Behaviorist's Journal.
Choose a behavior of yours that you
would like to try to modify using the principles of behaviorism. Keep it simple
and clearly measurable (for example, not "I should exercise more,"
but "I want to jog one mile a day" - not, "I don't want to be so
shy," but "I want to talk to one new person each day" - not,
"I want better grades," but "I want to study X amount each
day"). For three days, merely record the frequency that the behavior is
occurring naturally. How often, at what times, and under what circumstances, do
you engage in the behavior? What are the good consequences of the behavior, and
what are the bad consequences? If the behavior is a currently non-existent one
that you want to establish, go straight to "identifying positive
reinforcers."
Beginning on the fourth day, note
the discriminative stimuli (i.e., recurring patterns of circumstances
surrounding or triggering the behavior) you have recorded. Continue to observe
behavioral frequency and note the stimuli and consequences through day 7 of
your journal. For example, some people only smoke when visiting with certain
acquaintances, or only snack while watching television. Limiting or eliminating
those cues may help in changing the target behavior.
Identify positive reinforcers for
you (anything that makes you feel good - reading a good book, talking with a
friend, taking a relaxing bath, playing a favorite game). Choose one that seems
likely to have an impact upon the behavior you wish to change, then establish a
schedule of reinforcement. For example, "I get to do X only after I have
read one chapter in my textbook."
If at all possible, find someone to
support you in your efforts. Your classmates might be a natural place to look
for such support, as they will all be in the same boat. Changing established
behavior patterns is often very difficult, and it can help greatly to have
someone to keep you on the right track and committed (this is the idea behind
the "Sponsors" of Alcoholics Anonymous).
Finally, keep track of your progress
toward your goal. If none is noted, try finding a more powerful reinforcer.
Gradually change from continuous from partial reinforcement as the target
behavior pattern becomes established, with the eventual goal of eliminating the
external reinforcer.
Use a text or word processing software
such as Microsoft Word to write your journal. When complete, submit it as an
attachment in the Assignment Tool Submission area below.
Solution
Behaviourist’s
Journal
Table of Contents
Behaviourist’s
Journal
Behavior to Modify
My behaviour
includes extreme aggression which I want to modify as I do not like this behaviour of mine and I feel bad about it
later. This behaviour of mine reflects a
personality which anyone wants to avoid as such extreme emotions only result in
a stressful environment around me. This behaviour
of mine affects the community I live in which includes my friends and
classmates as well. Sometimes I feel like they avoid me and does not want to
face me at all because I easily get angry
over things. Later, I feel that it was not worth it to get angry over such
things and I feel guilty, and I end up
with stress most of the time. For this,
I want to reach out to the people who can
help me with this. After recording the
frequency of the behaviour for 3 days, I came to know that whenever the things
that I say or the work I assigned to my siblings or friends is not done my
aggression peaks out. This leads to some negative consequences but also some
positive consequences as well. The good consequence of this behaviour is that it directs me to my passion
which I like to do and reduce my anger. I like to play video games in this case
as well. While on the other hand, the
negative consequence is that it affects badly the people I love and the ones in
my surrounding. However, it may not be considered as best form of behavior
because there are many people who harm themselves through their aggression.
They direct it inwards which in turn causes them to remain extremely anxious
and upset about little things. Therefore, aggression must be channelized so
that it does not affect people negatively and reduces their level of anxiety
also. They can also enjoy doing sports or some other activity through they can
be relaxed.
The Stimuli
Whenever my friends and family members talk about the things which I do not like or
bothers me, stimulates the aggression. Things like I am not focusing on my
studies and that I play video games
loudly. While I know how to keep a balance
between my academic life and other interests While I always got good grades in
my studies, but, they always treat me
like I know nothing and they are all superior which triggers my aggression, and my anger overcomes me due to which I start
to react and speak in loud and aggressive voice tone. Also that whenever I have
appointed work to my friends or family
and is not completed, my aggression is triggered and reaches to an extreme level. As I do not like to be tricked
and whenever someone says that he or she was not able to do my appointed work,
I feel like I am being tricked which leads to extreme anger. In short, anything
which I do not want to face and I do not expect from people, enables aggression which I cannot control and do
certain things like reacting out on an extreme
level and speaking loudly with the people that are involved in the cause.
Although this may sound strange, but I do not find any other suitable outlet
than my close friends and family. They have to bear the brunt of whatever I am
facing always and therefore this pattern keeps on repeating itself. It makes me
upset most of the time and I am unable to focus on tasks about my studies. It
seems that I am always in a state of seeking some refuge for myself in order to
withdraw myself from those things which bother me.
Positive Reinforce
Whenever I get angry, I go to my room and
starts to play video games. Playing video games on the PlayStation is my passion, and
I love to play games. I have emotional
attachments with some of the characters
of games like Kratos and others which I grew up playing (Metacritic,
2019) .
I like to play my favourite games which includes these characters. Focusing on their
story and playing with them helps me calm down a bit. This reduces my
aggression gradually, and after a short time, it totally eliminates my anger. Playing
video games is what I like, and I seek
help by playing video games. Therefore, I would recommend this line of action
to everyone who faces difficulty in releasing anger appropriately (Scott, 2019) . I would suggest
them to play video games which would calm them for a while but they should not
apply this on human beings. If they fear that they might learn those violent
patterns of behavior which they watch in video games, they should withdraw
themselves from watching those videos. They can also get busy with any other
activity like boxing which would help them in their catharsis. It would
ultimately reduce their level of aggression that will make them calm and peaceful.
Joining Community of Gamer Friends
I have reached out my community of friends as
they are gamers as well. We have engaged in gaming together. We play games and
have fun with each other over voice chats. This helped me to focus on other
aspects of life and not involving in any sort of activity, thought and
consequences which can lead to aggression. This engagement of my friends in
this reinforces helped me a lot (The Guardian,
2019) .
I have noticed a significant decrease in
my aggression as a result of focusing on the brighter
side of life and aspects. Now, again it depends individually on a person how
much impact he gets of the action of playing video games. If he feels he is not
getting any kind of negativity as a result of watching video games, he should
continue doing that (Anderton, 2018) . If he gets some
negative effect in his behavior, he should refrain from such activities. There
is also another way of dealing with aggression which implies indulging in any
other activity that could assist the person so that he can get himself out of
such kind of aggression.
References
Anderton, K. (2018, June 25). The Impact Of
Gaming: A Benefit To Society . Retrieved from Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinanderton/2018/06/25/the-impact-of-gaming-a-benefit-to-society-infographic/#63a24710269d
Metacritic.
(2019). God of War. Retrieved from MetaCritic:
https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/god-of-war
Scott,
E. (2019, March 20). The Link Between Video Games and Stress Relief.
Retrieved from Very Well Mind:
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-video-games-relieve-stress-4110349
The
Guardian. (2019). Gamer communities: the positive side. Retrieved from
The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2013/jul/31/gamer-communities-positive-side-twitter
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