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Please know that self-monitoring your behavior is difficult, but a task that can
Please know that self-monitoring your behavior is difficult, but a task that can (and will) be completed.
Step 1: Behavior Decision.
▪ Decide on the behavior you will increase or decrease
▪ Write a paragraph description of the behavior, being as behaviorally specific as possible; express the goal of your
project in observable, quantifiable terms.
▪ These goals must be very specific, and include both long and short range (daily) goals–but most important, they
must be measurable;
▪ You can select those behaviors which you wish to do away with, non-desired goals as well as desired behaviors–
but it would be best if you described behaviors that you want to increase (focus on creating behaviors that are
incompatible with the behaviors you want to remove)
Step 2: Baseline 1.
▪ Establish the baseline, the operant level: measure the frequency of both the good and the bad behavior before you
try to create any changes:
*Measurement is critical in self-change projects, so begin by recording your behavior on the checklist. Please note what
is happing before during and after the selected behavior.
*Include the information about baseline in your report (If, for example, you were trying to study more you should say
something like “On day one the participant spent 2.3 hours studying, on day two the participant did not study at all, and on
day three the participant spent 1 hour studying).
▪ The length of your baseline recording will be over a one-week period.
▪ You also need to indicate where the behavior occurs; for example, you might say “The researcher decided to
modify smoking behavior but needed to know the situations which elicited smoking –so for 7 days the researcher
kept track of how many cigarettes were smoked, when, and where.”
Step 3: Design Behavioral Change
▪ Select SR (Reinforcing Stimulus) and design the contingencies.
▪ Make a list of the reinforcers that you have decided are potent and controllable for and by you.
▪ List these reinforcers in your report and note which one you plan to use to control the behavior
▪ You can also identify punishers: aversive stimuli that you would rather avoid. You will be using these to reduce
behavior.
Name the Contingencies:
▪ State the exact conditions under which these consequences are applied (e.g., If I study for 1 hour I will get 5
M&M candies).
▪ If you plan to use punishment, then state those criteria as well (e.g., I did not meet my goal of studying for 3 hours
and so the following day I did not permit myself to listen to any music).
Step 4: Intervention Stage.
▪ Institute the Program of Behavior Modification. Begin controlling the behavior through judicious use of
reinforcers and punishment. This period should last one week (use another self-monitoring check list for
recording behavior).
▪ Keep good records: record the behavior and the reinforcers/punishments constantly.
▪ Control the “stimulus environment”. It is essential that you can administer the reinforcers immediately after the
behavior, and that you can reduce interference from reinforcers that you do not control. That means you should
make changes in your routine to avoid temptations (e.g., tell other people about the project and ask them not to
interfere).
▪ If appropriate, post cues in your environment that will trigger your response: if you are supposed to be exercising
more, then put up a sign in bedroom that says “Today you must exercise for 1 hour.” (Describe your use of such a
sign in your report).
Step 5: Follow up.
Because of time constraints, this step is optional, but would be used in any professional behavior modification project.
Once the behavior has been created, you would return to baseline by stopping the rewards or punishments. This step is not
necessary for this report. However, should you decide to complete this step, record your behavior on the checklist for one
week.
Step 6: Write up the report
▪ Please type the report. There are no length restrictions. Use the length that you feel is appropriate to exactly
specify what you did. The paper will have five sections:
1. Introduction. (1-2 pages)
2. Literature review. (2 pages) *Optional
3. Methodology. (1 page)
4. Results. (1 page)
5. Discussion. (4-6 pages)
▪ The report will include charts and graphs of the behavior rates, but it should be a well-written narrative (with
sentences and paragraphs).
▪ Add a final paragraph that draws conclusions about the project.
▪ Use appropriate terms from the lectures and text.
Introduction –
– Introduce your dependent variable; what behavior will you measure
– Find the operational definition (ex. What is sleep exactly?)
– The importance of the behavior (ex. Why is sleep important?)
– Include references !
– At the end introduce the hypothesis
Lit Review –
– Introduce your independent variable
– 2 articles on reinforcement
– 2 articles on punishment
– Talk to Christina Bailey to find articles
– Consider the Premack principle if appropriate; tie the articles into the behavior
Methodology –
– Clearly describe how the study was done (long)
– Should be able to replicate the whole study
– Describe your participant (you !)
Results –
– Description of the raw results (short)
– “Time series analysis showed ____”
– Include a graph
Discussion –
– What do the results mean? (very long 3 pages)
– Confounding variables and points of friction
– Improvement for more research
Conclusion –
– Summarize everything in the paper (1 page)
– Wrap up everything
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