Behavior Modification
Applied behavior analysis can be used in all walks of life; it 's amazing to see how beneficial it can be to enhance someone 's life such as helping to improve an athlete 's game to change classroom behaviors. For the two scenarios the rationale for each selected behavioral modification strategy will be explained, discuss behavioral chaining, using of token economies for classrooms, mastering units of behavior, and end by discussing the role of back up reinforcers.
Goal: Improving Brendan 's Serve Brendan is a 17-year-old tennis player that wishes to improve his game. Brendan 's coach referred him to a sports psychologist to assist him with improving his serve. Achieving his overall goal of serving with the correct speed and accuracy to help him win his matches is the target behavior that needs modification. I must admit before this chapter, I didn 't even know that behavior analysis could help improve an athlete 's game. It is rather fascinating. The sports psychologist decided which behavior modification would best suit Brendan 's needs by interviewing him, reviewing videotapes of his serve, and considering which strategy would fit him personally for the task he is performing. The result the psychologist chose was the strategy of behavior chaining. An alternative that he could have chosen was shaping reinforcement, but that is found to be time consuming and with Brendan 's competitive drive, I am sure he wanted results as soon as possible. To help improve Brendan 's serve, the psychologist would complete what is known as a task analysis of the components of the behavioral sequence or indentify all the different stimulus-response components in the chain. ("What is behavioral," 2011). With Brendan, it was determined that each step of his serve be broken down into separate units or steps. The units in this scenario include: the starting position, ball toss, swing of the racket back, acceleration of the racket, contact with the ball, and the final unit
Goal: Improving Brendan 's Serve Brendan is a 17-year-old tennis player that wishes to improve his game. Brendan 's coach referred him to a sports psychologist to assist him with improving his serve. Achieving his overall goal of serving with the correct speed and accuracy to help him win his matches is the target behavior that needs modification. I must admit before this chapter, I didn 't even know that behavior analysis could help improve an athlete 's game. It is rather fascinating. The sports psychologist decided which behavior modification would best suit Brendan 's needs by interviewing him, reviewing videotapes of his serve, and considering which strategy would fit him personally for the task he is performing. The result the psychologist chose was the strategy of behavior chaining. An alternative that he could have chosen was shaping reinforcement, but that is found to be time consuming and with Brendan 's competitive drive, I am sure he wanted results as soon as possible. To help improve Brendan 's serve, the psychologist would complete what is known as a task analysis of the components of the behavioral sequence or indentify all the different stimulus-response components in the chain. ("What is behavioral," 2011). With Brendan, it was determined that each step of his serve be broken down into separate units or steps. The units in this scenario include: the starting position, ball toss, swing of the racket back, acceleration of the racket, contact with the ball, and the final unit
References: Cooper, J., Heron, T. & Howard, W. (2007). Applied behavior analysis. (2nd Edition). Upper Saddler River, NJ: Pearson Education. Gast, D., Doyle, P., Wolery, M., & Ault, M., (1991). Assessing the acquisition of incidental information by secondary-age students with mental retardation: comparison of response prompting strategies. American Journal of Mental Retardation. 1991;96:63-80. What is behavioral chaining?. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.allsands.com/Health/behavioralchain_vyl_gn.htm