BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

This is my assignment when I was being a Psychology's student,,, wish it'll be useful for you^_^

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION ASSIGNMENT

“Areas Of Application”

Behavior modification procedures have been used in many areas of live that can help people change their problematic behavior. The areas of application include in many concentrations such as :

1. In Developmental Disabilities : behavior modification has been used to teach a variety of functional skills to overcome behavioral deficits such as self-injurious, aggressive, destructive, etc. another that behavior modification procedures also can use in staff training or management in the field of developmental disabilities.

2. In Mental Illness : behavior modification has been used to the patient who have chronic mental illness to modify such behaviors as daily living skills, social behavior, aggressive, treatment compliance, psychotic behavior and work skill.

Addition :

The chronic mental patient is a product of the learning experiences he has in institutionalized settings. He has been rewarded repeatedly for being compliant, passive, and uninterested in changing his behavior. To rehabilitate the chronic patient, contingencies of reinforcement will have to be reversed from apathy and docility to improving one's appearance, working at a job, and social interaction.

Behavioral procedures for rehabilitating chronic mental patients

a) Precisely define the behavioral goals for each patient (therapeutic goals).

b) Measure the frequency of the desired behavior as it is exhibited by the patient (therapeutic progress).

c) Attach clear positive and negative consequences to adaptive and maladaptive behavior, respectively (contingencies of reinforcement, therapeutic community's ‘culture’).

d) Use instructions and prompts to elicit the desired behaviors.

e) Reinforce patients for making small, discrete steps in the desired directions (shaping behavior).

f) Structure the hospital setting to approximate the real world outside (stimulus generalization).

g) Provide opportunities for patients to learn and practice vocational and housekeeping skills which have marketable value in the community or instrumental role value within the family.

h) Prepare patients and significant others to live in mutually supportive ways in the community (pre-release training, aftercare). Teach significant others to use behavioral principles to maintain gains.

i) Coordinate community resources to reinforce and back-up the patient's coping efforts in adjusting to the community



3. Education and special education : behavior modification procedures can applied to the school areas specially in student and teacher interactions in the classroom, improve teaching methods, and reducing problem behavior in the classroom. Also in higher level of education, its procedures can applied to improve instructional techniques and student’s learning. In special education, behavior modification became a major role in developing teaching methods, controlling problem behaviors, improve social behaviors, promoting self-management, training teachers and improve functional skill of student and teacher.

4. In rehabilitations : behavior modification is used in this area to promote compliance with rehabilitation routines such as physical therapy, replace skill lost through the injury or trauma, decrease problem behavior, help manage chronic pain, and improve performance.

Addition : The study reports treatment and follow-up of compulsive drug-consuming patients (mainly of coca paste). The program used was based on a behavioral cognitive and instructional model. The traditional functional analysis was modified to include the therapeutical work in seven behavioral areas: (1) drug use; (2) behavior during free time; (3) behavior at work; (4) social behavior; (5) self- and environmental management behaviors; (6) problem solving and decision-making behaviors; (7) recognition, evaluation, and modification of irrational beliefs. For each area objectives, therapeutical procedures, control and evaluation methods, and termination criteria were determined. Patients engaged in a multiple activity program and received individual and group therapy. Out of 223 male patients, 130 were discharged (that is, they fulfilled all the conditions stated by the program) and 93 patients abandoned treatment. For evaluation purposes a test was used to determine the accomplishment of the behavioral objectives. Follow-up interviews after 6 to 72 months showed that although 24 patients relapsed to drug use, 106 (81.48%) of the patients who had finished the program restrained from using drugs and obtained high scores in all seven behavioral areas

5. In community psychology : behavioral intervention are designed to reducing littering, increasing recycling, reducing energy consumption, reducing unsafe driving, illegal drug use, increasing the use of seat belts, decreasing illegal parking in space for the disabled, and reducing speeding. We can give a public speech or some persuasive ways to attract the people to solve those problems.

6. In Clinical psychology : in clinical areas, behavior modification often called behavior therapy. It can applied to treatment of a wide range of human problems and also can train clinical psychologists.

7. In business, industry, and human services : behavioral modification on this area often called as organizational behavior modification. It can applied to improve work or job performance, job safety, decrease tardiness, absenteeism, and accidents in the job. Its results can increase productivity and profit for organizations and job satisfaction for the employee.

8. In self-management : to manage individual’s own behavior such as controlling personal habits, health-related behavior, professional behavior and personal problems.

9. In child management : parents and teachers use behavior modification to help children overcome bed-welting, nail-biting, temper tantrums, noncompliance, aggressive behaviors, bad manners, stuttering, etc.

10. In prevention : it applied to preventing problem in childhood include preventing child sexual abuse, child abduction, accidents in home, child abuse and neglect, and sexually transmitted diseases

11. Sport psychology : behavior modification can improve athletic performance in variety of sport, practice and in competition, It can give a better result than do a traditional coaching procedures

12. In health-related behaviors : increasing healthy lifestyle behaviors, promote behavior that have a positive influence on physical or medical problems such as decreasing frequency and intensity of headaches, lowering blood pressure, increase compliance with medical regimens, and reducing gastrointestinal disturbances