Behavior Modification Program Steps

Appreciation is expressed to Dr. Retta Poe for providing a structure from which this is adapted.

Assessment
Deciding to Change Behavior
Beginning the Program
Evaluating the Program

Assessment

A. Describe the Target Behavior

Look for patterns in the behavior by finding the answer to these questions. Do NOT rely on subjective opinion but try to watch the actual behavior. An interview of the subject or of persons familiar with the subjects' behavior may be helpful if you use focused questions and get specific answers.
The global question you are trying to answer is: under what circumstances does the behavior occur and when does it not occur? What is the pattern that the behavior displays?

Where does the behavior occur (only at home? at school? in the presence of particular persons or objects?)?
When does it occur (time of day? day of week? weekends vs weekdays?)?
When the behavior occurs, how long does it endure?
How intense is the behavior (e.g., is the child talking or screaming)?
How frequently does it happen? per hour, per day, per week, per year (select the single most meaningful period of time).
What was present or occurring 5-10 minutes prior to the behavior?
What was present or occurring within 2-3 minutes after the behavior?
Who was present during an instance of the behavior? Describe how these people are related to the subject.
Describe in very specific behavioral terms what an instance of the behavior looks like. Describe it so an actor could display the exact behavior. Relate what was said as well as what was done and with what. Even seemingly insignificant actions could provide a clue for moderating the behavior.

Not "He disrupted the class."
Not "He yelled a lot."
Better: "He spoke in a volume that drowned out my voice and said, "I want my pencil back." Then he jumped on his chair and wiggled his hips while pointing at Tim, in the right hand seat. He was laughing and smiling throughout this period.

Sometimes, comments by significant others can be helpful. Favor behavioral examples over summative evaluations.

Not "He annoys others."
Better: "He interrupts everyone who speaks within a few minutes."

To evaluate the specificity/observability of your description visit:

Identifying Behavior (obsbeh.htm).

B. Avoid these mistakes when describing the behavior

· Confusing motivation and behavior.

Motives are theories, not actual behavior. They are assumptions about the cause of behavior. The word "because" signals an assumption. Don't say he/she: "wanted to" "interested in" "liked" or "disliked".

Inferring covert behavior from directly observable (overt) behavior. Say, "She stared at the ceiling," NOT "she was daydreaming."
Infusing theories of behavior into your report. Do not use concepts like "personality," or "insight" or "traits". It is even an inference to say that a particular behavior is a "habit" or "his nature." Trait names, such as "shy," "anxious," "aggressive," also fail to describe the behavior because they refer to theories about the cause of the behavior.
Evaluating the desirability of the behavior. Behavior is of neutral value. It just is. Its effects may be desirable or undesirable to a particular objective or to a particular person. But when describing it, avoid those judgments. To label a behavior as a problem or poor or good is

vague and meaningless and thus does not contribute to understanding it.
imposes a set of values that might be inappropriate upon closer inspection.

Using general terms such as: frequently, several, occasionally, periodically. Instead give a precise number (e.g., 2 times per day).

C. Measure the behavior to get precise data for the above questions.

There are a number of methods. Several may work for any particular behavior. There is no rule to say which is best other than that you use the method that targets the behavior you intend to change. If, for example, you want to smoke fewer cigarettes in order to save money on buying them, then you need to count the number of total cigarettes consumed per day. Counting the length of time it takes you to smoke one (while still smoking the same number) won't give you the information you need to achieve your goal.
Typically, multiple methods are used in a single project because multiple facets are of interest.

Methods:

Frequency: # of times a response is performed per a unit of time (e.g., day). For example, smokes 24 cigarettes every day.
Amount of time: the length of time a response lasts. This may be measured in terms of

the duration of the behavior (from start to finish), for example., takes 2 minutes or 20 minutes to smoke a single cigarette.
the number of intervals in which the behavior is observed occurring. (e.g., only smokes during the 9am break, never at any other time = 1 interval; vs. smokes a cigarette every hour = 18 hours.) If the behavior occurs frequently and has a clear beginning and end, then use short intervals (10-15 seconds). Less than 5 seconds is too short-- can't tell which interval the behavior occurred in. Don't use interval recording if the behavior is "continuous," that is, it persists for long periods of time with no clear beginning or end point, e.g., thumb sucking.

Intensity: the magnitude or size of the response. Does the subject smoke the cigarette down to the filter or takes a few puffs and puts it out?
Latency: the time that elapses until a response is performed. For example, how long can a person goes until they pull out a cigarette.

Before beginning your assessment

You will need to answer the following questions.

How many times will you collect data?
How long will each observation period be? (long enough to get several samples of behavior).
When during the day and what days of the week will you observe the behavior? Do you need to consider weekends in addition to weekdays?
Who and how many observers will there be? How will you train the observer to be accurate?

D. Identify a baseline (aka operant level) for the behavior.

Behavior modification is about real change. You cannot determine if real change has occurred unless you know what behavior is typical. Typical behavior is the baseline against which the success of your intervention is measured. If you fail to collect baseline data, then you have no way, let me repeat that, no way to tell if your intervention worked. Behaviorists do not rely on memory which is fallible. Without baseline data you do not have a behavior modification program.
Identifying a baseline means you collect data over a period of time without trying to change the behavior.
How long do you collect data? It depends on the characteristics of the behavior. In general, you collect enough that the behavior of interest shows a steady pattern. With some animal behaviors, that might be 1 hour. With some human behaviors, it may take several weeks.

Deciding to Change Behavior

In this phase, commitment to the program is developed and the groundwork for a successful program is laid.

A. All significant parties are involved and demonstrate commitment

Encourage participation in decisions by the subject and persons who will might have an impact on the success or failure of the program including parents, teachers, administrators, spouses, children, bosses, coworkers, etc.

B. Be specific and precise about the behavioral goals.

As a number of people are involved, clear communication is critical. Even if it is a self-change, writing our your goals and activities will ensure that you have actually been clear in your planning. It can be a self-check.
Clarity is a process of writing and rewriting. It is common, despite great effort to clarify, to discover that some behaviors remain unclarified once the program is begun. Nevertheless, do your best and it will pay off in a more successful outcome.
Include any conditions or restrictions.
Example of a precise goal:

Not: "To eat healthily"
Better: "To reduce the number of snacks (defined as ice cream, candy, or Twinkies) from one with each meal and one in the evening to one every 3rd day and to increase the number of vegetable portions (as defined by Government standards) from one with my evening meal, to 6 portions per day."

C. What are the ethical considerations?

Are there any dangers to the subject or others? For example, woman in an abusive relationship may be accused of trying to be seductive if she loses weight and be beaten as a consequence. Current health status impacts on the safety of exercise and eating programs. A person exercising in a solitary place needs to consider safety factors.
Are humane methods being used with animals? Punishment should be used very cautiously and only with close supervision.

D. Consider the total context of the behavior.

What is initiating and maintaining a behavior (or the absence of a behavior)? Another person may benefit in some way from the target behavior and undermine change efforts. For example, a spouse may want someone to eat comfort foods with her and feel neglected or judged if the subject starts eating healthily. (If you say, "The spouse can go on a diet too" consider the ethical issues above. The spouse may not wish to and that would be imposing values and the person would probably simply undermine efforts.) Some persons are rewarded by another's perceived difficulty. They will seek to continue getting their reinforcement.

Beginning the Program

A. Identify potential interventions and select one or several that match the target behavior.

Various procedures can be used together for maximum effect, although a program that is too complex is in danger of not being followed. Strike a balance between every possible procedure and too few.
Categorize your target behavior as one of the following, then see your textbook for appropriate interventions.

teach a never before performed behavior (reinforcement: positive and negative )
increase or strengthen an existing behavior (reinforcement, contingency contract, token economy, modeling)
extend an existing behavior

to a new environment (stimulus generalization; stimulus control; modeling )
to new behaviors (response generalization; shaping; chaining; fading; prompting; modeling)
over time (maintenance; intermittent reinforcement; modeling)

narrow an existing behavior to limited environments (e.g., only snacking in the kitchen) (also discrimination training; modeling)
reduce or eliminate the display of an existing behavior (extinction; time-out; response cost; desensitization; reinforcement of incompatible responses; modeling; punishment;)

Most projects will use a type of reinforcement.

Identify appropriate reinforcers for the individual
Specify the conditions under which reinforcement can be earned.
You already trained any needed data collectors during the baseline. Continue to collect data throughout using the same methods.
Apply intervention. Persist with intervention until

change occurs,
it is clear that change is not going to occur and the method needs evaluation and refinement

On to evaluation.

Evaluating the Program

Extensive planning increases the odds that a behavior change program will result in behavior change if appropriately implemented. We cannot know if that has succeeded until we measure the behavior and compare it to the baseline.

A. Graph the results

Most data collection can be graphed (occasionally a table is more appropriate). Graphs quickly reveal progress or lack thereof. They allow for evaluation of hypotheses as to what happened (or didn't). Small variations in behavior are normal. Judge progress based on viewing multiple data collection periods (that might mean, for example, looking at a week's worth of data, graphed by days).

B. Consider trying a "Reversal"

To demonstrate true control over the behavior, remove the intervention. If the behavior returns to baseline, then the chosen intervention and not some other event is the likely cause of the change. (Of course, data is continuously collected).
With some behaviors, reversals are not ethical (head banging in autistic children) or possible (learning to speak a language).

C. Evaluate the results and reach conclusions.

Conclusions will be similar to one of the following:

The intervention was successful in producing change as shown by......
The intervention was not successful in producing change as shown by.....
The data offer a mixed picture. These elements were successful as shown by..... these elements were not as shown by....

In each case, elaborate on the elements that worked well and those that didn't. Evaluate the stages of the project and identify what was learned about changing the behavior that would be helpful "next time."
Behavior Modification is a science. Clear communication of conclusions and possible implications is part of any science.

C. Modify your Intervention

Based on what you learned, improve your program and try again. It is through such evaluation and thoughtful reapplication that progress is made.

Salau Rasheed A

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

behaviour Modification program steps