Treasures in Psychology

Behavioral Self-Management — A Rewarding Project

(From Introduction to Psychology Gateways to Mind and Behavior)

Gateway Question: How does conditioning apply to practical problems?

Would you like to exercise more, attend more classes, cut down on smoking, concentrate longer, or read more books? This is an invitation to carry out a self-management project of your own. As such, this could be the start of one of the most personal applications of psychology in this book.

Self-Managed Behavior

The principles of operant conditioning can be adapted to manage your own behavior (Martin & Pear, 2007; Watson & Tharp, 2007). Here’s how:

1. Choose a target behavior. Identify the activity you want to change.

2. Record a baseline. Record how much time you currently spend performing the target activity or count the number of desired or undesired responses you make each day.

3. Establish goals. Remember the principle of shaping and set realistic goals forgradual improvement on each successive week. Also, set daily goals that add up to the weekly goal.

4. Choose reinforcers. If you meet your daily goal, what reward will you allow yourself ? Daily rewards might be watching television, eating a candy bar, socializing with friends, listening to your iPod, or whatever you enjoy. Also establish a weekly reward. If you reach your weekly goal, what reward will you allow yourself ? A movie? A dinner out? Some time playing a game like Guitar Hero? A weekend hike?

5. Record your progress. Keep accurate records of the amount of time spent each day on the desired activity or the number of times you make the desired response.

6. Reward successes. If you meet your daily goal, collect your reward. If you fall short, be honest with yourself and skip the reward. Do the same for your weekly goal.

7. Adjust your plan as you learn more about your behavior. Overall progress will reinforce your attempts at selfmanagement. If you have trouble thinking of rewards, remember that anything done often can serve as reinforcement. This is known as the Premack principle. It is named after David Premack, a psychologist who popularized its use. For example, if you like to watch television every night and want to study more, make it a rule

not to turn on the set until you have studied for an hour (or whatever length of time you choose). Then lengthen the requirement each week. Here is a sample of one student’s plan:

1.

Target behavior: number of hours spent studying for school.

2.

Recorded baseline: an average of 25 minutes per day for a weekly total of 3 hours.

3.

Goal for the first week: an increase in study time to 40 minutes per day; weekly goal of 5 hours total study time.

Goal for second week: 50 minutes per day and 6 hours per week. Goal for third week:1 hour per day and 7 hours per week. Ultimate goal: to reach and maintain 14 hours per week study time.

4.

Daily reward for reaching goal: 1/2 hour of guitar playing in the evening; no playing if the goal is not met. Weekly reward for reaching goal: going to a movie or buying a DVD.

Self-Recording
Even if you find it difficult to give and withhold rewards, self-recording (keeping records of response frequencies, a form of feedback) can make a difference all by itself. This is because we tend to react to being observed, even when we are the ones watching our own behavior. In general, when you systematically (and honestly) observe yourself, you are more likely to engage in desired behaviors and less likely to perform undesired behaviors (Fireman, Kose, & Solomon, 2003; Watson & Tharp, 2007).

Keep track of the number of times that you exercise, arrive late to class, eat vegetables, smoke a cigarette, study, watch TV, drink a cappuccino, swear, or whatever you are interested in changing. A simple tally on a piece of paper will do, or you can get a small mechanical counter like those used to keep golf scores or count calories. Record keeping helps break patterns, and the feedback can be motivating as you begin to make progress.

Good Ways to Break Bad Habits
Are there any extra tips for breaking bad habits? By using the methods we have discussed, you can decrease unwanted behaviors, such as swearing, biting your nails, criticizing others, smoking, drinking coffee, watching TV too much, or engaging in any other behavior you choose to target. However, breaking bad habits may require some additional techniques. Here are four strategies to help you change bad habits.

Alternate Responses
A good strategy for change is to try to get the same reinforcement with a new response.

Example:

Marta often tells jokes at the expense of others. Her friends sometimes feel hurt by her sharp-edged humor. Marta senses this and wants to change. What can she do? Usually, Marta’s joke telling is reinforced by attention and approval. She could just as easily get the same reinforcement by giving other people praise or compliments. Making a change in her behavior should be easy because she will continue to receive the reinforcement she seeks.

Extinction

Try to discover what is reinforcing an unwanted response and remove, avoid, or delay the reinforcement.

Example:

Fatima has developed a habit of taking longer and longer "breaks" to watch TV when she should be studying. Obviously, TV watching is reinforcing her break taking. To improve her study habits, Fatima could delay reinforcement by studying at the library or some other location a good distance from her TV.

Response Chains

Break up response chains that precede an undesired behavior; this will help break the bad habit. The key idea is to scramble the chain of events that leads to an undesired response (Watson & Tharp, 2007).

Example:

Most nights Ignacio comes home from work, turns on the TV, and eats a whole bag of cookies or chips. He then takes a shower and changes clothes. By dinnertime he has lost his appetite. Ignacio realizes he is substituting junk food for dinner. Ignacio could solve the problem by breaking the response chain that precedes dinner. For instance, he could shower immediately when he gets home, or avoid turning on the television until after dinner.

Cues and Antecedents

Try to avoid, narrow down, or remove stimuli that elicit the bad habit.

Example:

Brent wants to cut down on smoking. He can take many smoking cues out of his surroundings by removing ashtrays, matches, and extra cigarettes from his house, car, and office. Drug cravings are strongly related to cues conditioned to the drug, such as the odor of cigarettes (Lazev, Herzog, & Brandon, 1999). Brent can narrow antecedent stimuli even more. He could begin by smoking only in the lounge at work, never in his office or in his car. He could then limit his smoking to home.

Then to only one room at home. Then to one chair at home. If he succeeds in getting this far, he may want to limit his smoking to only one unpleasant place, such as a bathroom, basement, or garage (Riley et al., 2002).

Contracting

If you try the techniques described here and have difficulty sticking with them, you may want to try behavioral contracting. In a behavioral contract, you state a specific problem behavior you want to control, or a goal you want to achieve. Also state the rewards you will receive, privileges you will forfeit, or punishments you must accept. The contract should be signed by you and a person you trust.

A behavioral contract can be quite motivating, especially when mild punishment is part of the agreement. Here’s a classic example reported by Nurnberger and Zimmerman (1970): A student working on his Ph.D. had completed all requirements but his dissertation, yet for 2 years had not written a single page. A contract was drawn up for him in which he agreed to meet weekly deadlines on the number of pages he would complete. To make sure he would meet the deadlines, he wrote postdated checks. These were to be forfeited if he failed to reach his goal for the week.

The checks were made out to organizations he despised (the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party). From the time he signed the contract until he finished his degree, the student’s work output was greatly improved.

Getting Help

Attempting to manage or alter your own behavior may be more difficult than it sounds.

If you feel you need more information, consult the books listed below. You will also find helpful advice in the Psychology in Action section of Chapter 15. If you do try a selfmodification project but find it impossible to reach your goals, be aware that professional advice is available.

Where to Obtain More Information

Watson, D. L., & Tharp, R. G. (2007). Selfdirected behavior (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: 

Wadsworth.

Martin, G., & Pear, J. (2007). Behavior modification: What it is and how to do it (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.