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After reviewing the background information and reading the article listed above, please write a 2 – 3 page paper that addresses the following:
Discuss how Skinner’s ideas are being used today to promote health or prevent disease.
Remind me of the 2 behavioral objectives you developed in Module 1. Be sure to state them properly as SMART objectives. You can refresh your memory about SMART objectives by reviewing the links in Case 1. If I gave you feedback about your objectives, use the revised and improved version.
How can you apply Skinner’s ideas to help you achieve those behavioral objectives?
What reinforcements are you going to give yourself for meeting each of your objectives?
In what ways can you use technology to help achieve the behavior modification you desire? Please explain.
It is VERY important that you choose a simple behavior that you can describe in precise terms, not a general area in which you’d like to improve. (For example, you are trying to YELL at your children less often during the December holidays. This would be an appropriate goal for your behavior modification program. "Feeling less angry" or "better anger management" would not be – unless you then proceeded to describe your program for reducing the number of times you yell at your child, spouse, whoever.) It is also VERY important you be able to give yourself the reinforcer. "I’ll feel better" or "I’ll be more efficient" are NOT reinforcers – a movie, manicure or trip to the sporting goods store (for example) are.
The behavior you choose must be your own. Not someone else’s…..
ASSIGNMENT EXPECTATIONS: Please read before completing assignments.
Assignment should be approximately 2 – 3 pages in length (double-spaced).
Please use major sections corresponding to the major points of the assignment, and where appropriate use sub-sections (with headings).
Remember to write in an academic manner (try to avoid using the first person except when describing a relevant personal experience).
Quoted material should not exceed a maximum of 10% of the total paper because the focus of these assignments is on independent thinking and critical analysis. Use your own words and build on the ideas of others. Cite references for all facts and ideas that are not common knowledge.
When material is copied verbatim from external sources, it MUST be properly cited. This means that material copied verbatim must be enclosed in quotes and the reference should be cited either within the text or with a footnote. Quotations should be very rarely used. I cannot evaluate what you have learned if you copy someone else’s words.
Use of peer-reviewed articles is strongly recommended. Websites as references should be minimal. Websites must be credible (professional, scholarly, nonprofit, or government agencies)
Be sure to cite your references in the text of all papers and on the reference list at the end. For examples, look at the way the references are listed within the modules and on the background reading list.
Proofread your paper to be sure grammar and punctuation are correct, and that each part of the assignment has been answered clALL READINGS FOR THIS MODULE ARE REQUIRED UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED
What are defense mechanisms?
Defense mechanisms are patterns of behavior that shield us from unpleasant reactions such as stress and emotions such as grief and guilt. Most defense mechanisms work by offering us a measure of self-deception. Sometimes we are aware of our use of defense mechanism but very often we lapse into them automatically or unconsciously. Although illusions are not always considered healthy, defense mechanism are considered to be normal if somewhat less effective ways to cope with stress and negative emotion.
Some studies suggest that a heavy reliance on defense mechanisms is related to poor mental and physical health (whether this is due to the defense mechanism itself or behaviors of the person using the mechanism, i.e. a drug addict who uses denial) is by no means clearly established. As you can see, some of these mechanisms are purely avoidance strategies or involve a good deal of what would be called "self-delusion" or "wishful thinking."
Although some researchers have proposed that illusions are useful for good adjustment (for example, one study suggested that slightly depressed and pessimistic people had a more realistic outlook that those who are optimistic and generally cheerful) other psychologists are skeptical about this notion. They propose that a realistic outlook is indicative of better adjustment even if the view is not entirely rosy. In many cases, the energy that an individual employs in carrying out the behaviors of the defense mechanism might be more effectively directed to activities that would result in better stress tolerance and adjustment. These researchers cite data from studies that suggest that, for example, people who have overly positive views of themselves have some unhealthy and maladaptive characteristics (a sense of entitlement or narcissism, for example.) As is the case with the concept of "stress," some of the disagreement may be due to differing conceptual and operational definitions of these constructs.
Also, it should be noted that as seemingly troublesome as some aspects of the defense mechanisms can be, the total lack of them represents the potential for severe mental health difficulties – symptoms and loss of ability to function in social and interpersonal contexts.
LIST OF COMMONLY USED DEFENSE MECHANISMS:
The "Mature" Defense Mechanisms – forms of COPING:
Rationalizing/Intellectualizing: Explaining away or refusing to face one’s feelings through the use of socially acceptable, positive sounding explanations rather than acknowledging the anxiety, sadness, or other unacceptable/painful emotion. "Sour Grapes/Sweet Lemons".
Sublimation: A constructive form of displacement in which sexual or unacceptable urges are re-channeled into productive activities. A person who does not get a desired promotion spends more time pursuing hobbies.
These are ways of handling unpleasant emotion and stress that, although they are not direct, do have benign (rationalization allows us to move on) or even constructive (sublimation can lead to genuine accomplishment).
Less useful for adjustment, but seen from time in most people:
Repression: The complete exclusion from consciousness of anxiety-producing thoughts, feelings, or impulses. The most basic defense mechanism looks like "forgetting".
Displacement: Emotional impulses are redirected toward a substitute person or object because "displacing" the impulses to the alternative is less threatening or dangerous that directing them at the true source. Your boss picks on you; you come home and yell at your spouse or kid.
Projection: The attribution of your own unacceptable urges or qualities onto others. A person who tends to lie frequently always thinks that others are lying to him.
Reaction Formation: Thinking or behaving in a way that is the extreme opposite of unacceptable urges or impulses. (This defense mechanism forms the basis of one theory about the origin of histrionic personality disorder).
Denial: The failure to recognize or admit to the existence of anxiety-provoking information or unacceptable impulses or qualities. "I don’t have a problem!"
Undoing: A form of "unconscious repentance". Performing actions that are interpreted by the self as neutralizing or atoning for an unacceptable thought or action. Giving $ to charity after cheating or stealing from someone.
These last defense mechanisms are considered healthy for children and adolescents but not necessarily for adults. (Everyone daydreams sometimes, an adult who does it often is probably not adjusting well. The same is not necessarily true of children – it depends on the context.)
Daydreaming: Occupying one’s mind with fantasy to avoid painful or unacceptable feelings. A teenager who feels unpopular and unattractive spends time spinning stories in which he or she is an omnipotent, sought-after hero or heroine.
Identification: Admiring and imitating a real person known personally or through the media, to avoid feelings of inadequacy. A little boy whose father left his family pretends to be a "power ranger" as his sole form of play.
Regression: Reversion to behavior more appropriate for a younger child or teenager when faced with unacceptable feelings or anxiety. A four-year-old starts wetting her pants after the birth of her baby brother.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION & STRESS MANAGEMENT
Behavior modification: is a system for changing behaviors and feelings based on the principles of classical (involuntary/reflex reaction) and operant (voluntary behavior) conditioning. The fundamental assumption is that our reactions and behaviors are acquired or learned through experience, and so, in the case when these reactions or behaviors maladaptive it is possible to unlearn them. It is also possible to foster new, more adaptive behaviors by employing behavior modification.
Child behavior management techniques, particularly the individualized incentives from this link can easily be applied to help an adult design his or her own behavior modification plan:
Fred Jones.com (n.d.) Positive Classroom Discipline Retrieved from http://www.fredjones.com/Positive_Discipline/Discipline_Ch13.html
These principles have been utilized with great success in education, clinical, health, and business. What we will discuss here is the application of these concepts intra-personally, that is, in self-management of stress, anxiety and undesirable reactions.
A typical behavior modification program has six crucial steps:
Identifying a target behavior that one would like to change…
There are many types of behavior that can be modified – passive or aggressive behavior, eating, procrastinating.
Establishing a baseline (figuring out how often the behavior currently occurs) and setting a goal (lowering the number of times the behavior occurs, or extinguishing the behavior completely)
One needs to carefully review past behavior or observe behavior for some set period without attempting to modify it. The target behavior(s) (called operants in behavioral-speak) must be specific and obvious responses. The activity of establishing a baseline involves two steps.
1. Meticulous and systematic observation of target behavior for set period of time
2. Identification of
a. Current frequency of target behavior
b. The events that usual precede the target behavior – these are called antecedents
c. The most usual consequences of the target behavior
Creating the program to lower the number of occurrences of the target behavior relative to the baseline
Reinforcement, in operant conditioning, is a consequence that is intended to increase a behavior. It can also be used to reward the absence of a behavior. In formulating a program, it is important to select a reinforcer that is truly rewarding. Behavioral goals should be realistic – don’t expect to "change everything" in a short period of time; you will set yourself up for failure. Try to balance a challenging program with one that gives you some chance of success. If you make it too easy, and reward yourself too frequently, you will also likely fail to meet your goals.
If your target response is to create a new behavior, you may want to use a procedure called shaping. Shaping is simply the reinforcement, in very small steps, of behaviors that lead up to or represent portions of the full target response. If you goal is to go to the gym for 45 minutes four times a week, you may want to reward yourself for making it in for 25 minutes three times a week, then four times a week, then 30 minutes four times a week etc.
If you are trying to decrease a target behavior (such as TV watching) and replace it with another behavior (regular exercise), you can reinforce yourself only for the latter behavior. You can also attempt to manipulate the antecedents by avoiding them. If you tend to go directly home after work, and plop yourself in front of the TV, you can go to the gym or the park instead. You can even use mild punishments (if you end up spending the evening in front of the TV, you can deny yourself TV for a certain number of hours, a logical "negative" punishment.) If you succeed in limiting your TV watching on the weeknights, you can reward yourself with a movie or other treat over the weekend. Thus, you combine positive reinforcements with sensible mild punishments to move closer to your goal.
Please be sure that your SLP program features a reinforcer that you provide to yourself, or someone close to you can help provide. A positive reinforcer is one in which something is given to you to let you know that you should continue your behavior…very similar to a reward or incentive. A negative reinforcer is the ending of a stimulus, which is also experienced as rewarding…if your spouse nags you until you pick up after yourself, he or she is negatively reinforcing you (reinforcing you by quitting the nagging – (negative means "take away" not "bad.")
Doing the program for a set period of time
Your goals, the timeframe and your schedule of reinforcers and punishers can be specified in a written behavioral contract. Writing your contract will add a certain extra level of commitment to your plan. It might also help to have a friend witness the contract, and be in charge of tracking your progress towards the goals and monitor your use of the contingencies (reinforcers and punishments.)
Evaluating program – comparing the actual number of times the behavior is occurring with the pre-set goal
Of course, a behavior modification program is not a "cure all." Much depends on the motivation level of the individual. Sometimes people do not use logical or strong reinforcers, or allow to much time to pass between the occurrence of the target behaviors and the reinforcer/punishment specified in the contract. Setting unrealistic goals can also be a major problem. Many people in different cultures are used to the "big results fast" mentality that permeates advertising; such an attitude can undermine the patience required for real change to occur.
Modifying and continuing, or ending program
In the real world, contracts are sometimes flexible or extendable. You can continue your program if you have not met your ultimate goals. If you do achieve your ultimate goals, it is probably better to phase out the program slowly through a gradual reduction in the contingencies, so that the behaviors feel more established without them. You can always set your program up again if you need to do so!
What is effective coping?
Constructive or Effective coping refers to any relatively productive strategies that we may employ to manage our stressors and the stress that they engender.
Learning to develop effective coping strategies does not require special kind of smarts…you don’t have to be a rocket scientist! Many rocket scientists don’t manage their stress all that well….
Because good stress managers are able to reduce the amount of stress they experience day to day, effective coping strategies are directly associated with improved mental and physical well-being, and have been shown in some research to related also to career and social success.
Dealing directly and in a timely manner with challenges (rarely uses avoidance strategies)
Good self-knowledge and awareness related to nature of the stressor and one’s available strengths and resources
Development of sensitivity to one’s own (and others) destructive or counterproductive reactions to stress
A certain amount of self-control
There are three broad categories of effective coping strategies – based on thought, action and feeling. We will examine them more closely in the next module.
Here are some optional but helpful readings on Behavior Modification:
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