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Every individual carries different behaviors, some are favorable and some are not. In cases when behaviors are causing distress to oneself or to others (e.g., a person often being irritable without logical reason), behavior modification serve as a helpful intervention program. In developing this kind of program, there are four most important points to consider: describing the target, deciding to change the behavior, identification of potential interventions, and evaluation.
On the first important parts of developing a behavior modification program is to describe the target behavior. This is important in order to completely understand the nature of the behavior that needs to be changed (Kuhlenschmidt, n.d.). For instance, if the unreasonable irritability is the behavior that needs to be changed, the frequency and time of its usual occurrence need to be determined. The factors that may possibly trigger irritability must also be identified. The next important part is to decide that behavioral change is needed. Making a decision to take the behavior modification program requires a strong level of commitment (Kuhlenschmidt, n.d.). Otherwise, developing the program will make no sense. Another important part of the process is the identification of potential intervention strategies. Depending on the type of target behavior, these strategies may range from positive or negative reinforcements, modeling, punishment, shaping, fading, and money others (Kuhlenschmidt, n.d.). Lastly, evaluation is an important part of developing a behavior modification program. The effectiveness of the program cannot be determined without evaluating the behavior and conducting an assessment about the changes that took place. This can be done by collecting data, graphing the results, and making conclusions in order to see if there is a need to modify the chosen intervention (Kuhlenschmidt, n.d.). Without careful evaluation, it will be impossible to determine whether the program causes the desired behavioral change.
The points described above will be helpful to modify the unhealthy eating habit of my friend, Chris. Chris is not obese, but he is 22 pounds heavier that his healthy weight range. He often complains how he hates his look and how he wants to lose weight so badly; however, he has never succeeded in doing so. There are times when he even engaged in different crash diets that made him lose weight for a while only to gain them back after few months. To help modify his behavior, the first part of the plan is to understand the nature of his unhealthy eating habits. This includes knowing when he often eats unhealthy, what types of unhealthy foods he eats, and what he feels or thinks when eating these kinds of foods. Next, he needs to be committed to losing weight. Writing down his reasons for losing weight can probably help him visualize what’s at stake in the process of behavioral modification. After this, intervention strategies will be identified. For instance, for every chocolate bar or slice of cake that he will not eat as part of his diet, he will set aside a certain amount of money to raise funds so he can eventually buy a shirt that is smaller than his current size. This is just an example, but other types of reinforcements may be identified in the process. Lastly, evaluation will be carried out. The changes in Chris’ weight as triggered by the behavior will be assessed, and also the trend in his behavior will be checked. It is important to see the moments when he finds it hard to stick with a healthier eating habit, and what instances triggered him to go back to unhealthy eating. This way, it will be easier to conclude whether the entire program has been successful or whether there is some part of the behavior modification program that needs to be changed.
Overall, with an adequate behavior modification plan that includes the most important steps, changing an unwanted behavior can definitely be possible.
References
Kuhlenschmidt, S. (n.d.), Behavior modification program steps. Retrieved from http://people.wku.edu/sally.kuhlenschmidt/psy443/projstep.htm
