Please go to the following blog page:
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/bmod/abcs.html
Please read sections 4.1 (Need for Self-Directed Behavior) and 4.2 (Self Directed behavior Steps)
After reading section 4.1, please respond to the following questions.
What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why? What were some ideas that came to mind when you were reading the section?
After reading section 4.2, please respond to the following questions.
What was one thing that you really liked that was in the section? Why? What was one thing that you disliked that was in the section? Why? What are three things you will remember from what you read in the section? Why?
How has reading these sections changed or built on what you have been thinking about behavior modification? How so?
Please fill out the boxes in the readings you may be quizzed on them in class.
Once you are done with your post make list of the terms and terminology you used in your post.
Let us know if you have any questions,
--Dr. M
SECTION 4.1
1. The importance of defining a target behavior is crucial in self-directed behavior change and general behavior modification. If a target behavior is not devised, behavior change is often tricky because the behavior being analyzed is too broad, specifics of the behavior must be targeted for change.
The concept of other-directed behavior suggests the behavior of others influences the available reinforcers we can use to change a behavior. For example, in a class full of noisy students the teacher would change behavior using an aversive reinforcement because a positive reinforcement hasn’t changed behavior in the past.
Alternate behaviors are important in changing a behavior. It is important to define a target behavior along with alternate behaviors that may increase the chances of successfully emitting the desired target behavior.
2. I enjoyed being reinforced about the importance of goal setting! It is such a simple concept and a common procedure all around, however it is not often emphasized as being vital to taking responsibility of your future. It almost seems like an unconscious procedure at times because I do things without thinking that turn out to be beneficial to my future goals. However there I times I also do MANY things that are not beneficial to my future goals because I have failed to re-analyze exactly what I want to achieve and can get caught up in the things around me; distracted in other words. So goal-setting, vital and a procedure I want to self-direct myself to utilize even more in my life.
3. The main idea that came to mind was how hopeless we are at self-directed behavior. Whilst we may have good intentions, intention alone is not enough and it seems everyone falls into this trap unless they have real motivation and clear steps laid out to reach the desired behavior. Thus I finally realize why many teachers/mentors in my life have stressed the importance of setting goals. Goal setting is vital for step by step behavioral change that will allow one to make their dreams a reality!
SECTION 4.2
1. The importance of determine antecedents to employ successful behavior change struck out most and seemed the most important idea to memorize from this section. Throughout our studies of behavior change we have worked with the basic understanding that behavior change consists of the antecedent, behavior and consequence. As the starting point of the behavioral process, manipulating the antecedent is powerful. It can change the environment which is most important in determining what behaviors are emitted.
2. There was nothing I disliked about this section. It was both a clear and reinforcing read.
3. Behavior intervention seemed simultaneous with the concept of behavior modification, however it is presented as a step in the process of behavior modification. Behavior intervention occurs when a reinforcement is chosen and ready to be employed to elicit the desired behavior.
Setting goals that emit positive reinforcements is more favorable then choosing a behavior to decrease and using aversive behaviors. For example, one wants to eat healthier-rather then punish oneself for eating something unhealthy through starvation, successful behavior change is more likely to occur if one was to reinforce themselves for eating well having dinner at a nice restaurant.
Adjusting the contingencies in which your desired behavior change hangs on is most likely to occur. It seems important to remember that if one process used to change a behavior doesn't work the first time, one will have to adjust the contingencies upon which it is based, which will only improve the project, so no worries!
4. Following the analysis of these two sections, along with the somewhat expected reinforcement of behavior modification terms and concepts, I have mostly built upon the understanding of the importance of goal setting. Goal setting is inherent to shaping our behaviors, so successful behavior modification processes seems to suggest we really can reach our goals, but we must first understand how to change our behavior for the long term.
TERMS: Target behavior, self-directed behavior, behavior modification, other-directed behavior, reinforcers, aversive, positive reinforcement, alternate behaviors, emit, desire, antecedent, consequence, behavior intervention, elicit, contingencies, setting goals
Section 4.
1. A behavior that is monitored by others is called other self-directed behavior and it may feel like you are being manipulated. At times, this may be more effective than self-directed behavior because others are controlling the environment and behavior. The example given about food portions allowed me to understand this better. If others are controlling the portions, then we are more likely to follow the target behavior.
2. Many people that set New Year’s resolutions fail constantly. They fail because the target behavior they wish to change is not specific at all. They set very broad behavior changes such as looking fit or trying to quit drinking. However, they do not set up specific objectives that are measurable. I have known many people in my life who fail because their goals are not measurable or achievable.
3. Self-directed behavior allows an individual to emit free will to accomplish the target behavior. By having the ability to create their own destiny, it is more likely that the target behavior will be emitted successfully. Some people use punishment to influence their target behavior but it is more effective to use reinforcement.
4. One thing I liked in the section was that it explained what was wrong from some of the target behaviors that were listed. For example, spending more time with family was much too broad. There needs to be measurable actions that can be followed such as calling your mother every Sunday or playing video games with your little brother once a week. This allows you to measure how well the target behavior is being emitted.
5. One thing I really didn’t understand was DROs. I need more examples to wrap my head around this.
6. Some ideas that came to mind were behaviors that I wish to change. One thing that I wish to change is the number of times I floss a week. Also, I want to change the number of times I text some of my friends. Now, I just need to set up specific objectives that I can measure.
Section 4.2
1. One thing I really liked from this section was that it laid the foundation for implementing our behavior change. The six steps that were explained in this section were clear and precise to give us a direction for accomplishing our goals. There were also great examples given for each step allowing me to relate much better.
2. I enjoyed pretty much everything from this section. The only thing I disliked was how the baseline was explained. When the section discussed how to accommodate for the contingencies and changing the baseline, it was a bit confusing.
3. I will remember that the initial goal set will be very broad and more along the lines of a behavior class. It is step two where you list the target behaviors that will be established which must be measurable, precise, manageable, and fit within the scope of your daily life.
4. I will remember to keep a good diary to track my results. It must be updated as soon as the behavior is emitted because you are more likely to forget if you wait till that night. Also, you must organize the diary in terms of the ABC’s of behavior to keep more accurate notes.
5. I will remember that contingencies may change because a reinforcer can become satiated after a while. You can adjust the reinforcer to be on a ratio level instead of a continuous level if this happens as well. You should not get discouraged if things to go smoothly right away. One must be able to adapt to change to ensure success of a behavior change.
6. Reading these sections has allowed me to use everything that I have learned about behavior modification. This is when it becomes real and the concepts actually come into play. While we choose a behavior to change, the language of behavior modification will be used more frequently. Reading this has gotten me excited about actually trying to change a behavior that I want to change.
Terminology: self-directed behavior, target behavior, behavior, emit, punishment, reinforcement, DRO, behavior class, reinforce, ratio
After reading section 4.1, the three things I will remember include self-directed and other-directed behaviors, the concept of using reinforecement or punishment when modifying a behavior, and the importance of defining a target behavior for the fact they all play key roles in how individuals can go about changing behaviors in themselves, or how we can go about changing behaviors in others.
1. Self-Directed vs. Other Directed behavior- The reading describes self-directed behavior as when we exert our free will to determine a behavior in which we want to increase or decrease the likelihood of that behavior. Basically what this is saying is that we chose what behaviors we want to change about ourselves and how we want to go about changing that specific behavior. Other-directed behavior on the other hand is when others control the behaviors by controlling the availability of a reinforcer. For instance, the book gives the example of being a teacher in a classroom, directing and controlling the behaviors of their students. When looking at both self-directed behavior and other-directed behavior, one thing they share in common is the need for a specific target behavior.
2. Defining Target Behavior- As discussed in the reading, in order to successfully change and alter a behavior, you must first establish a specific target behavior. Without a specific target behavior, it is hard to determine what it is you are really trying to change and how you will go about in reinforcing yourself after completing the task.
3. Reinforcement vs. Punishment- This section goes on to talk a lot about how when changing a behavior, the best way to see changes is through the use of reinforcement, rather than punishment. When setting a target behavior, it is best to look at the specific behavior and find ways in which you can turn something from a punishment, such as stop eating sweets, to reinforcing the desired behavior, allowing yourself desert one day during the week. By using reinforcement rather than punishment, the results of changing a behavior are more likely to occur.
One thing I really liked form this section was the discussion of New Years Resolutions and how they tend to fail when we make them for the fact the target behaviors are very broad. By not setting specific target behaviors, we are setting ourselves up to fail when it comes to following through with a resolution. The reason I liked this so much was for the fact that we all have made countless of New Years resolutions with little success. This just helps make sense of the constant failure many of us experience come February 1st. In general, there was very little I didn’t like about this section. Although the history of behavior modification was interesting, it is nice to get back into application concepts!
While reading this section, a lot came to mind about how I can go about successfully changing behaviors in my everyday life, as well as how I can use these techniques to change the behaviors in others around me.
In reading section 4.2 one thing I really liked was the step-by-step process of going about changing a behavior. I liked how throughout the section, we were able to piece together how we would go about the different steps involved in changing a self-directed behavior. As I mentioned earlier, there was little I didn’t like about this section because it was nice to get back into application processes after doing the history of behavior modification section.
The three things I will take away from this section are:
1. Steps involved in changing target behavior- This section focused on the seven steps needed in order to develop and successfully change a self-dierected behavior. Those steps included 1. Set Goal, 2. Define and Specify goal as a set of Target Behaviors, 3. Keep a Record, 4. Graph a Baseline, 5. Determine the Contingencies, 6. Determine the Antecedents, 7. Implement and adjust contingencies. The reason I will be sure to remember all of these if for the fact successfully changing a behavior would be hard to do without these seven steps.
2. Baseline Performance- The reading talked about recording a baseline performance. What this means is tracking the current behavior in which you want to change, how much it happens, when it happens, ect. The book talks about how the best way to track the baseline performance is through the use of a behavior diary.
3. Evaluating and Adjusting Contingencies- The final thing I will take away from this section is the importance of adjusting your contingencies once you start to go about changing your behaviors. It is important to make adjustments. Without making changes in your plan to change a behavior, it is likely you wont be successful in changing that behavior.
All in all, both of these sections have added to my knowledge of behavior modification by giving me the tools to start to change behaviors of my one, as well as other around me.
Terms: Behavior, reinforcement, punishment, self-directed behavior, other-directed behavior, target behavior, baseline performance, behavior diary, steps in changing self-directed behaviors, evaluating and adjusting contingencies.
Section 4.1
I liked that this topic was focused on behaviors that are self-directed ( by ourselves and not by others) because it’s not always viable that others can help us in achieving our desired goals or behaviors. It’s reassuring to know that we can take what we learn in behavior modification and make it work for ourselves! I will remember specifically the information about why new years resolutions fail because I think it was a great example that covers some topics we previously discussed and ties in really well with self-directed behavior as most new years resolutions fall under that category.
1. Most resolutions are very broad and vague and don’t address a specific target behavior. If you don’t know exactly what you want to change, or you want to change a large range of behaviors you are probably going to fail at changing the behaviors because you won’t know what to reinforce or punish. You also won’t be able to measure change without knowing exactly what you are modifying.
2. Another reason resolutions fail is because they involve punishment rather than reinforcement. This makes sense because we often make resolutions that require quitting or reducing something, the removal of a desired stimulus (punishment) but as we know punishment is aversive, and who really wants that?
3. We can find alternative behaviors that can instead be reinforced, this also leads to reducing the target behavior without directly punishing yourself, this is DRO- differential reinforcement of others. I think many people don’t realize that this is a possibility or a tool in successfully reaching their new years resolution.
The only thing I disliked was the lack of editing in this chapter. It’s usually easy for me to recognize the correct tense/word etc and move on with the sentence while retaining the information. This time I found the amount of errors distracting and I had to re read a few sentences several times. However, I am far too lazy to make the corrections myself so I don’t expect anyone else to.
It’s pretty obvious what ideas come to mind when reading this section. It made me want to set my own self-directed behaviors and see if some of my previously failed new years resolutions could be met by defining clear target behaviors and using reinforcement and DROs rather than punishment.
Section 4.2
I liked this section because it expanded on the previous section on self-directed behaviors. So, it was like okay, now I know what makes self-directed behavior fail and what makes it succeed… but what do I do next? And this chapter was an AH-HA, here is the “formula” moment! Changing a self-directed behavior includes the following : set a goal, define target behaviors, determine your baseline, keep a record, determine contingencies, determine antecedents, implement/adjust contingencies. This made all of the previous reading sections and blog posts really important because if we hadn’t already learned why defining target behaviors were important, or what contingencies were, or if I didn’t know that antecedents could set the occasion for behavior than none of these steps for self- directed behavior modification would make any sense whatsoever. The idea of keeping a behavior diary didn’t really appeal to me. I understand it’s necessary in determining a baseline and identifying the abc’s. I’m not sure why, it seemed kind of aversive and just one more thing to do I guess. I suppose it’s because the word diary seems fruity to me. But then again I could just call it a record, and now I know what makes keeping a record successful.
1. Make it easy to manage
2. Write things down on the spot and not at the end of the day ( I’m always using my cell phone apps so I’m sure I could use my note app for this task)
3. Make recording a routine and don’t try to do it over spring break or at an unusual time. So I couldn’t really keep a record during class because cell phone use is prohibited and my professors might think I’m text messaging friends and get upset. But I could do it immediately after so I don’t forget and because I always keep my phone with me. Carrying around a notebook with me isn’t realistic as I wouldn’t remember to bring it with me routinely.
These sections have changed what I have been thinking about behavior modification because they make me think about the practical application. This course goes beyond making me remember a bunch of Psychology jargon to spit back on a test. This course does help me remember terms with the blog posts but it’s because I am actively remembering the terms not to recite them and learn about how they work in theory, but to use them to actually test those theories. It makes me actually think about wanting to change a behavior, or how I am going to use these tools when I have my career, or how most behaviors are modified without us ever acknowledging that it occurred.
Terms: behavior, Self-directed behaviors, target behavior, punishment, reinforcement, aversive, DRO, contingencies, antecedent, set the occasion, behavioral diary, baseline performance.
Section 4.1
The first thing I will remember from this chapter is on the details of self-directed behavior. Since there is a whole chapter dedicated to this topic, it is one worth paying attention too. Self-directed behavior is just that, behavior that is being directed or controlled by one’s own self. In this kind of behavior modification I can see the need for many motivations along the way. We generally like to take the easy road for anything we do in life. Unfortunately, when it comes to changing a behavior, especially on our own, I could see it being a struggle to follow through to the end on the behavior modification that we would attempt to self-reinforce.
The second thing I learned from this chapter is that many people don’t think they can change a certain pattern of behavior in their lives. The thought always goes to ‘this is how I’ve always done it’. Reality is a different story however. There are countless stories of someone being able to rid themselves of an aversive behavior on their own through self-directed reinforcement. This means that the ones who don’t think they will be able to change are only being held back from bettering their lives, or the lives of those around them, by their own unwillingness to try.
The last thing I learned from reading this section is just how important it is for the target behavior to be clearly stated and not so broad that it could mean any number of things. Whether talking about self-directed behavior or others-directed behavior, there always needs to be a specific goal that we are trying to accomplish through the behavior modification process.
The one thing I really liked from this section was how self-directed reinforcement rather than punishment was looked at as a more positive way to change a behavior. To often when trying to change something about ourselves, we feel like it is just going to be the end of the world. I think this is due to so much thought on how we are going to punish ourselves to keep the undesirable behavior from occurring in the future. If we took a positive look at the situation and counted up all the desirable reasons to modify our behavior, we wouldn’t have such a negative thought process toward personal behavior modification. Reinforcement works so much better because it is less aversive. Why use punishment when its dealing with one’s own self? Why not implement a system that reinforces the desirable behavior instead of punishing the undesirable behavior since it will leave the individual feeling more satisfied when the target behavior is emitted and less tense and bent out of shape when the previously reinforced behavior ceases to be emitted.
I didn’t like how few examples where shown on the uses of punishment as a self-directed method of behavior modification. In my mind I understand why we should use reinforcement instead of punishment, however, it makes a lot of sense to give multiple examples showing why reinforcement works better.
Section 4.2
The one thing I didn’t like about this section was all the charts and graphs and so little space in which to discus them. Maybe it is just because stats is not my strong point and I have been previously reinforced to dislike stats. However, I’m sure after we go over them in class this will not be a problem area.
The thing I did like about this chapter was how detailed the six steps of self-directed behavior modifications were. It is the guidelines for success in modifying a behavior so it should be well outlined, which it was. I couldn’t be more pleased with how each step was conveyed in this section.
The first thing I will remember from this section is to SET A GOAL. There can be no behavior modification without having a behavior that you think or know needs to be changed. If there is no goal, then there is nothing to compare or contrast the previously reinforced behavior off of. If there is no goal for changing, the change will not take place.
The second thing I will remember is to define/specify the goal as a set of target behaviors. This builds off of why we need to specify the target behavior as was mentioned in the previous section. Once again, if the target behavior is not clearly defined there will be no way to consistently reinforce the behavior because it could mean a wide range of things.
The last thing that really stood out to me from this section was step three of the process. Recording the progress that is made during a behavior modification process is so important. It helps us track our progress as well as keeps us honest when we try to pull a fast one on ourselves and try to reward ourselves when the target behavior has not been emitted.
I think these two sections have really made it clear to me as to why we need to specify our target behaviors. It was easy at the start of the semester to pretend I knew why it was important but after seeing realistic examples, it has really hammered home the reasons behind clearly stating the target behaviors.
Terms: Target behavior, behavior modification, positive, aversive, punishment, self-directed, others-directed, emit, setting goal, recording.
Section 4.1
1. Other Directed Behavior vs. Self Directed Behavior
Some things I learned from this chapter include the difference between other-directed behavior and self-directed behavior. Other-directed behavior is when others control the reinforcer, whereas self-directed you use your free will. You choose the behavior you want to decrease or increase. Self-directed behavior can be used to reach goals, and things like New Years Resolutions.
2. New Years Resolutions often fail because we do are not specific enough about a target behavior- rather we are too broad and represent a behavioral class. For example we might say- spend more time reading. But you need to also ask yourself, reading what? Homework, the internet, the newspaper? What goes in this category? If we don’t know and haven’t specified these things, we run into problems.
3. The target behavior also needs to be measurable and realistic for the situation and they should involve punishment rather than reinforcement. You need to be able to record your progress, so being measurable is important, and if you don’t have the resources to read- say you can’t read for example- then reading more is an unrealistic situation.
One thing I disliked was the explanation of the DRO. I struggled understanding and giving examples of alternative behaviors that were incompatible with my target behavior. I remembered these things especially because I have wondered before why I set a resolution for myself and was unable to reach it- and I believe it was because my target behavior was too broad.
Section 4.2
One thing I really liked about this section is that it was split into steps. It made the process easy to understand and helped me out quite a bit. I didn’t really realize how important it was to record your behaviors right away so that you get in the habit of it instead of solely relying on memory. It’s a lot more complicated of a process than I thought it was to conscienscously change a behavior. You can’t just say, oh it’ll change over time and expect a change. You have to take note and facilitate the behavior change yourself.
1. First step is to come up with a goal. It’s okay if it’s broad but you want to try to base it on increasing a desirable behavior. Then you want to define your target goal. It should be realistic and manageable.
2. Record your progress. This is really important, and it is best to do it right after you complete the behavior instead of at the end of the day, so it is fresh in your mind. Note the before and after surrounding the behavior.
3. Graph your baseline and determine what is working and what isn’t. Adjust your contingencies to that.
Terminology: self-directed behavior, other directed behavior, reinforcer, target behavior, DRO, contingencies, target goal
4.1
Three things that I will remember:
One thing that I liked about this section was that new years resolutions often fail because they are too broad. This seems simple, but it is something that I have never really thought of before. Another reason that they fail is because they often involve punishment rather than reinforcement. I liked that this section forced us to think about steps need to be taken to actually change a behavior. I found it interesting that this is why many people become so discouraged when their new years resolutions fail. I think that this is something that people should be aware of.
Another thing that I liked about the section was that it explained how to break down a broad target behavior into more specific steps. I liked that the section forced us to write down the target behavior for "quit drinking." The next step for us to do then was to list three behaviors that are incompatible with the behavior that we listed. Next it had us write the three alternative behaviors as specific target behaviors. I liked that it made us do this because it really made me stop and think about how to make a broad target into something specific and accomplishable.
Finally I liked that the section clearly defined what a DRO is. DRO stands for differential reinforcement of other. This means that it is better to redefine
alternative behaviors that can be reinforced, but will still function to reduce the original target behavior. I like this because it helps makes something that seems difficult to accomplish doable because it makes you break it down into smaller specific steps.
I really liked that this chapter forced us to stop and think about how to break down a target behavior into smaller goals. This helped me understand that to change a behavior sometimes we have to think about the smaller steps involved. There was nothing that I really disliked about this section. I thought that all of the information was useful. Non of what I read in this section was a repeat of information that I have learned in another class. I liked that all of the information was new to me. It made things more interesting.
This chapter really made me think about what I need to do when I set goals to change my own behavoir. Sometimes changing behavior seems scary, but when it is broken down into small steps it seems a lot less intimidating. This is something that I will always keep in mind for the future. I found the information in the section to be quite useful. It is something that I will definitely use in my future.
4.2
Three things that I will remember:
There are not really three specific things that I will remember from this section, but I will remember it more as a whole because of the seven steps listed in the section. The seven steps involved with changing a behavior are, set a goal, define the goal as specific target behaviors, keep a record, graph a baseline, determin contingencies, determine antecedents, and impliment and adjust contingencies. I will remember these steps because I think that the section really made it clear what each step means and how to accomplish it. I will also remember this because it was all new information to me. Nothing in this section was a repeat. There was nothing that I really disliked about this sectiion. I found it all to be quite useful.
Terms: behavior, target behavior, behavior modification, DRO,
Section 4.1
After reading section 4.1 there a three things that I will remember for sure. The first term is Other-directed behavior. This is a behavior that is aimed at others. Such as teachers managing a classroom, work safety, ect. This is important because its necessary for management to be successful. Another term I will remember is self-directed behavior. This is when we exert our free will and choose a behavior. This is important because its OUR own free will and choice of the actions we make. A third thing I will remember is the difference between directed behaviors being aimed at us from another group and from ourselves. From others it seems manipulative but from ourselves it feels like free will. This was interesting because it’s the same thing only we are making the choice rather than given the option. I liked the section of self directed behavior. It had a lot of information that made sense from an individual standpoint. it was very interesting how the difference between us managing our choices vs. someone else managing them changed the concept so much. This section made me think a lot about behavior modification because its similar to the same but changing who makes the choice is all the difference. This showed me that if people feel they make their own choices they will be much more likely to modify their behavior as oppsed to someone else making the choice for them.I disliked that there wasn’t more information. The main terms were there but I wanted expansion. Im sure with these topics its very easy to expand and go in more depth about choices given to made by our free will. More information would have been best but I enjoyed the content anyways. I thought a lot about choices ive made compared to others making them for me. Its amazing how I will rebel if they make them but if I make the same decision its perfectly ok. I love that and the idea of it.
Section 4.2
The one thing I didn’t like about this section were the charts and graphs. There wasnt much space in which to discus them. It made it a little more difficult to read and understand the information just because there was less information provided due to the visuals.
The one thing I did enjoy about this section was the beginning. The 6 steps were very self explanatory and gave a good idea of the process to follow. Each step was broken down and described well enough to get the idea. It also made it easier for me to make my own if I had to. After reading the steps I was obvious that all steps were needed but it brought them to my attention and helped me remember them much better.
I think the three things I will remember most would be the six steps to behavior modification for self directed behavior. The process of making a graph to record the data I am trying to change.
The six steps: set goals, define/specify the goal,keep a record, graph a baseline, determine contingencies, determine antecedents. All these steps described the process of self directed beahavior modification.
The graph creation which is step 4 was something that I will remember. I feel a visual would help the process in a better way. Seeing the data and being able to track it would help me record it more closely.
This section has built on previous terms. Its lead up to the things like self directed behavior and other directed behavior. These terms can now be included in the text to expand on previous readings. These gave the information on how the choices and who is making them so important. To humans free will seems very important so how you approach behavior modification to others is very important in getting the desired results. This also added more terms to my vocabulary and made me expand my thoughts on the topic. I Really liked this section because it tied everything we have learned together plus advanced our learning.
Terms: Behavior modification, self directedbehavior, other directed behavior, psychology, set goals, define/specify the goal,keep a record, graph a baseline, determine contingencies, determine antecedents
One thing I found interesting was self-directed behaviors. These behaviors occur when we exert our free will to choose a behavior that we want to increase or decrease. This type of behavior allows us to make our own goals and structure our own behavioral interventions. The most common type of self-directed behavior is New Year’s Resolutions. It’s easy for people to think that by simply making or saying they have a resolution it will just happen without doing anything. Another problem that can occur with this type of behavior is that it is too broad and represents an entire behavior class. It’s pertinent to choose specific target behaviors to modify. The more specific the easier it will be to know which behavior is going to be reinforced or punished. As we have learned in previous chapters, the target behavior has to be identifiable to anyone, so the more specific the better. Taking all of these things into consideration when creating a self-directed behavior will make it simple to know whether you have done it or not.
I felt the brief blurb about alternative behaviors that are incompatible was not specified enough. I wasn’t sure what was being asking, whether it was just another example of target behaviors that would result in “quitting drinking” or if it was supposed to be a different alternative behavior for a different undesirable behavior.
The first thing I will take away from this section is other-directed behaviors. I found these interesting because they can be seen as manipulative and sort of creepy, as in classroom or very helpful, as in a portion control to lose weight. It completely depends on how it is interpreted and the situation it is used in. The second thing is self-directed behaviors. I will remember these because they are things I we do everyday. People are constantly developing these behaviors; the important thing to remember is that they must be specific. Finally I will remember the importance of defining a good target behavior. This is the most important step in changing our behaviors.
I found the steps to self-directed behavior important. 1. Set goal: starting with a behavior goal. (General) 2. Define/Specify the Goal as a set of Target Behaviors: these goals must be precise, manageable, measureable and fit within the practical scope of their daily lives. 3. Keep a record: it’s important to manage it and making it easy so you’ll do it. 4. Graph a baseline: you need a way to know where you’ve started so you can monitor your progress. 5. Determine contingencies: looking at the behavioral intervention, how we are going to reinforce ourselves and what the schedule of reinforcement is. It’s important to determine what will be a good reinforcer. 6. Determine Antecedents: knowing what will help lead us to our goals. What will elicit our behavior, so it can be accomplished. 7. Implement and adjust the contingencies: changing what qualifies as the behavior to be reinforced based on how things have progressed. This is important because to continue to improve you may need to adjust it accordingly.
I felt the work bubbles were helpful, but also tedious. The steps were so well explained and defined; I felt it unnecessary to fill out each one. Each step seemed to be fairly self-explanatory. This would be a good section to refer back to when creating a self-directed behavior.
The first things I took away from this chapter was step 3 the importance of keeping a record. You need to make sure it is detailed and nothing is forgotten because this is how you determine your baseline performance. Without it, you can’t be sure that you have really improved. Secondly the importance of step 6, determine the antecedent. Since the antecedent is a powerful was to elicit a behavior it is important to know what is it when self-directing your behavior. This will direct you into the best possible way to your goal. By being in an environment that promotes the changes you wish to accomplish, the easier and fast it will happen. Finally I will remember step 7, Implement and adjust the contingencies. This is important because you need to be able to adapt your goals to promote the best change. If you accomplish your first goal, continue and change how to be reinforced or if your reinforcer has lost its power, change the schedule or reinforcer.
After analyzing these sections we can see that as we continue through the book, it is continuing to build on behavior modification. Goal setting is essential to the success of modification. We have to set realistic and obtainable goals so we can work to change our behaviors long term. We are not just talking about reinforcement and punishment anymore we are learning how to analyze how as humans we change our behavior and others and the specifics that go into it.
Terms: target behavior, behaviors, self-directed behaviors, other-directed behaviors, alternative behaviors, specific, undesirable behavior, exert our free will, behavioral interventions, too broad, behavior class, reinforced, punished, Set goal
behavior goal, Define/Specify the Goal as a set of Target Behaviors, precise, manageable, measureable and fit within the practical scope of their daily lives, Keep a record, Graph a baseline, monitor, Determine contingencies, behavioral intervention, reinforce, schedule of reinforcement , reinforcer, Determine Antecedents, Implement and adjust the contingencies, reinforced, baseline performance, antecedent, adapt, behavior modification, reinforcement, punishment
Three things I will remember from section 4.1 include differential reinforcement, self-directed behavior, and why people fail in their resolutions or goals at changing their own behaviors. Differential reinforcement is reinforcing incompatible behaviors. I will remember this term through an example of trying to reduce a Friday night drinking behavior by reinforcing other activities on Friday nights which do not involve drinking (going to a movie). Self-directed behavior is modifying one owns behavior. I can self-direct my own behavior by clearing identifying the desired behavior and finding ways I can reinforce an alternative behavior. An example, eating healthier I can reinforce the behavior through rewards such as shopping. Finally, people tend to fail at meeting goals or New Years resolutions because their goals are often vague. It is important to define a clear target behavior so that you can differentiate between emitting the behavior or not and reinforce or punish accordingly.
One thing I really liked about the section was the list of New Years resolutions from Google. I liked how the section listed the top 10 resolutions, and then described why people fail at achieving their resolutions. The section did an excellent job at explaining why goals fail and how to properly set a target behavior and use reinforcement accordingly. One thing I disliked about the section was that I wish there had been a few more examples on how to define a target behavior so that reinforcement can be applied. Some ideas that came to my mind while reading the section are my previous goals and New Years resolutions and why they did not work. I also contemplated on how I could make one of my goals into a more specific target behavior and implement reinforcement.
I liked the detailed and concise steps section 4.2 provided for self-directed behavior. I thought the steps were clear, easy to understand, and I was easily able to apply them to my own behavior I want to change. One thing I disliked about the chapter was that it only gave one example. It would have been nice to have other examples of the steps to self-directed behavior other than writing more frequently. The main things I will remember from the section are the seven steps involved in self-directed behavior which include: 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. I will remember these steps because they are essential for altering a self-directed behavior. It is important to define the target behavior so you know exactly what you are looking for, keeping a record helps determine the antecedents, graphing a baseline shows your change overtime, by identifying and changing antecedents we can modify our behavior, and finally use reinforcement to help alter your behavior and chose contingencies that increase the behavior.
Within class thus far we have learned how to alter or modify other’s behavior. These sections however, have introduced a new aspect of behavior modification, self-directed. I enjoyed learning about self-directed behavior because currently I am more interested in modifying my own behavior rather than others (probably will change once I have kids). I among many others have in the past set goals or target behaviors that have failed. After reading these sections I understand that my goals were too vague and I did not follow the 7 steps correctly therefore they failed. With this new information obtained, I believe I will be successful in modifying future target behaviors by following the seven steps of self-directed behavior.
Terms: differential reinforcement, self-directed behavior, reinforcement, target behavior, punishment, emit, antecedents, modification, contingencies, frequency
4.1 Self Directed Behavior
We have primarily learned throughout this course how to direct others’ behaviors. In this section we are starting to look at directing our own behaviors. The difference between self-directed behavior and directing behaviors with others is that we rely on ourselves to manage behavior as well as administer our own consequences; aka self-reinforcement. The overall goal of self-directed behavior is that we eventually gain better behaviors based on the adaptation from our environments and over a period of time fall into an automatic pattern of those behaviors. Behavior modification doesn’t always have to be about manipulating others. Often times when questioning if we should change a behavior or not, we should really take a look back at the four root questions of reasons for changing; Does the behavior bother us?, Does it bother someone else?, Will this behavior lead to trouble?, and Is it illegal?. With self-directed behavior we need to consider which behaviors we would like to increase and which to decrease. In the cases in which we would like to increase or decrease a behavior, just like in directing others’ behaviors, we reinforce those behaviors either positively or negatively. If we specifically define a target behavior in our own lives that we would like to change and make them manageable within the limits that we possess as well as give alternate behaviors, we should be able direct our own behaviors adequately in a way in which we desire.
4.2 Self-Directed Behavior Steps
Throughout this section it was made clear to us how easily self-directed behavior can be accomplished by using seven basic steps. Step number one involves setting a goal. When setting a goal, in order for it to be successful, it needs to be broad and has to be associated with increasing a behavior. Step two is defining or specifying the goal into what we call target behaviors. Target behaviors are very specific and need to be manageable within the limits of our daily lives (this varies from person to person). If a target behavior is unattainable due to constraints on a person’s lifestyle the behavior ultimately becomes difficult to accomplish and maintain. Setting a target behavior also needs to be quantifiable. The necessity setting a behavior that we can measure makes it so we can see changes when they occur. The third step that makes self-directed behavior possible is keeping a record. This is where when setting a target behavior that can be measured comes in handy. Knowing the baseline for our performance in trying to attain the target behavior is important. Keeping a behavioral diary makes knowing this sort of information easier. If we write down what kinds of behaviors happen in different situations we are able to attain our baselines for those behaviors. The next step is to graph those baselines; using line graphs, pie charts, bar graph etc. are some good ways showing changes in behaviors as well how many times that behavior occurs. A graph however is not a very a good visual indication of our what our antecedents are as well as our consequences. Determining contingencies enables us to see the antecedents and the consequences to implement behavioral intervention; this is step five. Behavioral intervention is all about making decisions. What we use for a reinforcer, how often we reinforce, and what types of criterion are used to indicate when a schedule of reinforcement occurs are all answered through self-evaluation and the aforementioned steps. Step number six specifically uses what we know about the antecedents to a behavior and directs that knowledge towards achieving goals. For instance, if you know you wanted to eat healthier, the antecedents to eating healthy would be to have healthy food in the house. Changing the environment and cleaning out the cupboards of all the junk food would enable to change. Step number seven includes implementing and adjusting the contingencies. Adjustments of your contingencies are perfectly normal when proceeding through self-directed behavior. It is most definitely a trial and error sequence, however if an accurate behavioral diary is kept hopefully there won’t be as many sequences to go through before finding your niche.
Terms: Target behavior, self-directed behavior, antecedents, consequence, behavioral diary, trial and error, contingencies, self-reinforcement, environment, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, manipulating, reinforcer, setting a goal, quantifiable.
Section 4.1
I thought that this section was very straightforward and easy to understand; I liked how it gave a lot of different opportunities to think of target behaviors and on how they need to be specific. This section also gave examples of target behaviors that were far too broad in order to be effective. I found this section most interesting because I was able to apply it directly to my own life. There are many times that I have set different goals for myself, such as “Get in shape” or “Exercise more consistently”, but I never went through with it completely. This is because I didn’t have a defined target behavior that I could use to accomplish my goals. There was nothing in this section that I didn’t like. I thought it was good and very easy to understand overall.
Three things I will remember:
1. Other-directed Behavior– behaviors directed by others; the text gave a great example that will help me to remember: If we want to give up a certain food but it is easily accessible, we are more easily tempted to eat that food. However, if there is someone there to reinforce us than it is easier to follow our behavior modification plan.
2. Self-directed Behavior – behaviors directed by ourselves; the example for this was also very helpful from the text: we exert our own free will to choose a behavior and increase it or decrease it; we use our own free will in order to plan out our goals
3. Target Behaviors need to be very specific and not broad – this is not a straightforward definition, rather something that was really emphasized throughout this section. For example, saying “I want to exercise more” is too broad, and a target behavior has to be more specific, such as “I want to run for 3 miles at the gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Section 4.2
What I really liked about this section is that it picks right up from the last section and goes deeper into the topic. It takes what we just read about, Target Behavior, and gives specific steps that are required to accomplish the target behavior in mind. I also like how it asked of a behavioral goal one may have (mine was a more consistent studying schedule for next year) and helped go through and gave tips and suggestions in order to accomplish this target behavior. Overall, there wasn’t really anything in this section that I didn’t like, just like section 4.1.
Three things I will remember:
1. We need to keep a record of our behavior; in order to do so we have to know our baseline performance (how we’re doing the specific behavior now) and then keep a behavioral diary in order to see how we are improving upon these behaviors; making it easy and keeping it a daily routine helps even more
2. Graph a Baseline when recording behaviors – Using a line graph to record data is very helpful because it gives you an opportunity to see how your behavior modification progress is forming with actual data that you can look at and see what adjustments may need to be made.
3. Determining Antecedents are just as important to emitting the behaviors themselves. For example, the text gave a great example of wanting to write a letter in the morning, so an alarm is set the night before. Because writing the letter itself is the target behavior, the alarm going off is the antecedent. In this situation, the antecedent is most important because without the antecedent the target behavior could not be emitted at all. The antecedent sets the entire state for target behaviors and that is why I will remember how important they are.
These two sections helped to improve what I know about behavior modification by breaking down target behaviors and giving the specifics as how to successfully do so step by step. This will help me in the future when I want to increase or decrease a behavior; I can use the specific steps in order to accomplish this.
Terms Used – Other-directed Behavior, Self-directed Behavior, Target Behavior, Baseline Performance, Behavioral Diary, Line Graph, Antecedent, Emitting
Section 4.1:
Three things I will remember from this section are 1) behaviors can be others-directed or self-directed; either we can modify others behavior or our own behavior. 2) It is necessary to clearly define the target behavior that you wish to modify and make sure that the behavior can be reinforced (or punished). 3) Most New Year’s Resolutions are not kept because the target behavior is too broad and not specific. Neither is the reinforcement (or punishment) kept diligently enough to actually reinforce (or punish) the target behavior.
I really like the example of the New Year’s Resolutions for this section. Most everyone complains about how no one keeps their resolutions and reading about why that is exactly was interesting. It’s true for the most part; people are more likely to use punishment and as we know that is not the ideal behavior modifier. I think most people give up on resolutions because they don’t precisely state their goals; or they just give up. In section 4.2, it states that if the goal is a good goal then you deserve to reach it and that things don’t work out smoothly. I really think that most people don’t reach their resolutions because they go about it the wrong way.
I didn’t really dislike anything about this chapter. Filling out the boxes, I found it difficult to clearly state the target behaviors. Which again resorts back to why I think people give up on resolutions; their goals are too broad.
Section 4.2:
I really liked how this section laid out everything I need to know about self- directed behavior. It clearly stated all the things I need to clearly classify which behavior I want to increase, how to correctly record my behaviors before and after, and it also clarified how I need to measure and present my data. I found it to be really helpful, especially that there was an example given. All of the steps given seem reasonable and easy to follow.
There wasn’t anything that I did not like about this section. It was a nice ‘how to’ introduction to gathering, recording, and implementing self-directed behavior modification.
Three things I will remember from this section are 1) there are 6 steps to self-directed behavior; Set goal, Define target behavior, Record observations sufficiently, Graph data, Determine Reinforcement as well as schedules and criteria for reinforcement, and Use antecedents. 2) Using a behavioral diary that is manageable and easy as well as taking distinct notes will help construct more clear conclusions from your data. 3) It is ok to change your original goal/reinforce/etc. Adjusting variables can help in the success of modifying the target behavior.
Terms: self-directed, others-directed, target behavior, reinforced, punished, reinforcement, punishment, reinforce, punish, antecedents, behavioral diary
Section 4.1
Three things I will remember from this chapter:
1. Self-directed behavior will only be changed if we reinforce ourselves or use punishment. We need to be extremely specific in identifying the target behavior in order to know if the behavior has occurred or not.
2. The goal of self-directed behavior is to challenge ourselves so we adapt positive patterns of behavior that will become routine and automatic.
3. Other-directed behavior is when others control the availability of reinforcers. This would be an easier way of changing our behaviors because someone else is controlling everything. If we had access to the reinforcers, we may overuse them and fail to change our target behavior.
I really liked how everything was explained. Everything was put into simple terms making it easy to relate to and comprehend. I didn't realize how specific we needed to be in order to change a target behavior. After reading this section I will now know the steps I need to take to accomplish my goals.
There was not anything that I disliked about the section. Everything was simple and understandable.
The main idea that came to mind is that using self-directed behavior is extremely challenging for most people. Since not every person knows about behavior modification they will not know how specific they need to be in order to change their behavior. You must be extremely motivated to accomplish a goal and make sure that it sticks with you throughout your lifetime.
Section 4.2
I liked how this section broke down all of the steps in order to be successful in achieving a goal. Everything went into enough detail so I could understand exactly how to go about setting up a project to change a target behavior.
Again, there was nothing I didn't like about this section. It was extremely helpful and I will surely use it when I decided to change a target behavior in my life.
Three things I will remember:
1. There are 7 steps involved in making a change. (set goal, define goal, keep a record, graph a baseline, determine the contingencies, determine the antecedents, and implement and adjust the contingencies). These will make using a self-directed behavior much easier.
2. You can't just pick any target behavior and assume you will achieve changing it. The target behavior must be precise, manageable, measurable, and fit into our daily lives. If you choose a broad target behavior it will be much harder to succeed in changing it.
3. The importance of all of these steps are very significant in achieving a goal. If you skip any of these steps, you may find it more difficult than it needs to be.
I now know that behavior modification can be used easily in every day life if you understand and use it correctly. Learning about these steps has opened my eyes to all kinds of possibilities to make my behaviors and life more pleasurable. It will now be easier for me to increase or decrease my behaviors by using these steps.
Terms: other-directed behavior, self-directed behavior, target behavior, pleasurable, reinforcers, punish
Section 4.1
1. I will remember that behaviors can be directed by others or by ourselves. I will remember this because of the term “self-directed behavior.” I can think of the behavior modification that I’ve learned up to this point as “other-directed behavior” in order to keep the concepts separated. The second thing that I will remember from this section is that we often feel manipulative when using behavior modification when others direct behaviors. However, when we self-direct there is really no underlying bad feeling of manipulation. We see it as changing out habits by exercising our free will and self-control. The third thing that I will remember is not to feel guilty about using behavior modification if the target behavior bothers me or others, will cause problems later on, or if the behavior is illegal.
2. I liked reading about the concept of self-directed behavior, in which I would administer my own reinforcers or punishers. I like this because I may want to increase or decrease a behavior that I would rather keep private. Maybe if someone had an odd habit that embarrassed them and they wanted to quit, they could utilize self-directed behavior techniques, thereby eliminating the fear of being judged by someone else who might administer the reinforcers. However, it may be necessary for someone else to direct the behavior if the person can’t seem to control their behaviors even while attempting self-directed behavior techniques.
3. I didn’t like filling out the boxes and trying to come up with specific target behaviors. I found it to be very aversive because all I could think about was the class period where no one was able to give a target behavior that couldn’t be refuted by Dr. MacLin. I know that he was just trying to show us why it is important for target behaviors to be specific, but I just had a hard time with it. I tried to model the examples, giving times and days of the week as well as the duration of the behavior.
4. While reading this section, I was thinking about what behavior I would want to change (there is more than one!). I thought about “eating healthier,” but I realized that this was too vague, much like the New Years resolutions in the reading. Instead, I thought about eliminating the REALLY bad foods like candy bars. In order to avoid using a punishment procedure, I would reinforce healthy eating behaviors such as filling half my plate with fruits and veggies, and the other half with protein and grains, and drinking skim milk on the side (following the myplate guidelines).
Section 4.2
1. I really liked that the six steps to changing a behavior were laid out and labeled, as well as explained with the writing behavior example. I had a hard time keeping track of my target behavior in the topical blog assignment from earlier in the semester. The reading posted a really great idea for me. I will use my phone to record the antecedent and consequences of my target behavior, as well as when I emit the behavior. I always have my phone on me, and it will be a lot more accurate this way. In the past, I sort of “recorded” the behavior in my head, but I know it wasn’t a very accurate way to gauge the baseline.
2. I didn’t particularly like the section about tweaking your behavioral change project. What if it works the first time and I can’t think of anything to change? Can I only get a good grade if I change something? I wanted to do my project on brushing my teeth more. I usually only do it once a day and I sometimes forget (horrible, I know!). I guess right now I can’t see anything to change in what I’ve thought out for my project, but I wouldn’t be opposed to changing something if it would make my behavior change more successful. Perhaps we will talk more about this in class.
3. I will remember the six steps of self-directed behavior. Step one is to set your goal. These are usually vague and represent a behavioral class (like New Years resolutions), so it is important to define them more specifically. This brings us to step 2, which is defining the target behavior(s) that fit your goal. The three guidelines from the reading about target behaviors are that it should be precise, manageable, and fit into your life. Step 3 is to keep records of when your target behaviors are being emitted. It is important to note the antecedent and consequences as well, this will help you to control the behavior later on. Step 4 is to graph the baseline acquired from keeping that record. Step 5 is to set up what will be your reinforcer and reinforcement schedule. Step 6 is looking back at the antecedents that elicit the target behavior, and trying to manipulate your environment to include them. For example, I could set my toothbrush on top of my desk so I remember to brush my teeth before I go to bed. Once I brush them, I can put my toothbrush away.
This has built on my idea of behavior modification because I was unsure of how one would implement behavior modification upon themselves. These readings have laid it out very simply to understand. When I do my behavior change project, I will refer to section 4.2 and follow along with the example while implementing my teeth brushing behavior change project.
TERMS:
Self-directed behavior, other-directed behavior, target behavior, reinforcers, punishers, aversive, baseline, emit, elicit, reinforcement schedule, antecedent, consequence, behavioral class
4.1
I will remember that New Year’s resolutions often fail because people’s resolutions are too broad. They make a resolution, such as lose weight, but don’t make a specific plan of how they are going to lose weight, and end up failing. In other words, they don’t come up with a good target behavior. I will also remember that many New Year’s resolutions fail because they involve punishment rather than reinforcement. Changing a behavior is much more successful if reinforcement is used. Lastly, I will remember that there is both self directed behavior and other directed behaviors. Self directed behaviors are behaviors that we choose to change, while other directed behaviors are those that other people attempt to control.
I liked the part that explained self directed and other directed behaviors. Other directed behaviors are important in certain situations. If we did not have teachers telling us what to do or bosses telling us how to get something done, we would all be running around crazy doing whatever we wanted. Other directed behaviors help to keep the order, but they can also feel manipulating. Self directed behaviors are good because we use our own free will to choose what behaviors we want to change.
The only thing I did not particularly like was the part about alternative behaviors. I was slightly confused as to what exactly we were supposed to put as alternative behaviors to our target behavior of quit drinking. I put quit drinking a huge glass of milk every night with my dinner, because I should drink more water throughout the day and milk always makes me super full. I wasn’t sure what alternative behaviors I could list besides drinking a glass of water instead.
A few ideas that came to mind when reading this section were making my New Year’s resolutions more specific in the future. I think they will be much more successful if I have an exactly target behavior to follow. Also, this section made me realize that I don’t necessarily need to wait until New Year’s to start changing some of my behaviors. I just need to make a plan, get a good specific target behavior, and start doing it.
4.2
I liked that this section went into detail about the six steps to follow to change a behavior. It really clarified everything and I like that it gave so many specifics about how to go about changing a behavior.
I did not really like the step that involved graphing a baseline, mostly because I do not like making graphs. It makes sense that a graph would be helpful to determine whether you have made any progress on your goal or not, but I would rather not have to make a graph. Most of the time you are going to know if you are improving or changing your behavior without having to physically graph it out, but I can also see how it would help at the same time.
I will remember that there are six basic steps to follow to change a behavior—setting a goal, defining target behaviors, keeping records of your behavior, graphing a baseline, determine contingencies, and determine antecedents. I will also remember that the reinforcers we choose must make sense with the goal and target behaviors we have set. We should not reinforce ourselves with cookies if we are trying to get fit. Lastly, I will remember that trial and error will eventually lead to success if you do not give up. It is important to take a step back and look at what can be tweaked to make your goal more reachable.
Reading each of these sections has helped to build on what I already know about behavior modification. It is useful to know that there are different kinds of behaviors, such as self directed and other directed, and the positives and negatives of each. The steps to changing a behavior are also very useful because it is important to know these in order to be successful at modifying your behavior.
Terms: target behavior, behavior, consequence, self directed behaviors, other directed behaviors, alternative behaviors,
4.1
Three things I will remember:
1. Other Directed Behavior vs. Self Directed Behavior.
- Other directed behavior is someone is controlling the reinforcer of someone other than themselves to get a desirable behavior. Self directed behavior is choosing the behavior you want to increase or decrease in yourself with no other person reinforcing the behavior.
2. New years resolutions are usually a fail. Why does changing a behavior have to start at the beginning of a year? Start it now. Most of the time they fail because they are too broad and do not target a specific behavior. Someones new years resolution might be to spend more time with family but what does that mean? To increase or decrease a desirable behavior the target behavior needs to be specific.
3. In ANY behavior modification the target behavior needs to be specific enough. If it is too broad then chances of that certain behavior changing is slim. A teacher wanting to change disruptive behavior in class is not specific enough. What disruptive behavior? A teacher wanting to change talking in class is a specific behavior that can be positively and negatively reinforced.
One thing I liked about this section was that it was about ourselves and changing behaviors that we want to change for our personal life. Although its cool to think that over time you can possibly change a behavior of someone else, its also cool to think that you can change a behavior that you find annoying in yourself if done correctly.
There was nothing I did not like about this section. Good information and good read.
Some ideas came to mind when I was reading this section. There are plenty of specific behaviors that I find annoying in myself and I want to change. For example, I would like to stop chewing tobacco. I started years ago and now I have found myself trying to quit multiple times but always come back to it. In the past when I have tried to quit I have just said to myself “I'm going to quit” I do not have a specific goal for myself and the target behavior is too broad. A better way would be give myself a goal of only one dip a day for a week, then one every other day for the next week, and so on. That is a specific goal that is not cold turkey and might be more effective.
4.2
Three things I will remember
1. The 6 steps involved in self directed 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.
2. When setting a target behavior you need to make sure it is 1) precise, 2_ manageable 3) Measurable 4) and fit within the practical scope of our daily lives. If you make a goal that is just outrageous and crazy then you are probably going to be let down because chances are it will fail.
3. Antecedents elicit behaviors therefore we need to determine antecedents and either stay away from or go toward those certain antecedents. For example, don't ask me why but when I drink a cup of coffee I crave a dip afterwards. I drink coffee because I like it, not because i'm a person that needs a cup of coffee in the morning to make it through my day. If I try to quit chewing again I would definitely stay away from drinking coffee because I know that i'll crave a dip afterwards.
One thing I liked about this section was that it was very informative on self directed behavior and gave very detailed steps on how to correctly use it. I did not like that the keeping a record or graphing part though. I am bad enough on keeping a record of what homework I have due that I don't think I would keep a record of a behavior I was trying to increase or decrease. And graphing? I hated graphing when I was in math classes so chances of that happening are also slim.
My thoughts on behavior modification have changed because I have always thought that it can only be done to someone else and not done to yourself. It is very helpful to know how to go about changing a behavior in yourself because there is always something that could be better.
Section 4.1
In this section I liked the use of references to the top new years resolutions. This helped make it relatable and then when we went through and looked at potential reasons why these resolutions failed it helped because we saw how to make reasonable, specific goals. If I were to have to search for something I disliked, it would be how briefly we touched on Other-directed behavior. Three things I will remember from this section are:
1. Defining specific goals is crucial to behavior modification. Otherwise the reinforcer could be administered leniently upon behaviors that are not exactly the target behavior.
2. You should use differential reinforcement when setting goals so that you may avoid the need to work with punishments.
3. Self directed behavior allows us to set our own goals and administer our own reinforcers, whereas other directed behavior makes us feel manipulated.
Section 4.2
In this section I really like the layout. The section is about the 7 steps involved in the changing of a behavior, and it clearly labels and walks you through the 7 steps. I disliked the focus on the graphs, because as was illustrated in the section, some behaviors can be recorded with a simple yes or no. These would not work well on a line graph at all. Three things I will remember from this section are:
1. Keeping a diary is beneficial for the modification of behavior.
2. Record behaviors immediately, because reliance on memory could lead to inaccurate recording and a poor modification process.
3. A behavioral intervention is helpful to analyze what works, what doesn't work and to determine contingencies.
These sections have vastly expanded on my base understanding of behavior modification. This is because we looked into the steps of bmod that I have never read expanded on as much. I mainly learned about the importance of the goal setting part of the process. I will learn even more when we do the project so that I can follow the steps in action.
Terms: other directed behavior, self directed behavior, differential reinforcement of other, behavior, reinforcer, behavioral intervention
Section 4.1:
In this section I will remember the difference between other-directed behaviors and self-directed behaviors. Self-directed behaviors occur when we exert our free will to choose a behavior that we want to increase or decrease. Other-directed is when we are managing classrooms, low functioning adults, marketing, and other situations like work safety. With this behavior, others control the availability of reinforcers. Something else from this section that was talked about was resolutions which it was stated that because of the way some resolutions are worded some will require a reinforcement procedure while others will require a punishment procedure. One reason why people struggle with keeping resolutions is that their resolutions tend to be broad representing a behavioral class rather than a specific target behavior. The last thing that I will remember from this section is the idea that a target behavior is really important. With behavior modification we need a clear and concise measurable target behavior. Target behaviors aren’t just specific they also need to be manageable within the person’s life. Something I really liked from this section was the explanation that if we are going to reinforce or punish a behavior we have to be able to identify the behavior so we know if it occurred or not and I found this interesting because this just adds to the idea that defining your target behavior is very important to be successful in changing that behavior. There wasn’t anything from this section that I didn’t like because everything fell together nicely to help explain self-directed behavior and other-directed behavior as well as explaining why you need to be specific with your target behaviors. When reading this section it came to mind that I can really specify my resolutions/target behaviors so that I am successful in achieving my goals.
Section 4.2:
From this section I really liked the self-directed behavior steps. I will definitely remember the seven self-directed behavior steps which are; 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. From this section it was nice to see an example given and worked out for each and every step. Lastly, I will remember that each target behavior needs to fulfill four things them being; precise, manageable, measureable, and fit within the practical scope of our daily lives. There wasn’t really anything I didn’t like in this section because a lot of it was taken up by working out each step of a target behavior. I really like the steps used but I feel personally it would be hard to break down one of my behaviors that thoroughly but it would help to be able to see whether or not you are seeing a difference.
From these sections I feel like I have learned more about the importance of specifying your target behaviors and how to use each and every step to make that target behavior successful so you are able to see results.
Terms: behaviors, results, target behavior, measureable, precise, manageable, contingencies, antecedent, implement, self-directed behavior, other-directed behavior, reinforce, punish, behavior modification
Section 4.1
One thing that I liked about this section was that it explained the basic overview of self-directed behaviors with many real world examples. Using real world examples allows for me to better understand the concepts that are being discussed. I liked how the section showed why many common attempts at self-directed behavior modificatin do not succeed. The examples of New Year's resolutions and how broad they usually are makes it clear why they do not work. They do not set a specific target behavior to change which also makes it difficult to monitor and record progress. Those New Year's resolutions often times do not create a reinforcer or a proper reinforcement schedule.
One thing that I did not like about this section was that I felt like it was a great deal of review. We had spend previous sections on target behaviors and had also touched on differential reinforcement. It was a pretty short section and I felt like there was much more that should be involved with self-directed behavior, which I then realized was covered in the next section. Though it is always good to have review on what was learned previously to be able to tie it into the things that you are going to learn, I feel as though that should be included in the chapter introduction that is provided rather than being a section itself.
Things to Remember
1. One thing to take away from this chapter is the difference between self-directed and other directed behavior. Though it is basic in the titles themselves it is still an important thing to understand when going about a behavior modification process. When a behavior is self-directed then person that works towards increasing the frequency that the target behavior is emitted is also the person that controls the procedure and provides the reinforcer. That person decides what the desired target behavior is, what the reinforcement schedule will be, and what that reinforcer will be. This gives them control over themselves and this process whereas in other-directed behavior modification procedures there is one person that has control over another person.
2. One of the most important steps in self-directed behavior modification is having a clearly defined target behavior. This was reitterated throughout the entire section. A target behavior needs to be clear, specific, and measurable. When target behaviors are too broad it is difficult to know when to provide the reinforcer and it is also harder to see if the process is working. A specific target behavior gives you exact things to look for and allows for the behavior to be easily tracked and makes it easier to see if there has been progress or not.
3. Another thing to remember from this section is how to change a target behavior from requiring a punishment procedure to requiring a reinforcement procedure. This process is called differential reinforcement. We have been continually reminded that reinforcement brings about better long term success with behavior modification procedures. For most target behaviors we can alter that behavior from wanting to decrease the frequency of a behavior to wanting to increase the frequency of a behavior that simultaneously brings about the decrease in frequency of that other behavior because the increased behavior takes its place.
While reading this section I began to think about previous resolutions that I have made as everyone else does with the new year and began to understand why they were not very successful. I began to contimplate how I could better set up self-directed behavior modification so that I am more successful with some of the personal changes that I would like to make to how I live.
Section 4.2
One thing that I really like about this section was that it gave great detail and explaination as to how to go about a successful self-directed behavior modification procedure. This is something that I wanted from the last section and so I was glad to see that this section had that information. I also liked that the same example was carried out throughout the whole section making it easy to follow and see how all of the steps that were discusses work together to create a successful process. Many times for different concepts there are different examples given that do not connect which will still give good example of that concept but does not always tie together all of the concepts that a section covers.
There was not anything in particular that I did not like about this section. The example of Kyle wanting to write more could have been used when discussing the seventh step of implementing and adjusting the contingencies simply so that the flow of the chapter and remained the same. I did like being able to follow the process of the same example throughout the steps and it would have been nice for it to have been done all the way through. Though I did not find it difficult to understand this step and the examples that were given did a good job of demonstrating the main aspects of the step.
Things to Remember
1.One thing to remember is the importance of keeping a accurate, detailed, and timely record of the self-directed behavior modification procedure which allows for a good understanding of how the procedure is going. Records should be made right after or very soon after the target behavior is emitted so that the most accurate information is recorded. It is also important to record not simply when the target behavior is emitted but also things such as where it is emitted so that this information can be looked back upon and from that we can identify different antecedents and discriminative stimuli that may be effected the emittance of that target behavior. It is important to be able to understand things such as these so that it can be seen if the procedure is bringing about the desired results and how it can be altered so that those results can increase even more.
2.Another important thing to remember from this section is that one should look at that information that was recorded and adjust contengencies accordingly so that the procedure is beneficial. People should not see this as failure and just simply give up. This may also have to be done as success is obtained and has slowed. Reinforcers may become less effective due to occuring too often which would call for adjustments to be made. Antecedents can be controlled to help elicit the target behaviors to be emitted as well.
3. I will also remember from this section that there is difference between setting a goal and setting a target behavior. If these steps were used in the cases of New Year's Resolutions as discussed in the previous sections, most of those set resolutions would be classified as goals and then would need to go to the next step of comming up with target behaviors that would allow for that goal to be met. This is the step that many people fail to do which is why many of these resolutions are not successful. When just reading the first step of setting a goal my first reaction was that it was too broad to be used successfully in a behavior modification process and then understood that they were two seperate steps. This allows for multiple taret behaviors to be identified so that they can all be worked on in order to reach that overarching goal.
These sections have built upon the foundation of behavior modification procedures which we have covered thus far and added the tools so that now we have learned how to take control of what we have learned and use it for ourselves. We can now take the power that others can place on people and what we have learned to place on others and use it to have power over ourselves. We have been shown how certain things have modified and controlled our behaviors in our enviornment and now can change that if we would like.
Terms used: target behavior, self-directed, reinforcement, reinforcement schedule, differential reinforcement, emit, punishment, antecedent, discriminative stimulus, elicit
Seection 4.1
1) The term self-directed behavior. I looked at postings from the finals of last year and this made me remember that the students final was over this and changing a behavior on themselves. I feel as if we will be using this term a lot both in speech and practice so this is why I am going to remember it
Being specific with your goals so they are more attainable and do not seem so difficult. I will rememebr this because goals are all something we make at a certain time. So being able to make your goals to change or gain a behavior attainable is very important.
Converting a behavior that would require punishment into a behavior that requires reinforcement. This would help people extremely with people obtaining their goals because achieving that goal becomes much less adversive and obtaining the goal then becomes a desirable behavior. I will rememeber this for that reason, making a goal more desirable, thus easier to attain.
2)One thing i really liked from this section was how it explained how to break down broad vague goals into smaller more achievable goals. I liked this because it can help me in planning future goals and make them attainable rather than vague so when I try to achieve them, it won't seem impossible and I give up.
3)There was nothing in this section that I did not like. I felt all the material was clear and presented well. It allowed the reader to read information and then see what they learned by using the boxes with questions.
4)Some ideas that came to mind while reading this were what behavior I am reinforce in my final if it is the same as last year. I also thought how effective self-directed behaviors are when you know what is going on while you are conditioning yourself. I feel that it is more of just making a choice to change rather than conditioning yourself to emit a certain behavior.
Section 4.2
1) One thing I liked about this section is the in depth descriptions of each step to allow you to achieve your goal through self-directed behavior. The part that stuck out to me the most was the diary part. I think this will be the most difficult part of the final if it is the same as last year. I will have to reread this section and ad a discrimulative stimulous somewhere to have me rememeber to write in the journal
2) There was nothing wrong with the section. The material was specific and easy to understand. It is a lot to rememeber, but it is easy enought to read and understand that it would not be to hard to go back and read the sections you forgot about.
3)I will rememeber the keeping a journal part of the steps. I think this will be the biggest part the self directed behavior. It allows you to keep track of how much of your goals you did and why your behavior changed if it did between days. This will allow you to keep track of your behavior and help attain your goal.
I will rememeber graphing the data. I feel this is also a major part in the step process because it gives the person a representation of how they are doing with acheiving their goal. By the graph, it can either be adversive and the person realizes they need to work harder or change something, or it will be pleasureable and the person knows they are on the right track.
I will rememeber that our target behaviors need to be: 1) Precise, 2) Manageable, 3) Measurable, and 4) Fit within the practical scope of our daily lives. I will rememeber this becuase it is very similar to my fraternity's SMART goals. We discuss each semester these SMART goals which we want to acomplish. SMART goals stand for
Specific
Managable
Attainable
Recordable
Timely
So I have covered setting up goals before and making them specific and in a way in which you can realisticly attain them.
After reading these section my knowledge of behavior modification has been built. I did not know anything about self-directed behaviors or how to set them up. Reading about how to set them up and modify your own behavior, it reminded me of my SMART goals and by relating it to that made the material easier to understand. I learned a lot about when changing a behavior to keep a journal about everything that happens including antecedent and why your behavior is not consistant. I also learned that if you want to be succesful with your goals you should also create a graph to show your progress. I like the idea of this step because it gives you visual evidence of the work you have done to complete your goal. Overall I learned about the 6 steps involving your own behavior. With out reading section 4.2, I do not think I would be able to succesfully beeen able to complete any self-directed behaviors I would want to do.
Terms:antecedent,consistant,behavior,self-directed behavior,punishment,reinforcement,adversive,desirable,conditioning,emit,discrimulative stimulous,pleasurable,target behaviour
Section 4.1
1) Other- directed behavior is utilized when behaviors are directed by other. Sometimes people feel like they are being manipulated. However, some situations we don’t feel like we have enough self-control so we have to rely on other people. Other directed behavior is very helpful in managing classroom behaviors and any other situation where you feel like their needs to be a little bit more direction. The reason I will remember what other-directed behavior is because of the example in the good about eating. If you have someone to cook and control portions then it would be easier to lose weight because you don’t have to worry about over eating.
2) Self-directed behavior is when we chose to modify one of our own behaviors, whether it’s to increase or decrease a certain behavior we rely on ourselves. Emitting our own goals and regulating contingences and behaviors interventions are organized and controlled by yourself. I think this is easy to remember because the title describes exactly what it is. It’s self-directing, so you’re directing yourself to modify your target behavior. The example about New Year’s resolution also helped me remember what self-directed behavior. That’s the perfect example for this definition. I feel like when people self-direct their behaviors they are more prone to failure because they make exceptions, excuses and just plain forget the limitations. Reinforcers and punishment are also judged by yourself and I can see how that could be difficult for people to do. You get to decide if you think you’re doing a good job or not.
3) Finally, the last thing I will remember from section 4.1, is that when making a modification make sure to be precise. Often time’s people are too vague about their behavior they want to modify and that makes for a tough situation to measure. If the behavior is properly defined and there are not gray areas about it then it will be easy to judge whether you achieved your goal or not. The example in the book was great because it showed a very general behavior such as, Quit Drinking. Quit drinking, what? Pop, water, alcohol, lemonade, chocolate milk? You need to be specific in your target behavior therefore, you can tell exactly how well you’re doing.
One thing I really liked from this chapter is that I finally feel like we are starting to learn how to modify our own behaviors as well as others. However, I do think that self-directing our own behaviors would be harder because I always think we’re easier on ourselves. I liked learning the steps to take to be able to self-direct. Learning the steps to take in order to be able to self-direct behaviors and other direct behaviors is important information that I enjoyed learning about in this section. This information will be very useful in changing my own behaviors. I honestly can’t say I disliked anything from this chapter. I believe I learned a lot it comprehended everything fine. Some of the things that were going through my mind when reading this information was, “I wish I would have known this sooner” or “I will remember that when I want to modify my behavior or someone else’s behavior”. It really got me thinking about the little project we are going to do in this class later on.
Section 4.2
What I liked best about this section were the specific steps to achieve the modification of your behavior. Each step was very detailed about how to work through the step and the example was very helpful as well! The example made thinking about my own goal much easier. From this section there wasn’t anything I disliked. It became very reinforcing from section 4.1 and actually expanded on it very nicely. The steps were made out to be very clear.
Three things I will remember from this section include, 1) Set a goal, the book referred to try and make your goal to increase something rather than to decrease to try and avoid punishment. Let’s be honest, punishing yourself has to be worse than having someone else punish you. I will remember this because that’s the most important step, if you want to change a behavior you need to have a behavior in mind. 2) Record your progress; I would say that this would be where most people mess up their goal. Forgetting to record your progress is so easy. Try to have a notepad and pen around or simply use your cell phone to write down notes. Don’t rely on your memories because we all know it’s easy to forget. 3) Determining the antecedents is just as important as setting a goal or any of the other steps involved in modifying your behavior! Antecedents are a way to elicit your target behavior and achieve your goal. If you know of something that always happens before your behavior that throws you off than it’s a great way to track it and avoid it in the future.
I believe both of these sections have been a great value to my knowledge about behavior modification. I feel much more comfortable in trying to modify my own behavior as well as someone else’s. I love learning about this stuff because I think it will definitely be used in my future.
Terms: Other Directed Behavior, Self-Directed Behavior, Emit, Elicit, Target Behavior, Contingences, Interventions, Reinforcer, Punishment, Antecedent
The first thing that I found interesting in this section was the idea of others directing behavior and how that can be aversive. No one really likes being told what to do all the time. When others direct our behavior it may anger us because we feel like we are not in control of our lives. This really angers people because it’s pretty much human nature. When you self-direct your behaviors, more of the responsibility is put on you. This could be good and bad because you are responsible for rewards/punishment. However, if you affectively self-direct your behavior, it could do a lot for your confidence. You could realize that this process can work to make you the person that you want to be. It, in a sense, reinforces the behavior of self-directing your behavior. On the other hand, you could fail and not use these techniques again until some sort of spontaneous recovery.
The next thing that is important for me to remember is that the target behaviors should be specific. This is very important because it is the first step in the process. If you mess this part up, you are pretty much setting yourself up for failure. It is important to be specific so you can easily observe the behavior. This is important to remember because you should not have to think about whether you emitted the behavior because it slows down the rewards/punishment step.
I also thought it was interesting how people do use new year’s resolutions to try and modify behavior. Most are not successful because they are not using these techniques correctly. Now that I have read about it, I can see that many people’s goals or resolutions are way too vague. Which, in turn, makes the behavior hard to reinforce or punish because it is unclear whether it occurred or not.
After reading over the section, I am still having a hard time completely understanding what an alternative behavior is. I think it will become a lot clearer in class on Thursday when we can talk through it. Right now it is harder to understand them. The part about being incompatible really confused me. I am confident, however, that I will pick up this concept in class.
4.2
One thing that I really liked in section 4.2 were the steps to modifying your behavior. I think it is a lot easier for people to understand how to use these techniques when they are numbered out. Also, like you said, it makes it easier to go back and see on what step things went wrong. That way you can correct the mistake more quickly and go on to modifying the behavior. The steps make it easy to set yourself up for success, a good antecedent if you will. The steps are important and they make sense, so they are easy to follow. They come in a logical order and have proven to be successful in self-directing behaviors.
I also really thought the section on baseline behavior was very important to remember. I think that this is a step that many people may forget because it may seem insignificant. However, it is extremely important to record this baseline behavior because you need something to compare too. If you see that you are doing more than in the baseline, that reinforces you that the process is working and may push you harder to improve faster. It is important to do it during a normal week, especially for college students, because sometimes our weeks can vary a great deal. Looking ahead to find an average work load for that week can help in picking a week to record.
The last thing I want to take from this section is the power of antecedents and the environment. It is crazy how moving around something, such as the recycling bin, can have such a huge effect on your behavior. If you set up your environment, even just a little, towards benefiting your target behavior, you can up your chances of success. These things are simple and easy to do and have a great benefit in the process. This is where you can really make a difference in your process.
I thought everything in this section was helpful during the process of self-directing behavior. I think that everything was equally important. For that reason, there really was nothing I didn’t like. Everything in this chapter should be taken into account if you wish to successfully modify your own behaviors.
These sections introduce a whole new concept to us. That concept is self-directing your own behavior. It builds on old sections because we are still using all of the same tools, just on ourselves. We are trying to use prior knowledge and concepts to make the process of self-directing behavior easier and more successful. It is important to remember all the concepts up to this point because they are evident in the steps towards reaching our goals. The better we understand them, the better chance we have of successfully modify our own behaviors.
Terms: self-directed behavior, rewards, punishment, reinforcement, punishment, emit, process, aversive, free will, target behavior, other-directing, baseline behavior, antecedent, environment, specific
4.1
Three things that I will remember from this section are:
1)For self directed behavior modification to be successful there must be a measurable target behavior.
2)That when making a resolution you must be very specific in what you are trying to change. Most resolutions don't work because they are to broad and harder to keep track of.
3)Other directed behaviors and how it is easier to use other directed behavior modification because there are more people more holding you responsible than just yourself so you have others that are watching you.
I liked that this chapter was very simple. I thought that it was a good size section so it was easier to understand than having a long section. The examples though I trouble coming up with.
4.2
Three things I will remember from this section are
1)Keeping a journal of the behavior you're wanting to emit is very helpful. Keeping a record helps to see how you are changing your behavior so it is easier to keep yourself accountable. You should try and record right after the behavior happens so that you don't forget later.
2)Changes can be made to the self directed behavior you are wanting. There are little tweaks that can be made so that reaching your goal is easier.
3)Determining antecedents and whether or not they are helpful or aversive to you and changing your behavior helps. The environment is something big that can affect your progress with self directed behavior.
I thought that these two sections where very good. They weren't to long and were pretty easy to understand. They expanded on previous concepts and when into more detail which I though helped out a lot.
Terms:self directed behavior, measurable target behavior, other directed behavior, aversive, environment, specific
4.1
I think that the concept of differential reinforcement is the key to self directed behavior. We have already found that reinforcement works much better than punishment, and this is a way to reinforce a different behavior rather than directly punishing a target behavior.
I will remember that it is also important to identify a specific target behavior. That is something that we learned in the beginning of the semester, but I seemed to have forgotten its importance. The target behavior must be observable and recordable in order to be effective. Knowing how important it is to identify target behaviors, it is no wonder that many new years resolutions fail.
I liked this section because it made me think about my own behaviors that I would like to change.
4.2
I like how self directed behavior is broken down into 6 steps, because it seems easy to set up a plan for changing my behavior. I am thinking about my specific goal, which is to become healthier by making multiple trips to the gym every week and eat healthy food like vegetables instead of unhealthy food. I am struggling to figure out my baseline performance, because the number of times I go to the gym every week varies greatly. I have not gone to the gym in the past week, so I think that my baseline performance might be zero.
I am having a very hard time coming up with a reinforcer for my target behavior, but I will be creative and come up with something soon. I will probably have to adjust the target behavior frequently, because every semester my schedule changes and I don't know exactly how many times per week I will be available to go to the gym in the future.
Terms:
Differential Reinforcement, Self Directed Behavior, Punishment, Reinforce, Target Behavior, Identify, Observable, Recordable, Effective, Goal, Baseline Performance, Adjust
What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why? What were some ideas that came to mind when you were reading the section?
I will remember that there are two different types of directed behavior, self-directed and other-directed behavior. Because it is necessary to determine one kind of behavior is being directed. The next thing I will remember New Year’s Resolution is a self-directed behavior because we are using our own will power to make these behaviors work. The third thing is that self-directed behavior is influenced by punishers and reinforcers. I really liked the through explanation of how self-directed behavior works and how it is influences your life, because it helps me understand some aspects of my life and how I choose to follow through with my choices. I disliked that the only content of the chapter was on self-directed and other-directed behavior. I wish there was a little more vocabulary or something to learn. Some ideas that came to my mind were how self directed behavior is kind of like my own determination and how I can decide to my own free will and interest in order to help myself.
After reading section 4.2, please respond to the following questions.
What was one thing that you really liked that was in the section? Why? What was one thing that you disliked that was in the section? Why? What are three things you will remember from what you read in the section? Why?
There are seven steps to a self-directed behavior. The first step is setting goals. The second thing I will remember is that in order to set a goal there are four steps in order to make sure your goal is achievable/ doable. The last thing I will remember is that it is a good idea to keep a behavioral diary in order to keep track of your behavior and a good resource to go back and reread your behavior and are able to pin point the antecedent, behavior, and consequence. One thing I disliked the graphs because honestly I did not want to read about it. Something I really liked about this section was the breakdown on the seven steps of self –directed behavior. It was really helpful to see a full description of each step.
How has reading these sections changed or built on what you have been thinking about behavior modification? How so? These sections have built on how I look at my own behavior and also about how I for some reason really never have any motivation to do some things that I know I should for example exercising or eat healthy.
Terms: antecedent, behavior, consequence, self-directed behavior, other-directed behavior, punishers, reinforcers, goal.
SECTION 4.1
From this chapter, I will remember…
1) The difference between self-directed behavior and other-directed behavior. Other directed behavior is a technique that is most often used in a classroom. This is when an individual, like a teacher is manipulating the behavior of another person like students. The teacher responds to the students who are patiently waiting to be called on with their hands calmly raised in the air. This is an example of other-directed behavior. Self-directed behavior is when someone is changing their own behavior at their own free will. Individuals making New Year’s resolutions are an example of self-directed behavior. A women decided she wanted to lose ten pounds so she took it upon herself to do to the gym to lose the desired weight.
2)In order to be successful in modifying a self-directed behavior, the target behavior needs to be specific. If you decide you want to spend more time with your family, sampling saying, “I want to spend more time with my family” is too broad of a target behavior. When are you going to spend time with your family? What are you going to do to spend more time with your family? How much time? How will you know if you’ve completed the target behavior? These are all questions that should be answered to help emit the target behavior. Instead of just saying I wasn’t to spend more time with my family, say: “I am going to call mom every Wednesday at 5:30 when she gets off work for at least 20 minutes.” This is simple and a behavior that everyone can understand.
3)To change a self-directed behavior, it is best to use reinforcement rather than punishment. Reward yourself for successfully changing your behavior. Everything you emit the behavior of going to the give in order to fulfill the target behavior of losing weight, reinforce that behavior by allowing yourself to do something desirable.
In this chapter, I really liked how it was explained why more often than not self-directed behaviors are unsuccessful. This is helpful to understand what makes a behavior change successful and how to go about it. There wasn’t anything that I can say that I really disliked. While reading this section, I couldn’t help but think about all of the goals I have made and realized why most of them have been unsuccessful
SECTION 4.2
In this section I will remember the six steps involved in changing a behavior. These steps are 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. For example, I chose to set a goal of wearing more jewelry. I decided that I wanted to wear jewelry every day. I want wear earrings every day, either a ring or a bracelet every day and a necklace every day. In order to keep a record of the jewelry I wear each day, I will record each item of jewelry I wore on my calendar. I have decided I would be reinforced for wearing the jewelry each day for a week. At the end of each week, if I have met my goal, I will reinforce the behavior by buying myself more jewelry.
I liked this chapter because it was direct and to the point. I liked that it clearly spelled out the steps you need to take in order to achieve your goal. I also like the random thoughts added in the text like googling Kyle! There wasn’t anything in this section that I didn’t find interesting. While reading this section and writing this blog, I was motivated to really try out my goal of wearing more jewelry. It seems doable and it’s something I have wanted to do for some time now. These sections build on to my knowledge of behavior modifications because it really looks at what you as an individual can do to change your behavior instead of changing others behaviors.
Terms: other-directed, self-directed, behavior, target behavior, emit, reinforcement, punishment, set goal, define the goals as a set of specific target behaviors, keep a record, graph a baseline, determine the contingencies, determine the antecedents implement and adjust the contingencies,
Although this chapter was short, I believe it has some really good information to know as we begin to come near to our own behavior modification intervention projects. For example self- directed behavior, the idea that we can apply behavior modification to ourselves to increase or decrease a desired behavior. I will also remember the breakdown of a behavior classification such as quit smoking into smaller target behaviors. Once you have a set of target behaviors that you want to increase or decrease, it is important to create differential reinforcement of others to each target behavior. This is when you give yourself an alternative behavior you can emit that can be reinforced, this still functions to reduce or increase your desired target behavior.
Another part of this section I liked was some of the reasons why people come discouraged from there new years resolutions. I have never really thought about seeing “losing weight” as a new years resolution a broad category. But after reading this section and understanding how an individual can break it down into smaller target behaviors and then applying reinforcements or punishments and DRO. It is much easier to see how just stating a new years resolutions is not truly making a goal for an individual. As always I enjoyed the interaction in this section, having us stop and put thought into how to break down a behavior into smaller target behaviors and goals. I believe that creating an ultimate goal and then breaking it down into smaller goals is important in reaching and maintaining a difficult long term goal.
4.2
I really enjoyed section 4.2 breaking down the processes of how to successfully emitting a self directed behavior., I believe I can truly implement a self directed behavior. Using everything we have learned thus far and putting it all together into this process.
There are 7 steps to keep in mind, 1) goal- this goal can be what you want to achieve. 2) Specify the goal as a set of target behaviors- this is when an individual will break down the goal into specific target behaviors for example if a person wants to lose weight a target behavior might be to take a longer time to finish a meal. 3) Keeping a Record- taking the example above, an individual that wants to eat less might want to keep a record of how many calories he or she consumes a day. 4 and 5) Graph baseline- this is a time period when u keep a record before the behavior intervention. This process is to assist the individual in the next step of determining contingencies. One might want to record calorie intake and keep a diary of what they ate, how they felt, and how did those emotions change after eating. This creates a baseline for an individual to determine what times of contingencies they will need. For example the person wanting to lose weight, might find out that they eat more when they are bored or stressed out. They can conclude that a reasonable DOR would be to go for a walk when they are bored instead of eating a snack. Step 6 is about how we can use antecedents to our advantage, controlling the environment can be a powerful tool in trying to achieve our goals. Using the same example of the individual with the goal to lose weight, may try to change the antecedent by talking a longer time to prepare food and setting the table making eating a meal a full experience not just grabbing something to go at a drive thru. Step 7 is about not giving up and being able to tweak and adjust contingencies when needed. Focusing on the aspect that this could take some time to show results but not to give up trying.
The three things that I will remember the most is the importance of using antecedents, goal setting, and not giving up when something does not work as well as planned.
Terms= behavior modification, intervention, desired behavior, target behavior, antecedence, contingencies, goals, behavior classification, DRO, reinforcement, punishment, graph, baseline,
Section 4.1-
1. Self-directed versus others directed. Our behavior is not only affected by our own impulses but by how others perceive or think we should act. Some behaviors that we emit are easier to change if we enlist help from others—could be that our actions are aversive to others as well.
2. New Year’s Resolutions mostly fail because they are to broad and do not have a target behavior. I have never actually had a successful New Year’s Resolution before and that mostly had to do with not having good reinforcers and just focusing on the punishment aspect.
3. By just rewording a resolution or goal, one could use a DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other) to elicit the reinforcement rather then the punishment aspects of goal reaching.
I like how this section broke down and explained what normal people do wrong when writing goals. Like most other people, I was developing very broad ideals and not making them more specific. Even after they do manage to narrow the topic, they are still mostly preoccupied with the punishment aspect—i.e. quit smoking or quit drinking soda. By rewording their goals from quit smoking to smoking only once a day or instead of stop drinking to drinking only one pop a day, they shift the focus from finding a suitable punishment to finding a suitable reinforcement. There really wasn’t anything that I did not like about his section. It was short, simple, and to the point—as well as easy to understand. There weren’t really any new vocabulary words in this section but kind of expanded on some of the previous words. One thing that I thought about was how I could apply these theories to my own goals in order to be more successful. Instead of just ‘getting fit,’ I could set a work out goal for myself and a weight loss goal as well as a meal plan to stick to.
Section 4.2-
1. The seven steps to a behavior modification of the self, include set your goals, define your target behaviors, keep a record, graph a baseline determine contingencies, determine the antecedents, and implement and adjust. These steps once explained seem simple enough to follow and apply to one’s own behavior.
2. Target behaviors have to be manageable (can be done/plausible), precise (specific on the behavior), and fit into your life. Most New Year’s Resolutions are not specific enough but in order to have a successful goal, a target goal that fulfills the above requirements.
3. To be successful, one must always remember to look for an increase of an activity rather then a decrease so as to avoid punishing yourself—which can be harder for an individual.
I liked how this section relayed the steps to help make their goals possible. The steps were well written and easy to follow. They were thoroughly explained so as to make it easy for anyone to put any goal into the steps and elicit a desirable response. I especially liked the section that explained how to do the graphs for the baseline data. I was a bit confused with how to quantify the ideas I was having for the next section that we have to build a plan for but it really helped to clarify that. The really wasn’t anything that I didn’t like—just a few more grammar corrections then normal but they weren’t really noticeable. As stated above, these sections made me think about how I could put these steps into my own life to help me live better.
I really enjoyed these sections and I am looking forward to seeing how I can better fulfill my goals.
Terms: Goals, Elicit, Desirable, Baseline Data, Quantify, Behavior Modification of Self, Target Behavior, Contingencies, Antecedents, Manageable, Precise, Punishing, Punishment, Reinforcement, Self-Directed, Others Directed, Emit, Aversive, Reinforcer, DRO.
Section 4.1
One thing I liked about this section was how it was very specific in explaining how important certain things are like being specific with what your target behavior is. If you aren't specific with what your behavior is you might not know when it is happening or how to record it. I thought that the examples of how to be specific in deciding your target behavior were very helpful. They gave me a better idea of how to work what behavior I want to change into something that is easy to identify and also something that I can record. There wasn't really anything I didn't like about this section. Some of it was review, like when it talked about the four reasons why we should want to change a behavior. I didn't have any problems with reviewing information; it helps me to remember it better in the long run. I think most of the behaviors that I want to change about myself are only bothersome to me. At least my friends haven’t complained to me about them! Some other things that came to mind were, I think a lot of people have the same behaviors that they dislike about themselves. When looking at the New Year’s resolution list many of the things listed were behaviors that I have thought about trying to change at one time or another about myself. I have also never made New Year’s resolutions because I never kept them. Hopefully with this class, because I know have the knowledge, I can now be successful in changing my behaviors. Three things I will remember about this section are: 1. Self-Directed Behavior: this means behaviors that we change about ourselves. This is quite easy to remember because the name explains itself. 2. Make your target behavior clear and specific. This makes the whole process easier if you can easily identify the target behavior. 3. The last thing I will remember is deciding between using reinforcement or punishment. This can be important depending on your target behavior.
Section 4.2
I liked how the way to change behaviors were spelled out in steps. This makes it so much easier to understand. I like when there are directions to follow, I think guidance is what a lot of people need and don’t often have when trying to change a behavior they don’t like about themselves. I think if more people knew these steps they would be more successful in changing their behaviors. One thing I didn't really like about this chapter was steps three and four. Keeping a record of my daily activities or behaviors is not something I would be good about doing. I have tried to keep a diary numerous times but I’m so bad at writing in it every day. I suppose a behavioral diary would be easier, I’m just worried I will forget to write in it. I don’t like the idea of graphing either. I will have to think clearly about how I want to go about choosing a target behavior that will make sense when I have to put it on a graph. Three things I will remember about this section are: 1. The second step in the 7 steps to self-directed behavior change is important because it is making the goal into a set of target behaviors. It is important that this step is done right so that the rest of the steps go smoothly. 2. A target behavior should be 1. Precise 2. Manageable 3. Measurable and 4. Fit within our daily lives. It can be difficult to make target behaviors fit within these guidelines, you might have to revise it later on. 3. It’s alright if things don’t go the way you had planned. It can be hard to get it right the first time. You can experiment with it and see if another tactic works better. Just don’t give up!
Before this class I didn't know that there are steps you can follow to self- direct your behavior changes. Like I said before I think if more people knew about these steps, more people would be able to follow through and be successful in their behavior changes. I feel like now we will be truly using the things we learned in this class and be applying them to changing our own behavior.
Terms: Self-Directed Behavior, target behavior, reinforcement, punishment.
After reading section 4.1, discussing the need for self-directed behavior, I will remember that self-directed behavior means that we, as individuals, rely on ourselves to manage a behavior through goals and our own reinforcement or punishment. I’ll remember this because this leads into the big project that we will be doing in class. The second thing I will remember is that often, when resolutions are made, they are vague and usually don’t work. I will remember this because I never make a new year’s resolution because they hardly ever change anything unless a person has a specific plan. This leads into the third thing I will remember, which is that a good target behavior is the key to being successful in changing our behavior. One thing I really liked from this chapter is the explanation that changing a behavior doesn’t have to be drastic it can be very easy and doable steps. Having a specific plan can better result in progress and success. I liked this because often we may think we have to change our whole life around to change a behavior, but in reality it just takes small bits of effort to make an everlasting change. One thing I didn’t like from this chapter was the discussion on thinking of incompatible behaviors because I don’t quite understand it. While reading this section, what came to mind was ideas about what behavior I will want to work on changing for our project.
From section 4.2, I really liked knowing the steps involved in changing a behavior because that makes knowing how to begin and how to be the most successful in changing the behavior with each step. I didn’t like the graphing step because I do not like anything to do with math and/or statistical measurements. I will remember that when making a goal, target behaviors must be precise, manageable, measurable, and can fit within your daily life. This is easy to remember because it’s really important to know that a person doesn’t have to drastically change a behavior, but can take small steps that can be done daily. I’ll remember that reinforcement should happen after a behavior is emitted because otherwise a person may make an excuse to not do the behavior after getting reinforced too soon. I’ll also remember that antecedents can be so powerful in eliciting behavior because I can relate to this. When I have my workout clothes set out on my bed and a motivating playlist made, it’s hard not to go workout because otherwise I’ll feel guilty putting my clothes away.
This section has built what I’ve been thinking about behavior modification because it has introduced helpful steps that incorporate past terms like reinforcement and punishment and how most effectively to use those in changing a behavior. This section has also changed what I’ve thought about behavior modification because I can understand the importance of how each step in self-directed behavior has an important role and achieving a change in a behavior is very possible.
Terms: Self-directed Behavior, Reinforcement, Punishment, Target Behavior, Incompatible, Emitted, Eliciting, Behavior Modification
One thing I really liked about section 4.1 is that it was fairly short and easy to follow. It was nice to be introduced to self-directed behavior in ways that were easy to follow. I liked that this section was easy to follow because that way I know in detail what self-directed behavior is.
One thing I didn’t liked about section 4.1 is how little examples there were. Even though this section was easy to follow I wish there would have been more examples of self-directed behaviors. I wish there would have been more examples of self-directed behaviors because when there is only one good example its hard to think of other good examples that aren’t similar.
Three things I will remember from section 4.1 is that: 1) other directed behaviors are necessary when we are managing other people, classrooms, and other situations, 2) self-directed behavior occur when we choose a behavior to either increase or decrease, and 3) that it is important to select a target behavior and to be as specific as possible. I will remember that other directed behaviors are necessary when were managing other people, classrooms and other situations because other directed behavior refers to other people and not behaviors that we perform but what others perform. I will remember that self-directed behavior occur when were choose a behavior to either increase or decrease because self-directed behavior refers to ourselves and trying to change a behavior that we emit not that other emit. Lastly, I will remember that it is important to select a target behavior and to be as specific as possible because if a behavior we are trying to increase or decrease is not specific there is a lot of room for error or failure when it comes to trying to change the behavior.
Some ideas that came to my mind while I read this section were what some target behaviors were that I could increase in my daily life. I thought about how I could be more specific about my target behaviors so that I could be successful with my self-directed behavior.
One thing I really liked about section 4.2 was how detailed it was about the self-directed behavior steps. I like how detailed it was about the steps because for the self-directed behavior project we will be doing it will help me understand what exactly I need to do to accomplish my behavior.
One thing I didn’t liked about section 4.2 was the small amount of examples it had for each step. I didn’t like this about section 4.2 because without a bunch of examples it doesn’t leave a lot of room for me to brainstorm didn’t ideas about a self-directed behavior.
Three things I will remember about section 4.2 are that: 1) the dependent measure is the thing that we are measuring, 2) that the first step for a self-directed behavior is to set a goal, and 3) the second step is to define the goals as a set of specific target behaviors. I will remember that the dependent measure is the thing that we are measuring because the behavior that we are measuring is the dependent measure. I will remember that the first step for a self-directed behavior is to set a goal because without a goal is mind we cant continue the rest of the steps to completing the self-directed behavior project. Lastly, I will remember the second step is to define the goals as a set of specific target behaviors because if we are not specific about our target behavior there is too much room for error and not being successful.
These sections have built on my previous beliefs on behavior modification because we learned more about self-directed behavior and the steps to increasing or decreasing the behavior we choose.
Terms: behavior modification, self-directed behavior, increasing, decreasing, behavior, dependent measure, target behaviors, other directed behaviors, and emit.
4.1 Self Directed Behavior
Something that I really liked in this section is how it lays the foundation for why we would want/need to change our behavior. The four reasons to change your behavior this section mentions are: 1. They bother us, 2. They bother other people, 3. They may bring about trouble in the future, 4. They are illegal. My dad is one of those people who think they have been the way they have been for a very long time and there is no reason to change now which is exactly what this section is talking about. There is nothing that I did not like about this section. By learning more and more of this every week, it gives me more hope that I can change the behaviors that I want to change.
Things I will remember:
1) You know that your self- behavior program has worked because the better, more adaptive behavior patterns will become automatic to the subject and they will no longer have to think about “trying” to perform a certain behavior.
2) Differential reinforcement happens when we reinforce the incompatible behaviors or the behaviors the we/other people do not like.
3) It is important to have specific target behaviors for your resolutions because if the goal is to vague, then it will be more difficult to recognize when you are reinforcing the behavior.
4.2 Self Directed Behavior Steps
I really like the amount of detail this section goes into when explaining this process. When I was first reading through the steps, I did not have a grasp on what it meant to graph a baseline of your behavior, but after reading that section, I feel much more confident that I would be able to apply it to my daily life.
Things I will remember:
1) There are seven steps involved in self- directed behavior. 1. Set a goal. 2. Define the goals as a set of specific target behaviors. 3. Keep a detailed record. 4. Graph a baseline. 5. Determine the contingencies. 6. Determine the antecedents.7. Implement and adjust the contingencies.
2) It is important that our set of target behaviors are very specific, can be manageable, can be measured, and will fit in practically with our everyday lives.
3) Instead of always using food as a reinforcer (I tend to enjoy cupcakes!) it might be more beneficial to have a reinforce that it related to the behavior you are trying to change.
As I mentioned earlier, my dad strongly believes that you cannot change someone’s behavior when it has been the same for many years. Every time I learn something new to try to prove he is wrong I make sure to share it with him. He doesn’t know this, but I have been trying to change the way he has conversations by increasing the use of effective communication versus just talking out of passion without concern for others emotions.
Terms: self-behavior program, self-directed behavior, adaptive behavior patterns, differential reinforcement, incompatible behaviors, target behaviors, reinforcement, reinforcing, antecedent, determine contingencies, graph a baseline.
Self-directed behaviors and the six steps ~ these two new terms are now going to be the basis for my own behavior modification. That is pretty much why I took this course, to find out ways to modify my own as well as encourage other to change theirs bad behaviors as well. We all have behaviors that to some can be annoying or just not good for us. I wanted to know how and now I believe with these six steps that I found the treasure that I was looking for.
What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why?
1) There are two types of directed behaviors; self-directed behaviors and other-directed behaviors. This was the foundation of the chapter and that is why I know I will remember it. I really enjoyed reading it as well.
2) Secondly, if I am going to reinforce or punish a behavior I have to be able to identify the behavior. This is important so that i can make sure to note if it occurs or does not occur and exactly what the specific target behavior you want to occur; these are all very important factors.
3) The differential reinforcement of other (DRO) is basically redefining alternative behaviors that can be reinforced, but will still function to lessen the original target behavior. I really didn't get this concept and because I read it several times - I now have a clear, precise understanding.
What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why?
I really liked how the chapter explained self-directed behaviors through the New Year's Resolution angle. I really was able to understand it and follow the text because it was put so simply. It has also helped me realize that this doesn't have to just be about New year's resolutions but for daily routines in my life. I will now be able to implement some of the techniques and examples that were given but because i truly would like to modify my own behavior.
What was one thing that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why?
This is going to sound funny but the only thing that I disliked bout it was that it was too short. Or the chapter seemed smaller compared to some of the others because of it's simplicity, I guess. I even looked back to see if I had skipped a page or something. I really like this chapter and because I was really entertained by the boxes this time that it really didn't feel quite long at all.
What were some ideas that came to mind when you were reading the section?
I definitely began of thinking specifics for my own self-directed behaviors. I know realize that it is a must in behavior modification to keep things specific, clear and concise.
The Steps - 4.2
One thing I really like about this section was once again the simplicity of its language and how it put things in perspective. It broke down the six steps so easily that no matter the behavior it can be implemented or at least you will be able to try the six steps in self-directed behavior modification.
I disliked the graphing and boxes where I had to put y-axis labels and values. I personally do not like graphing things and I don't really like having to determine baselines for behaviors that I really don't to begin with.
Three things: 1) That there are six basic steps in self-directed behaviors; once again because it is what the whole chapter focused on, clearly it is being imprinted in my brain because I want to use some of the steps.
2) When possible - set a goal or when changing a behavior try to make it so that the reinforcement comes from increasing a desirable behavior to decreasing a undesirable behavior and this is so that they will be no need for punishment
3) Make it easy to record your behaviors and not rely on memory. This is will not go well when you need to prove it or reflect back onto a certain day or time. This is just the best and proper way to really be able to see your progress or why it failed.
How has reading these sections changed or built on what you have been thinking about behavior modification? How so?
These reading have definitely began to broaden my horizon with endless possibilities. I have been trying to figure out ways to modify some of my own behaviors and now with these last two chapters I am now given a set of tools to experiment with. All of my reading are going into a journal and I continue to add reflections, thoughts, ideas and even some suggestions for myself. How this new concept and strategy goes with the ABC's and how I will combine them to benefit me only time will tell.
Terms: Self-directed behavior, behavior modification, behaviors, other-directed behaviors, reinforce, punish, target behavior, differential reinforcement of other, behavior modification, language, behavior, baselines, y-axis, punishment, reinforcement, antecedent, ABC's, and the six steps of self-directed behaviors.
4.1
It is pretty obvious in life that when it comes to changing behavior,at a certain age, the majority of the responsibility is up to the individual. I like how this section covers the aspect of need in the issue of SELF-directed behavior. I would be willing to say that I’m not the only one who sees the similarities in the matter of goal setting with the approach laid out in the section and the S.M.A.R.T model of goal setting. Something different that I also really liked was the matter of reinforcement over punishment. However, finding a behavior to reinforce while I’m trying to decrease the likely hood of a behavior has become a tricky thing.
In this section the valuables that I have obtained are the fact that a target behavior must be defined and defined to a T. If the target behavior isn’t defined well enough then knowing when it has been emitted and when to apply the reinforce or punisher can become a complicated matter. Also the biggest thing that I have taken from this section is the fact that when trying to degrease a behavior it is more effective if you find the alternative behavior and reinforce that. While it can be difficult, it is said to be the more effective way.
4.2
The section is by far the most pragmatic section in the book, I think that an individual taking a dynamic approach to altering a behavior is the most effective way to go about it. I like how there are a list of sub goals to direct behavior to the main goal, making the entire process more effective; meeting sub goals is a good indicator that the individual is on the way to achieving the main goal.
Three things in this section that I will take away are:
The importance of graphing a baseline, when trying to diminish a behavior it is very logical to determine if your behavior modification is truly working. However, I think that when the main goal is the complete elimination of the behavior it becomes much more straight forward.
Along with a baseline having some sort of journal to analyze the antecedents of the behavior is also something that I find to be very important. To a certain degree I side with Watson on the aspect of environment is the main facilitator of behavior, but I think it is more of a habituation thing. When in routine and not consciously aware of what it is that you are doing then the antecedents are the main causes to the final actions.
And finally, implementing and adjusting the contingencies. This is just yet again drilled into my mind more and more, granted it should be. Considering that this is the hardest part of the process I think it deserves a legit amount of attention.
Terms: Self- directed, reinforcement, punishment, reinforce, target behavior, emitted, punisher, alternative behaviors, sub goals, main goal, baseline, antecedents, Watson, environment, habituation, consciously, contingencies.