Implementing Operant Conditioning on My Behavior

There are many ways in which I can use operant conditioning to strengthen my behavior of exercising regularly. In my opinion this method will be helpful in motivating me to strive for the best because of the consequences that may occur whether it may be of good or bad nature.

PROGRAM ON OPERANT CONDITIONING

Types of Reinforcement/ Punishment to be used:
a. Positive Reinforcements - to give something that a person wants.

• A reward, after a strenuous activity or something that is physically demanding, makes the person who is trying to change their behavior feel satisfied about the amount of work that he/she puts into their efforts. They feel proud of themselves because of the "prizes" that they receive, seeing that their actions are worth a lot more than expected and are worthwhile as well.
  
• Short term - These should be given on either a daily or weekly basis whenever the person completes the preferred method of doing the target behavior within the intended frequency.
  E.g. healthy treat (yoghurt, Jamba Juice), Dedicating a day for fun leisure activities within the week or watching a movie in the theater.

• Long term - If the person succeeds in doing the preferred method of their behavior consistently for a long period of time, such as a month or two months, then that person is worthy of a greater reward for the dedication that they put into the change that they want.
  Eg. A new pair of jeans in a smaller size, a trip to Hollywood/Disneyland, a new book for leisure reading or a dinner treat to a restaurants

b. Positive Punishment - to give something that a person does NOT want.

• An unwanted responsibility is unpleasant but in order to see the consequences of their irregular behavior pattern this can be helpful. This will motivate the person to do it right and hopefully avoid the punishments that will be given if they step out of line.
• Short Term - These should be given on either a daily or weekly basis if the person fails to completes the preferred method of doing the target behavior within the intended frequency.
  E.g. Double the amount of exercise/repetitions, double the time or hours of exercising, giving myself weekly chores that I am not supposedly responsible for.
  
• Long Term - If the person does not succeed in doing the preferred method of their behavior consistently for a long period of time, such as a month or two months, then that person is worthy of a greater punishment for the indifference that they put into the change that they want.
  E.g. Treating my parents out to dinner or giving my dad extra cash.

Hopefully this method will be useful in helping my behavior change. Let's see after a week. :)

Basline Behavior, Operant Conditioning and Research

Hello all!

As you all know by now, my target behavior is exercising, and as expected my behavior last week was horrible. At baseline, I was only able to exercise once last week and that is only because it was required. I exercised last Wednesday for my dance class. I spent approximately 1 hour exercising that day. I did some stretching, sit-ups, push ups and dancing which is equivalent to my cardiovascular activity. My dance class was supposed to go on for 2 hours but we had our midterm test. Because of this, my exercising was very staggered. When I did get to dance I gave full energy to it though so as to get a good grade. I was out of breath after the whole test, this showed that my body is not catching to the intensity of our dance.

I personally think I have a love-hate relationship with exercising. I love it because I receive short-term benefits from not doing it often. My body does not get sore the next day when I don't exercise the day before. I have more time to do leisure activities such as playing Farmville on Facebook, watching movies or playing my guitar/singing. I get more time to sleep when I don't exercise, since I usually exercise in the morning sun. When I do not exercise, however, I am less productive, I lose my breath easily (as seen during my midterm), and this even affects my singing because I can't extend a note as far as I usually can. But honestly, I believe that getting sore is way better than losing my breath all the time and not being physically capable of doing certain things.

Now that I have laid out my whole hate relationship with exercising, I want to strengthen my LOVE relationship with it. In order to do that, I will first discuss the main benefits of exercising. Knowing why it is beneficial to health is key to being motivated on doing it. Naturally, anyone would prioritize important things. Mayo Clinic, a not-for-profit medical practice company, posted an article entitled Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity, presenting the benefits of exercise. The main points are shown below, for a full version visit the link. (Link - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676)

1. Exercise improves your mood. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feWhen your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy. eling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. (Mayo clinic staff, 2009, p.1)

2. Exercise combats chronic diseases. Examples are diabetes, osteoporosis, and certain types of cancer. (Mayo clinic staff, 2009, p.1)

3. Exercise helps you manage your weight. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. (Mayo clinic staff, 2009, p.1)

4. Exercise boosts your energy level. Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues.When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy. (Mayo clinic staff, 2009, p.2)

5. Exercise promotes better sleep. Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. (Mayo clinic staff, 2009, p.2)

6. Exercise can put the spark back into your sex life. (Mayo clinic staff, 2009, p.2)

7. Exercise can be fun. (Mayo clinic staff, 2009, p.2)

Clearly, the benefits of exercise are not only seen in a physical perspective but also in a deeper personal perspective to promote general well-being. Another important thing to consider so as to make long-term changes to my target behavior is, "How often should I ideally engage in regular physical activity?". Fitness expert Greg Shealy answers this question. First, he says that most experts recommend 20 mins of exercise at least 3 times a week. As soon as this routine is set, he then stresses the importance of increasing the following: frequency, duration, intensity and progression. Increasing these factors gradually will help one reap the full benefits of exercising. (Shealy, 2009, p.1)

WORKS CITED

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2009). Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from the World Wide Web: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676.

Shealy, Greg. (2009). How Often to Work Out. Discovery Health: Diet and Fitness Center. Retrieved October 20, 2009, form the World Wide Web: http://health.discovery.com/centers/diet-fitness/diet-fitness-qa/working-out.html.

Target Behavior and Rationale

Before I decided upon my target behavior, I had chanced upon Chapter 10 of our class textbook, Psychology Concepts and Applications 3rd Edition. This chapter focuses on Adolescence and Adulthood. In section 10.4 the importance and benefits of exercise were highlighted. It is said in the textbook, "Exercise at any age is healthful, but especially as we age. Mounting evidence points to the role of physical exercise in slowing the effects of aging such as loss of lean body mass, bone density, and muscle strength." (Adler and Raymond, 2001; O'Neil, 2003) Just after reading this, the light bulb lit up in my head, "eureka!" I have finally found my target behavior: dedicating myself to exercising regularly.

Before I started going to school and becoming extra, extra busy, I already did this. I used to go to the gym or run and workout at home EVERYDAY. I lost so much weight and I felt good about myself. I was able to accomplish more within the day because of the energy that I had, helping me to take on one challenge at a time. I am not saying that I do not accomplish much anymore but I noticed that I am more lazy now that I do not exercise, considering that I don't have a job right now either. I want to be more productive during the "younger years" of my life. I want to grow old gracefully and healthily and I want to live a long long life! I want to have the physical strength to accomplish everything that I have dreamed of till the last day I breathe! These are the reasons why I choose exercising as my desired target behavior.

I would want to increase the amount of exercise that I do on a weekly basis. Currently I am only exercising once a week or even not at all. To effectively receive healthy benefits from exercising, I would want to exercise at least 3 or more times a week. Eventually, it would be best for me to exercise every week day. As an added bonus, another behavior that would be linked to this is time management. By setting an allotted schedule for my work out time, I will hopefully be able to effectively manage my whole day as well.

Please help me focus on this classmates! I would really appreciate all of your help. I promise to do the same for all of you. I already did it before and that's why I know I can do it again! (*Putting on a war mask) :D

Introduction: I am....Hmmm....

Hello all! My name is Samantha Jacinto. You guys can just call me Sammy for short. I am the 5th of seven children in my family. I was born and raised in the Philippines and I only moved here about 2 years ago. I love my parents and my huge family. I am very close to most of my relatives. I am currently a Muscial Theater major in Mt. SAC. My major goal in life is to become a famous Broadway actress, although it may seem like a far-fetched goal. I consider myself as an artist. I express myself in whatever way I find enjoyable. I love singing, acting and dancing. Aside from the theatrical side of art, I also enjoy creating my own visual art. I love painting and drawing, you guys can check out my two other blogs if you want, although it is not that updated hahaha...(I will be posting the links on my sidebar). I love reading books of all genres, from fantasy, graphic novels and fiction, to spirtuality and philosophy. Music is my passion, I love all kinds of music. I would want to sing with Josh Groban before I move on to another life. I love chocolate and ice cream. I am a positive thinker and an amiable person. I believe that life is beautiful and that we can achieve whatever we want as long as we believe that we can. Nothing is out of reach, just have a little love and faith.

This blog is designed to aid me in changing a particular behavior (which I am not sure of yet). With the help of this whole process and all your comments I will hopefully be able to consiously metamorphose into a better person.

I wish everyone the best of luck on this project and I will do my best to help all of you as well.

With that I say, LIVE, LOVE and LAUGH. :) See you guys in class!