1.9 Changing Behaviour Flashcards
what are the three assumptions made when trying to assess what factors are driving a person’s situation
- behaviour is lawful + follows regular patterns
- if the laws of behaviour are known, behaviour can be controlled
- the capacity to control behaviour is desirable
why do we focus on behaviours?
- it’s a good place to start training because behaviour is directly observable and real
- behaviours often contribute to distress
- if you can measure something, you can analyse its causes
- if you understand its causes, you can change it
outlien the 9 steps of creating a behaviour change plan
- decide that the behaviour should be changed
- determine which aspect of the behaviour is problematic
- decide how to measure the problematic aspect of the behaviour
- observe and measure contingencies between the behaviour and its antecedents and consequences
- develop hypotheses about which antecedents and consequences are important drivers of the behaviour
- devise a behaviour change plan where you change or establish new relationships between the antecedents and consequences
- implement intervention and measure the behaviour
- if the behaviour doesn’t change, return to step 4 (observe + measure contingencies)
- if the behaviour changes, success!!
why is it important to be able to accurately measure behaviour?
- see what causes behaviour (e.g. when you modify some variable)
- allows to determine if an intervention is successful
- identifying critical operant = set up new contingencies and consequences
what did pisacreta prove with his creative pigeons?
ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOUR CAN BE REINFORCED
* rewarded creativity of button presses
outline observation and pros/cons
- trained observers record behaviour
PROS
* accuracy + reliability
* record quantitative, qualitative, contextual info
* moment-to-moment detail
CONS
* expensive (observers + equipment)
* highly intrusive
* artificial (in lab)
outline questionnaire, pros + cons
single survey asking recall of information about daily behaviour
PROS
* quick, easy
* can be done at population level
* qualitative + quantitative
CONS
* recall inaccuracy
* metacognition interference
outline daily diaries, pros + cons
participants regularly record their behaviour during the day
PROS
* accurate info about daily activity
* more reliable (limit recall)
* qualitative + quantitative
CONS
* onerous on participant
outline momentary assessment, pros + cons
participants prompted at random intervals to record activity
PROS
* limit recall
* qualitative + quantitative
CONS
* accuracy of info requires frequent prompts, can be intrusive
outline smartphone apps, pros + cons
behaviour automatically loggs by app/wearable device
PROS
* no ned for recall
* v easy for participant
CONS
* can’t record context/qualitative
what are the four steps of empirical assessment to determine whether an intervention is working?
- observation + data collection
- interpretation
- intervention
- assessment
outline the case study of Ann, the complaining little girl
Ann not interacting w kids, just go up to teachers + complain about minor ailments
* intervention: only given adult attention for playing with another child, and minimum for isolate behaviour
* eventually learned intrinsic motivation like playing is fun to reinforce + maintain behaviour
define a behavioural trigger
important temporal or physical environmental stimuli/contexts that reliably precede a behaviour
define a behavioural driver
a consequence to a behaviour that is immediately reinforcing, maintaining a behaviour that is performed excessively
what are the most important things for goal setting success?
- immediate
- well-defined
- achievable
- meaningful
in the appeal to fear, define severity
how bad is the outcome if it happens
in the appeal to fear, define vulnerability
how likely is it to happen
in the appeal to fear, define maladaptive response rewards
how good does it feel to do the old behaviour?
in the appeal to fear, define response efficacy
how effective is the behaviour at preventing the outcome
in the appeal to fear, define self-efficacy
how able am i to do it?
in the appeal to fear, define response cost
what’s it going to cost me?
what does an effective campaign to change behaviour do?
appeal to fear AND a call to action
what is maladaptive coping and how does it fit into the fear appraisal model?
- avoidance, denial, wishful thinking
- it sits between fear appraisal and coping appraisal, and connects them, PREVENTING intention to act and behavioural change
what’s a major problem with social-cognitive theories of behaviour change? and what’s a more significant predictor of whether a person will do ‘healthy’ behaviours?
poor predictor of behaviour change.
significant predictor: if they used to do them.
