Psyc 164

Psyc 164: Assignment 7

Part A: Antecedent Control Procedure

Okay, all of you self-identified procrastinators….here’s your

CHANCE!!! It’s the perfect procedure to analyze why you wait

until the last minute to do your assignments instead of just

working on it before the due date.

Wait…where are you going? You’re going to do it LATER?!? Have

I taught you NOTHING?!? Sigh.

a. Briefly describe a behaviour that you would like to be

doing more of, but another behaviour is currently

competing or occurring instead.

b. Apply Antecedent Control Procedure to those

behaviours. In your answer:

I. identify the desirable and undesirable behaviours

(define in specific terms)

II. identify current reinforcers maintaining each of these

behaviours (also identify whether these reinforcers are

potent and/or immediate/delayed

III. identify current antecedents for each

IV. show how you would present/remove antecedents, increase/decrease establishing

operations and increase/decrease response effort for your desirable or undesirable behaviours.

Part B: Procrastination

1. Choose three pieces of homework, assignments, upcoming tests that you are starting to be concerned

about this term.

2. Order them from most dreaded to least dreaded (you can use whatever criteria you want). Write

them down here.

3. Divide each of them into 15-20 minute increments of time (for e.g., if you have a paper to write,

perhaps one, 15-20 minute unit is finding three research papers from the library database and reading

their abstracts to find out if you want to use them). I’d like for you to give me five, 15 minute units with

a clear outline of what the actions are within that unit.

4. So, now that you have your units, the order from most dreaded to least dreaded and clear 15 minute

intervals of work for each, figure out a reinforcer or establishing operation for each. If you choose an

establishing operation, it should include some way that you’ve chosen to make the take more exciting or

interesting (for example, I will set the timer when I’m cleaning a room, to see if I can finish before the

timer goes off – it makes it more like a game and keeps me cleaning at a fast pace). If you decide on a

reinforcer that you can have right after your 15 minute unit, make sure you can access it immediately

following the completion of that unit. Outline what you’ve decided to do.

5. Do the two most dreaded 15 minute units first, and talk about the experience here. How did this

system work for you? What would you change?