makes you realize that you need to be careful when traveling abroad because assuming their laws and rules are the same as ours can get you in a lot of trouble. Thinking about how much of your behavior is rule governed is interesting to think about in my opinion. There definitely are behaviors that we take part in our lives that are governed by rules, like doing our homework (if you want a good grade). On the other hand, I think that there are things that we do that aren't rule governed as well. An example of this would be sitting down and watching a movie. There is no rule that applies to this, it is simply a behavior that you are emitting because it is enjoyable to you. I feel as if there is an equal amount of "free" behaviors, as I would call it, and rule governed behaviors.

5.3
After reading this section, I think that I will remember that "through functional assessment of behavior we can begin to investigate the behavior and what is reinforcing it so we can ultimately design an intervention to decrease the behavior if the behavior
was undesirable." I found it interesting to see the exact step where we are able to starting seeing the behavior and what is reinforcing it so that we can find a way to intervene if necessary. If I were to choose a behavior to perform a functional analysis on, it would have to be biting my lip. Just as in biting my nails, this is a nervous habit of mine and is something that I would like to stop doing and try to integrate better ways of coping with my stress along the way. Hopefully by analyzing this, I would be able to see why I am really doing it and what would fit the best as a healthy replacement.

After reading both of the sections, I found that the information on functional assessment to be an addition to my existing knowledge. Obviously, I was aware that there are reinforcers that help to keep a behavior from happening or to make it happen more but the reading helped me to understand this in more depth. I showed me the exact area where this process occurs. I think that is a very informative and good thing to know for the future in this class and in life while trying to understand behavior modification and implement it into our lives.

5.2
After emitting a reading behavior, I will emit a remembering behavior of that there are a lot of rules that I did not think of that really do govern our lives. If you stop and think about it, there are signs posted everywhere telling us what to do, or where to go, or what to watch out for…besides that there are social rules, legal rules, traditional rules, and rules that we give ourselves. I never really thought of these “rules” as behavioral indices before, and now I will. After looking at what rules are, (breaking them down into the ABC’s) they make more sense. I think that our behavior is governed by rules about 50% of the time. We know what the rules are but we have a choice to follow those rules or not. Basically a flip of the coin, even if you know the consequences of your actions, good or bad you still have a choice to make. The rules can be taught to you in a variety of different ways---but we see people that break those rules all of the time, or they make up new rules for themselves.

5.3
I will emit a remembering behavior from the section of how to examine the ABC’s more closely. More over a functional assessment of a behavior modification plan is just that, an assessment (looking back at a plan or an action) and seeing what can be tweaked to make it better (what needs to be reinforced or what needs to be punished). We can also use the assessment to identify topographical interfaces as well as the function of an action or lack of action. I will remember this because before I became a full time student again I was a salesman, and within sales calls you look at what went right and what went wrong (after you leave most times, but sometimes you have to do this on the fly). I think you can do this with most things in life, if you assess the situation you should be able to find out what went right, what went wrong, and what was irrelevant to the situation.
If I were to do a functional analysis of a behavior, of my own, I would have to look at why I don’t work out as much as I should (I already know the answers to this, but it’s a good example). I would want to assess this because of my age, my time that I have free (from work and school) and is it important to me? I couldn’t analyze this myself objectively though, it would have to be indirect because I am biased in the way that I see the behavior and someone else could be more objective than I could.

After reading both sections they elicited a more cohesive plan to behavior modification---there are rules that are outlined and we can choose to adhere to those rules or not. After a behavior modification plan is in effect or drawn out, we should analyze the plan to see if we need to change it or not to get our desired results.

5.2
After this assignment eliciting my reading behavior I will remember a key point from section 5.2. The main point that I will remember is that rules, or statements which guide our behavior, come from many sources and are therefore antecedents for behavior. Most people abide by the law, but others follow personal or religious rules as well. I say I’ll remember this the best because I had never thought of their being “rules” beyond the law. I feel that a majority of behavior is rule governed. These rules may restrain us from doing things we want, or promoting certain things or actions that the governing body (whether congress, a church, a school, etc.) feels the members should do. I also feel that many people break the law/rules without even much effort. The fact that caffeine is discouraged in some religious may set up (antecedent) how the person will act if going out to breakfast, or during late night cram sessions.

5.3
Following my behavior of reading section 5.3 I will remember that one behavior can have many functions. Therefore, to modify a behavior the function must be identified to properly set up behavior modification or to alter the method that the intervention is given. To do a functional analysis of one of my behaviors I would examine my awful habit of emitting a nail biting behavior. I primarily to the behavior when I am nervous. Implementing other stress relief methods may help to decrease the frequency of the undesirable behavior. I could also paint my nails so that the aversive smell/taste would punish my nail biting behavior.

After reading both of the sections, I have added the method to beginning an intervention to my knowledge bank. To alter a behavior the target behavior AND the function of that behavior must be addressed.

5.2
In this section, it discusses rule governed behaviors. One thing I will be sure to remember about 5.2 and rule governed behaviors is that these behaviors don't always arise from government laws. Not only do many people respect and live by the law our government has set for us, they also follow rules established by our society, culture, holiday family traditions, our friends, and ourselves. A person has several difference sources of rules, and, depending on the consequences, it greatly affects our actions and behaviors. I will remember this because I think it is very important that everyone understands why they behave the way they do. In order to modify and behavior or to fully understand our behaviors, we first must recognize the causes and factors in which lead to them. Overall, many of my behaviors are controlled by governed rule. Knowing the many different sources that these rules can come from, it's no wonder that many can agree that our behaviors are an extension of our environment. Obviously the biggest sources are government, society, family, and friends.

5.3
I think that it is very important to remember that it is not always the case that we choose the correct intervention the first time. We must keep experimenting and implementing new ideas in order to reach the goal. Some might become discouraged when the first intervention leads to no behavioral change. But that's okay, and knowing that it's okay is something we all should remember. If I had to pick one behavior to functionally analyze, it would be the behavior of eating halloween candy. There are several different functions of eating this candy, however, it is no good for me! It's pleasurable because it tastes good, it gives me a sugar rush, and it's also easy and conveniently placed on the kitchen counter - easy access! The easiest intervention for this behavior would be to make the candy much harder to obtain and munch on! If it weren't right in front of me, I most likely wouldn't be eating it!

Throughout both of the sections, they have added to my previous knowledge of behavior modification. Especially 5.2 with the rules that govern us and 5.3 with functionality/intervention. I think they're great methods to use when determining why you behave the way you do and what you can do to change/modify the behavior.

As a consequence of emitting a reading behavior of section 5.2 I will remember what rule governed behaviors are. They are established norms, morals, and ethics that can be from society or religious reasons. These rules are simply standards that people adhere to because of society or religious reasons. An example of a cultural norm from religion is that Muslim cultures don’t eat pork. Think this will stick the most with me because of how much I believe in free will and rule governed behaviors are in my mind are one of the most basic ways society controls and makes people conform to societal views whether or not they are right or wrong. I believe that at least 50 percent or more of my emitted behaviors are rule governed.
I emitted a reading behavior of section 5.3 on functional assessment of behabior. The section was really informational and as a consequence I will retain information on what functions of a behavior can mean. Functions of a behavior are what the behavior fulfills to the person emitting the target behavior in question. A great example of this would smoking. Certain people use smoking as a stress reliever and this is there for the function of smoking but other people may use smoking to simply increase their buzz from drinking and so this is their particular function of smoking. The behavior is the same but the “affect” or reasoning as to why preform the target behavior is different from person to person. I think this will be remembered by me because A lot of times I emit a behavior and people may ask why I emitted that particular behavior and not see the functionality the behavior has for me. I emit a nail biting behavior often and the function behind this behavior for me is a nervous reaction and calms me down, giving me something to do.
I believe that knowing that behavior therapists rarely get the function right the first time about a target behavior is information that I will remember. This really adds to my knowledge base because I have always wondered how the therapist can know exactly the function behind a target behavior and how best to change the target behavior.

I emitted the behavior of reading chapter 5.2, and by doing so, I retained a lot of information. I will remember the definition of rule governed behavior. A rule governed behavior is a behavior that is maintained from already established norms, morals, or ethical standards. The text stated that the avoidance of sexual relations between members of the same family is an example of a rule governed behavior. This example elicited a memory of a family from my hometown that defied this rule. I will remember the concept of a rule governed behavior because it elicits the memory of the family that didn’t abide by a rule governed behavior. A lot of the behaviors I emit are rule governed behaviors. I like to adhere to societal norms, morals, and ethical standards. For example, I do not steal, I wear my seatbelt, and I don’t engage in sexual relationships with family members. I would like to think of myself as a good person and citizen that abides by the rules and laws.
Chapter 5.3 was very informational as well. I will remember that behaviors may be topographically similar, yet have different functions. I will remember this concept because it has been discussed in previous chapters, and by now the concept is embedded in my memory. For example, the behavior of eating can have many different functions. Personally, I eat to make me happy, I eat for something to do, I eat to fit in socially, and I eat to maintain life and well-being. Oftentimes, eating serves the function of giving me something to do. This causes an aversive consequence of weight-gain. If I could change the antecedent of me being lazy or bored, the target behavior of eating to reduce boredom would not occur, and the aversive consequence of weight gain would hopefully not occur as well.
Section 5.2 and 5.3 was very informational and added to my knowledge of bmod. Before reading 5.2, I was unaware of the concept of rule governed behavior. I knew that there were societal norms that Americans engage in, but I was unaware that they were called rule governed behaviors. Section 5.3 taught me how to do a functional analysis which I found very helpful because now I can analyze my everyday behaviors.

5.2
After emitting the behavior of reading chapter 5.2 I have come to find that there many reasons that we emit behaviors. The most common reason, however, is because it is part of laws to emit or not emit certain behaviors, and there are consequences if the desired behavior is not emitted. I think that most of our behaviors are rule governed. We have a lot of behaviors that we follow because it is against the law, but then we also have many behaviors that we emit because of social laws. There are many social laws that tell us that we should or should not emit a certain behavior. Then there are other laws we follow just because we hear that they are efficient or good to follow, which I think might fall under the social laws category. Overall, I think there are very few behaviors that we emit that don’t have anything to do with governed laws.
5.3
I emitted the behavior of reading chapter 5.3 on functional analysis of behavior which elicited learning of the next step after the ABCs. I learned that functional behavior analysis is used to be able to determine a hypothesis on why and when I certain behavior occurs. We analyze the ABCs of that behavior to determine what is reinforcing it and why it is being reinforced. In doing this we must also be able to determine under which context or function the behavior is occurring, and determine what other behaviors we could do to get a similar or different outcome. This is particularly important because after we use this step to make a hypothesis we can go on to being able to change the behavior.
Overall, I learned that there are certain reasons why we choose to emit a certain behavior whether they are determined by laws or something else. Regardless, we must use what we know about the ABCs of that behavior and turn it into a hypothesis for why the behavior is occurring. This will help us be able to modify and change our behavior, and pertains to this class because, after all, this is a behavior modification class.