Changing Habits Using Operant Conditioning Essay Example
Changing Habits
Step 1: Presenting the participant:
The participant I chose is my youngest sister: Liliane. Liliane just turned 15 this month. She is in the 9th grade, a very special school year, since, at the end, she has to present the official Lebanese exam. We, her family, believe that we must not get worried about the exam, since she’s intelligent, one of the best students in her class, with a really high average. She is usually an active girl, very sociable, with a wide network of friends.
Step 2: Identifying the bad behavior: The reason why the participant chosen is my sister Liliane, is because of her bad habit, that I would like her to cut down. She actually spends most of her time, while at home, chatting with her friends on MSN. This is one really important habit, that could lead to serious problems.
Step 3: Recording the baseline for the behavior (Day 1): To be able to make the intervention, I have to know when does my sister practice her bad habit and how many hours per day. Of course, in the morning, it is not possible for her to chat with her friends. Then she goes to school. There, they are not allowed to use any kind of social pages while using the internet, like Facebook, MSN… Besides, at school, she is already with her friends, they can talk with each other face to face. Being in a French system, my sister stays at school till 4 PM. Which means that she spends most of her day there. But then, the recording begins. She reaches home at 4:30 PM., showers, eats lunch, and then, she studies a little bit, from 5:00 PM till 7:00 PM (it depends on how much homework she has). Then, from 7:00 PM till midnight: chatting time. This means that she spends 5 hours in a row on MSN, chatting with her friends, which is a really large time. And this also means that Liliane stays the majority of her home time on the computer, instead of staying with us, her family. And I have noticed that, sometimes, she does her homework carelessly, just to finish
Step 1: Presenting the participant:
The participant I chose is my youngest sister: Liliane. Liliane just turned 15 this month. She is in the 9th grade, a very special school year, since, at the end, she has to present the official Lebanese exam. We, her family, believe that we must not get worried about the exam, since she’s intelligent, one of the best students in her class, with a really high average. She is usually an active girl, very sociable, with a wide network of friends.
Step 2: Identifying the bad behavior: The reason why the participant chosen is my sister Liliane, is because of her bad habit, that I would like her to cut down. She actually spends most of her time, while at home, chatting with her friends on MSN. This is one really important habit, that could lead to serious problems.
Step 3: Recording the baseline for the behavior (Day 1): To be able to make the intervention, I have to know when does my sister practice her bad habit and how many hours per day. Of course, in the morning, it is not possible for her to chat with her friends. Then she goes to school. There, they are not allowed to use any kind of social pages while using the internet, like Facebook, MSN… Besides, at school, she is already with her friends, they can talk with each other face to face. Being in a French system, my sister stays at school till 4 PM. Which means that she spends most of her day there. But then, the recording begins. She reaches home at 4:30 PM., showers, eats lunch, and then, she studies a little bit, from 5:00 PM till 7:00 PM (it depends on how much homework she has). Then, from 7:00 PM till midnight: chatting time. This means that she spends 5 hours in a row on MSN, chatting with her friends, which is a really large time. And this also means that Liliane stays the majority of her home time on the computer, instead of staying with us, her family. And I have noticed that, sometimes, she does her homework carelessly, just to finish