Behavior Modification of Physical Fitness: Treatment Phase
Kyndal Overby
Liberty University
PSYC 320: Behavior Modification
Professor Jieun Kim
December 4, 2023
Behavior Modification of Physical Fitness: Treatment Phase
Target Behavior
The participant's level of physical activity was the selected behavior for this study. All
scheduled activities that require physical effort and energy from the body's muscles and raise heart rate
and sweat were considered physical exercises (Szabo et al., 2019). Running, walking, using a stair
stepper, lifting weights, crunches, pushups, and weightlifting are some examples of the chosen activities.
For the goal behavior to be completed, the participant needed to exercise for at least thirty minutes.
The study's goal was to assist the participants in increasing their physical activity in order to improve
energy levels and other good behaviors, including healthy eating and getting enough sleep each night.
Treatment Method
The selected treatment strategy in this investigation was a token economy. The
participant received a sticker on her chart, which recorded the number of days she was physically active
if she spent 30 minutes or more exercising. The participant might trade her tokens for backup
reinforcers like reading time and television time if she successfully accomplished the desired behavior.
Experiment Narrative
In order for the backup reinforcers that she used to trade in her tokens to be useable
throughout the day, the participant agreed to engaging in physical activity in the morning before
beginning the remainder of her day. The reinforcement schedule ran continuously. The exercise regimen
was constant throughout the treatment term, and the participant worked out for 30 to 45 minutes each
day. Tokens were exchanged at midday, allowing the participant who had finished the goal behavior in
the morning to swap them and use the backup reinforcers for the remainder of the day. She recorded
the days she worked out on a sticker chart and recorded the amount of time she spent moving on her
phone. This study used an A-B research design with two seven-day periods for the investigation.
Beginning on November 12, 2022, and ending on November 18, 2022, was the baseline phase. Starting
on November 19, 2022, and ending on November 25, 2022, was the treatment phase. Confounding
factors, such as increased weariness and poorer energy, were probably caused by the participant's
Thanksgiving vacation. The baseline and treatment phases' different settings and environments might
potentially be a confusing factor.
Dimensions
The participant used her phone to note the total time at the conclusion of her exercise session
to document the amount of time she spent exercising. Thirty minutes was the bare minimum of minutes
needed for the conduct. There was no physical activity throughout the baseline period. During the
treatment phase, the participant engaged in physical activity six times a week, missing just one day
when the objective behavior was not completed.
Summary of Treatment
The participant got a sticker for her sticker chart if she engaged in physical activity for at least
half of the day. She could trade the token for her reading and television time, which served as a backup
reinforcer. She recorded the time and date of her workout on her phone after finishing her physical
activity. The participant made the decision to begin her exercises early in the treatment period so she
could finish them first thing in the morning, go about her day, and use her television and book as backup
reinforcers if needed.
The participant decided to begin exercising in the morning during the treatment period after
discovering during the baseline treatment that her drive to be physically active declined as the day went
on. The participant discovered that exercising first thing in the morning was the most useful over the
course of therapy. The individual felt more energized and less sleepy throughout the day, in addition to
having completed the goal behavior earlier in the day.
The participant traded her tokens for reading time on the first day of therapy after working out
for thirty minutes. On the second day of therapy, the subject did not exhibit the desired behavior. The
participant was prevented from performing the desired behavior by a combination of reasons, including
an earlier start than usual and a busier day. The participant's time for watching television or reading was
therefore limited on this particular day. Even though the participant was more bored that day, she used
the time to do her schoolwork rather than watch television, which helped her academically. The
participant was driven on the third day to trade her tokens for her backup reinforcers, so she worked
out for 30 minutes in the morning in order to earn time for reading and watching TV. The participant's
desire to avoid being as bored as she had been the day before served as additional incentive on this
particular day. The participant worked out for 45 minutes instead of the required minimum of 30
minutes on the fourth day because they were more motivated and full of energy. After the activity, the
participant reported feeling more exhausted right away, but she also had more natural energy the rest
of the day and didn't need coffee to get through the afternoon slump. The individual consistently
completed and achieved 30 minutes of morning physical exercise on days five through seven. As a
result, she got extra reinforcement in the form of reading time and television. The participant's goal
behavior of physical activity rose from zero occurrences in seven days to six occurrences in comparison
to the baseline period (Figure 1).
During the treatment phase, the participant noted that she felt motivated to participate in
physical exercise because she could use her backup reinforcers of television and reading time if she
completed the target behavior earlier in the morning before beginning the remainder of her day. The
individual found it more difficult to finish physical activities in the morning on day two of the treatment
period.
An additional observation made by the participant was that she needed less coffee during the
day due to her increased physical activity. Following that, the person adopted additional healthful habits
including drinking more water and eating a better diet, which helped them have cleaner skin and less
stomach problems due of the wholesome, satisfying meals they were consuming.
Results
The participant's utilization of the backup reinforcers of television and reading time throughout
the treatment period demonstrated, according to the results, that the token economy is effective for
this person in encouraging physical activity. The participant felt it more advantageous if the target
behavior was finished in the morning before the rest of her day started because she wanted to have the
freedom to watch television and read whenever she liked. Another motivating element for the
participant came from a day during the therapy phase when she was not allowed to watch television or
read, and she had no desire to go through the same emotions of boredom.
For this research, the use of the token economy to encourage participants to engage in more
physical exercise was effective. Physical activity increased significantly throughout the treatment period
compared to the baseline phase, despite the subject experiencing one failed treatment day (Figure 1).
Increasing the quantity of physical exercise was the aim of this investigation. The individual achieved her
objective, and the outcomes demonstrate a fruitful course of therapy.
Figure 1
Physical Activity during the Baseline and Treatment Phase
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Series 1
Series 1
Days
Frequency
References
Szabo, A., Griffiths, M. D., & Demetrovics, Z. (2019). Psychology and exercise.
Nutrition and Enhanced Sports Performance, 63-72.
https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-813922-6.00005-9
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