Lecture 5: Self-Management Flashcards
Self-management of a skill is the ultimate test for _____
generalisation.
Self-management strategies are sometimes called ____ or _____
cognitive training or metacognitive strategies.
Theoretical Underpinnings of Self-Management
Principles of social learning theory
Self-control and Self-management
Operant conditioning vs. Cognitive Models (internal behaviours)
Skinner on Self Control & Self-Management
Self-control is not just willpower.
You control yourself by controlling
the environment and other people.
Conspicuous positive reinforcer is
better than punishment to teach
“problem children” to behave.
Token system implemented with
him to stop pouting and temper
tantrums and increase socially
appropriate play (tokens and social
approval traded in for trips with
dad and toys). At first the staff
administer tokens and then he
learns to monitor his behaviour
(interactive play, expressing
aggression, temper tantrum) and
record it hourly before self-
administering tokens. Once
successful, the token system was
transferred/generalised from the
institution to the home.
Parents attitudes towards helping
their child improved and learning
parenting with reinforcement is
better than punishment to
decrease the rate of challenging
behaviour.
It’s the contingency and not the
child which is the problem.
Define Self-Control and Self-Management
Self-Control involves two
responses:
o the target behaviour to be
controlled or changed and
o the behaviour displayed to control
or change the target behaviour (i.e.,
mindfulness skills).
Self-Management refers to a range
of activities (overt and covert) in
which students may engage that
increases or decreases the
probability of appropriate
behaviours occurring.
Self-Control is a part of Self-Management
Self-management is the term used
because it is not helpful to tell
children to control their behaviour
through willpower. You must
manage yourself and the
environment in order to
increase/decrease future rate of
behaviours (contingencies between
behaviour and the environment).
Self-management avoids circular
thinking.
Self-management focuses on
learning to delay gratification.
Operant Conditioning Model of Self-Management
From an operant conditioning
perspective, the key issues in
teaching students self-management
is to take delayed consequences
and turning them into more
immediate consequences.
You need to teach self-
management; it is not innate.
Many problems students (and
everyone) experiences are because
their behaviour is controlled by
long-term rather than short-term
consequences.
For example, climate change,
smoking, dieting, or school
suspension.
Components of Self-Management
Three main components of self-
management. There are different
skills sets required to teach each of
these components.
o Self-monitoring
o Self-evaluation
o Self-administered consequences
(A) Self-Monitoring
Students learn to record the
frequency of a specific behaviour(s).
Components:
o Accuracy in self-monitoring
(confirmation of accuracy of
recording is made before
administering consequences)
o Reinforcement for accurate self-
monitoring
o Teaching students to self-monitor
(systems to maintain accuracy;
sheets to fill out or watches that
beep at intervals)
This sometimes takes the form of
cued self- monitoring, when
students are given a signal, such as
a recorded tone or tactile cue, and
asked to indicate whether they
were performing the behaviour
when they heard the tone or felt
the cue; and it sometimes takes the
form of non-cued self-monitoring,
when students are asked to make a
notation each time they perform
the target behaviour.
Self-monitoring provides the
student and teacher with concrete
feedback regarding behaviour. This
information may be used to
determine what reinforcers are
available. In some cases, collecting
data on a behaviour may have a
reactive effect on the behaviour.
The behaviour may change in the
desired direction as a function of
the self-monitoring process alone.
In this capacity, self-monitoring, in
and of itself, functions as a
behaviour-change technique.
When teachers reinforce the
accuracy of self-monitoring, the
target behaviours improve.
Most self-instructional procedures
are taught in combination with self-
monitoring and self-reinforcement.
Thus, students provide for
themselves both antecedents to
behaviour and consequences for
correct performance.
Components of Self-Monitoring
Self-observation – this occurs when
students become aware of their
own target behaviour. (self-
awareness of own behaviour)
Self-recording – this requires
students to record the frequency or
duration of a target behaviour or
situation under with the behaviour
occurs.
Self-graphing – Involves having the
students take the data from the
self-recording card and chart them
on graphs (e.g., story elements).
Effects of Self-Monitoring and Feedback on Residential Electricity Consumption (Winett et al., 1979)
Groups: feedback only (written
feedback on their electricity
consumption), self-monitor (taught
to monitor electricity consumption
with meter), control group (outside
person monitored electricity
consumption on their meter).
Self-monitoring (7%) and feedback
only (13%) reductions in energy
consumption over a couple of
months relative to
control/comparison group.
People changed their behaviour
based on the feedback they were
given (i.e., the thermostat
temperature).
Steps for Self-Monitoring
- Operationally define the target
behaviour - Collect baseline data (select data
collection system; event recording,
time sampling, permanent-product
recording, notation methods such
as tally sheets, wrist counters,
graphs, charts, and handheld
devices) - Meet with the student (get buy in
and set the contingencies for their
behaviour). - Provide instruction in the
procedures
a. What will be self-monitored?
b. What’s the criteria?
c. How will the results be counted?
(what is the criteria for
achievement)
d. How will the data be graphed?
e. When is the self-monitoring
performance to be completed?
(timeline or goal)
Considerations for Self-Monitoring
How accurate should the self-
monitoring be? (set up reliable
recording systems to help students
be accurate)
What should I do if reactivity does
not occur?
What is the best target variable for
self-monitoring?
Should students self-monitor the
challenging behaviour or the
desired behaviour? (for some
students focusing on the bad is
counterproductive)
How long should the self-
monitoring intervention last? (long
enough for habits to form)
Why is self-monitoring an effective behaviour change strategy?
It appears that self-monitoring
forces students to record their
behaviour and may lead to
students’ covertly rewarding or
punishing themselves. Self-
monitoring provides environmental
cues that increase the students’
awareness of potential
consequences. This is why so many
weight-loss and smoking- cessation
programs require that adults write
down every morsel they eat and
every cigarette they smoke. As the
preceding examples show, self-
monitoring alone has some
reinforcing qualities if there is a
behaviour change in the desired
direction. However, we should
always ensure positive
reinforcement for engaging in the
self-monitoring behaviour, as well
as making improvements in the
target behaviour.
Worried about cheating?
The accuracy of students’ self-recording does not impact the positive effects on behaviour. However, teachers may still want to reward the accuracy of self-recording to further improve behaviours.
