behavior modification

Signature Assignment: Behavior Modification

Your signature assignment for this class is a Behavior Modification plan. You will choose one of your own behaviors that you would like to either increase (e.g., eating vegetables, or exercising) or decrease (e.g., biting your nails, watching TV) the frequency of occurrence and then do the following:

1. Provide a clear operational definition of the behavior (e.g., eating ½ cup of a single vegetable such as carrots, broccoli or cauliflower either with a meal or as a snack) and describe the rationale for your definition.

2. Describe how you will measure the behavior (e.g., how many times a day did you consume a ½ cup serving of vegetables with a meal or a snack).

3. Create a plan to modify the behavior you have selected. Identify at least two ways of reinforcing (rewarding) and at least one punishment to help you increase/decrease your behavior.

4. Describe the schedule of reinforcement/punishment you will implement and explain why you chose the specific schedule (i.e. will you reinforce or punish every occurrence of the behavior, every other occurrence, etc.).

5. Keep detailed notes of what occurs just after you reinforce or punish the behavior for two weeks.

After two weeks, you will determine if the behavior modification plan was successful or not and write it up in a final paper to be done in APA format.

To help you create your plan and your final paper, your signature assignment will be done as a series of assignments throughout the semester.

Signature Assignment Paper

Your paper must be submitted in MS Word or PDF format via Blackboard. All papers must use APA format and have 1-inch margins, double-spaced, 12-point font. The paper should be no more than 8 pages long (this does not include the cover or reference page). There is no minimum number of pages.

Signature Assignment Paper
Spelling and grammar	10
Paper is in APA format	10
At least two sources cited in APA format	20
Behavior modification and important related terms are defined	5
The purpose and goal of your behavior modification plan is described	5
At least one related psychological concept such as motivation, emotion, biological processes, personality, etc. is used to support the purpose of your plan	5
The process of developing your behavior modification plan is described, including what it started out as and how it changed as a result of instructor and peer feedback	5
The behavior is appropriate, operationally defined, and measurable	15
The reinforcers are appropriate and well defined	10
The punisher(s) is/are appropriate and well defined	10
The schedule of reinforcement is appropriate and correctly identified (continuous/partial, variable/fixed, ratio/interval)	10
The complete results of the behavior plan over two weeks are reported, including: · Every instance of behavior/non-behavior being modified · Every instance of reinforcement/punishment applied Tables/graphs are used appropriately to show results.	15
The conclusion of the behavior modification is discussed and well-reasoned. Was it successful? Why or why not?	15
Future improvements to the plan are discussed. What changes should be made, if any, to the plan?	15

Revision date: 3/23/19 1