Self-Management

Question 1

What are the two types of self-management problems?

Answer 1

• Behaviour Deficits
• Behaviour Excess

Question 2

Behaviour Deficits

Answer 2

Desirable behaviours are not occurring.
- Reinforcers may be delayed.
- High response effort to obtain the reinforcer.
- Reinforcers may have little value.
- Competing contingencies offer immediate reinforcement.
- Competing contingencies offer stronger reinforcers.

Question 3

Hyperbolic Decay Model (HDM)

Answer 3

• Delayed reinforcement can create preference reversals.

V = (A/(1+KD))
- A = Undiscounted (i.e. max) value of the reinforcer
- K = Rate of discounting
- D = Delay
- V = Value/effectiveness of the reinforcer

Question 4

Coping with Delayed Reinforcers

Answer 4

Commit to delayed behaviours early and punish non-compliance of this commitment.
- E.g. throw out a game to punish playing Xbox

Make the non-compliant behaviour delayed or harder to perform.
- E.g. Disconnect your Xbox and put it into storage.

Remove or delay SDs for engaging in the non-compliant behaviour.
- E.g. Keep your Xbox tucked away in a shelf where it is “out of sight and out of mind.”

Make the non-compliant behaviour impossible.
- E.g., Sell your Xbox.

Incorporate immediate reinforcers for engaging in the compliant behaviour.
- E.g., Give yourself a gummy bear for every paragraph of your textbook your read.

Question 5

Behaviour Excess

Answer 5

Undesirable behaviours are occurring.
- Punishers may be delayed (e.g. effects of smoking)
- Immediate reinforcers present
- Low response costs to obtain immediate reinforcers.
- Competing contingencies offer weak reinforcement.
- Competing contingencies may be punished.

Consider the Role of antecedent stimuli in
environment:
- S^Ds
- S^Δs

Question 6

Controlling behaviour vs Controlled behaviour

Answer 6

In self-management you engage in a controlling behavior in the present to influence the controlled behaviour in the future
* Controlling behaviour = Self-management strategy
* Controlled behaviour = Target behaviour to be changed in a self-management program

Question 7

Goal Setting

Self Management Strategies

Answer 7

Establish a criterion for the target
behaviour

Set achievable goals

Implement with self-recording, behaviour
contract
* Goal setting is not generally effective on its own, needs (at a minimum) to be combined with behavioural monitoring and evaluation.

Question 8

Self-Monitoring and Evaluation

Self Management Strategies

Answer 8

• Can allow reactivity to work in your favour.
• Can be a long-term maintenance strategy.

Question 9

Antecedent Manipulations

Self Management Strategies

Answer 9

• Present S^Ds for desirable behaviours.
• Present S^Δs for undesirable behaviours.
• Remove S^Ds for undesirable behaviours
• Remove S^Δs for desirable behaviours.
• Arrange a EO for desirable behaviours (e.g. deprivation)
• Arrange a AO for undesirable behaviours (e.g. satiation)
• Decrease response effort or delays for desirable behaviours.
• Increase response effort or delays for undesirable behaviours.
• Build behaviour chains for desirable behaviours.
• Interrupt behaviour chains for undesirable behaviours.
• Narrow the range of stimulus control to specific environments or stimuli.

Question 10

Behavioural Contract

Self-Management Strategies

Answer 10

A written document specifying:
- Target behaviour
- Contingencies
- What are the reinforcers and/or punishers
- What is the schedule of reinforcement/punishment?
- Create contingencies for the behaviours occurrence and non-occurrence if possible.
- Having a Contract Manager is very important.
- Make your contract/plan public so there are social consequences for failing and succeeding.

Question 11

Arrange Reinforcers and Punishers

Self-Management Strategies

Answer 11

Avoid “short-circuiting” the contingency
- Have someone else control the consequences.
- Be very cautious of Ratio-Strain
- Consider effects of satiation and deprivation in EOs.
- Have multiple reinforcers to choose from.
- Token economies
- Make use of variable schedules of reinforcement whenever possible and gradually stretch the schedule requirement.

Question 12

Variable Schedules in Self-Modification

Answer 12

Example:
Plan: Study on a variable duration schedule with an average of 60 minutes.
- Schedule Values: 20, 40, 100, 70, 30, 105, 10, 45, 55, 65, 15, 110, 90, 60, 80, 25, 95, 50, 85, 75, 35
- Mean = 60

Must ensure that schedule values in effect are ‘hidden’.
* Build your own random timer in Python
* Have another person administer the reinforcers.

Gradually build to larger requirements.

Question 13

Social Support

Self-Management Strategies

Answer 13

• Arranging reinforcers and punishers through close friends/family
• Natural cues for behaviour
• Especially helpful with others engaging in self-management

Question 14

Self-Instructions

Self-Management Strategies

Answer 14

• Statement that makes it more likely a
  target behaviour will occur in a specific
  situation.
  
  • i.e., it’s a controlling antecedent stimulus (SD)
• Use in conjunction with self-praise.

Question 15

Self-Praise

Self-Management Strategies

Answer 15

Making positive statements to yourself or providing positive evaluations of your own behaviour after engaging in the appropriate behaviour.
- i.e. it’s a conditioned reinforcer like the dog
clicker.

Question 16

True or False

Use of self-instructions and praise is learned over time.

Answer 16

True!

Use of self-instructions and praise is learned over time.
* Decide when they will occur and what they will be. (i.e., make them contingent on things)