Chapter 20: Self-Management (Aka Self-Control)

Chapter 20: Self-Management (aka Self-Control)

What accounts for the occurrence of complex behavior in the absence of any apparent contingencies?

Maintenance over long periods of time (healthy diet that avoids heart disease)

Organizational skills (developing and following a work plan)

Highly novel and creative behavior (writing a play)

Persistent and varied performance (research leading to a scientific discovery that wins a Nobel prize)

Singular unusual acts (heroism resulting in death)

Behavior analysis view: Such performances are acquired as a result of more immediate consequences, and are extended through the processes of stimulus control, chaining, conditioned reinforcement, and generalization.

Self-Management

Definition (Miltenberger): Occurrence of behavior at one point in time to control the occurrence of another behavior at a later point in time (p. 436)

An example: Writing a term paper

Planning: I divide up the tasks on a calendar

Self-denial: I forego movies to work on the paper

Reinforcement: I party when the project is done

But what about: Buying ice cream?

Planning:

Self-denial:

Reinforcement:

Characteristics:

Occurrence of a response that has long-term value to society or the individual even though reinforcement is delayed

Nonoccurrence of a response that is detrimental to society or the individual even though reinforcement for responding is immediate

Definition: Arranging conditions so that behavior is less susceptible to immediate contingencies

Components (Skinner, 1953):

The controlled R is the target R

The controlling R influences the controlled R

Acquisition of Self-Control
(e.g., Controlling Response Repertoire for doing homework)

Controlled R initially managed by social contingencies

Homework  TV (Premack principle)

Contingencies are accompanied by rules

Do homework as soon as you get home, Be responsible, Be a good student, Be a nice child, etc.

Controlled R comes under the influence of rules (controlling R)

Child follows rules (stimulus control under intermittent Sr+)

Response contacts other reinforcers

Task completion  sense of accomplishment (conditioned Sr)

Rules applied to larger response units

Child does entire sequence of homework (chaining)

External rules faded (self-controlling R acquired)

Teacher assignment occasions R (stimulus generalization)

Controlling R generalizes to other situations

Child applies similar rules (response generalization) to other achievement-related situations (stimulus generalization)

Antecedent Manipulations

Alter SDs:

Add: Supplement weak SDs for R+ with stronger ones

Restrict: Avoid SDs for R-

Alter EOs:

Add: Make Sr for R+ more valuable

Restrict: Make Sr for R- less valuable

Alter response effort:

Decrease: Use successive approximations to R+

Increase: Make R- more difficult to emit

Manipulate early responses in a chain:

Emit early R+ when SD or EO is present

Refrain from early R- when SD or EO present

Goal setting: Establishing criterion for R+ or R-

Consequence Manipulations

Arrange for others to deliver consequences:

Make responses more public to contact natural contingencies

Explicitly arrange for others to impose contingencies

Arrange self-delivered consequences:

Self-monitoring

Self-delivery of reinforcers or punishers

Wallace and Pear (1977) “Self-control techniques of famous novelists”

Pear (Introduction):

A novelist’s persistence seems to defy notions of reinforcement:

Long behavioral chain

Complex behavior

Reinforcement extremely delayed

Highly susceptible to extinction

Behavioral management of writing:

Stimulus control (location)

Frequent periods of responding

Measurable units defined

Supplementary reinforcement (ratio schedules w/ limited holds)

Such a blatantly mechanical approach might “stifle” creativity

Descriptive accounts of self-management (Wallace)

Wallace:

Primary self-management technique: Writing charts

Trollope: Set weekly goals and defined “page” (250 words)

Hemingway: Charted words per day on a cardboard box

Hugo: Wrote nude in study and gave clothing to valet

Conclusions about successful novelists:

Writing viewed as regular work task

Writing chain broken down into small units (pages, words)

Daily schedule kept regardless of “inspiration”

Data taken daily on performance

Supplementary contingencies arranged

Pear (Discussion):

Analysis of Wallace’s writing resembling FR performance – maybe more like FI performance?