More Research Based Strategies...
Welcome to part 2 of Strategies to change your habits! If you missed Part 1, here is the link to check that post out. This series does not have to go in order! So read in whatever order you’d like!
I’m going to start out by introducing you to what I am! I’m a behavior analyst (BCBA) and I practice applied behavior analysis. We target a behavior for change (decrease or increase) and then come up with a plan to change it. In that plan there are schedules of reinforcement (SOR). There are technical terms for these schedules but I’m not about to introduce those technical terms in this post! I want to create a post with the most helpful “schedules of reinforcement (SOR)” for you to use when you’re attempting to change your behavior.
Let me explain...
So, let’s talk about what a schedule of reinforcement even is! It is a schedule that you create so that you can gain access to rewards (self-administered) so that you can increase desirable behavior. Ideally, when better behavior is increased a less desired behavior becomes less useful and, hopefully, disappears altogether. The second SOR I’m going to introduce in this post is one that is put into place simply to increase a behavior. Exciting stuff!
This SOR (schedule of reinforcement) is created using the “baseline data” (current amount you engage in a behavior) you take on your behavior chosen for change. This schedule includes graduations from one small goal to the next until you’ve reached your end goal.
BTW, if you want to learn the nitty gritty of how to change your behavior then read my blog post here.
In this post...
I’m going to give you an example of two different types of a schedule of reinforcement (SOR) so that it can be used in real life! In Part 2 of “Strategies to Change your Behavior” I’m going to introduce 2 SORs.
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First thing's first!
First, if you’re going to create a goal it’s critical to track how often you engage in this chosen behavior.
Some example behaviors that you might want to replace can be:
- Purchasing unnecessary items
- Drinking alcohol
- Consuming processed sugar
- Eating fast food
Once you’ve written down how often you currently engage in your chosen behavior, you can then create your hourly, daily, or weekly action steps and then your end goal.
Without this information there are no goals, just wishes.
Goals must be Realistic
For example, you may be trying to stop eating fast food. Naturally your goal may read like this:
“Stop eating fast food.”
BUT you can run into problems with this goal.
First, what if you eat fast food 10 meals out of the week? In my professional opinion, expecting yourself to go from 10 meals of fast food a week to 0 is unrealistic and will set you up for failure.
So instead of going from 10 to 0 you may want to ease yourself into accomplishing this goal by going from 10 to 8.
To Create a Goal, Answer some Questions
Aside from choosing a realistic lower number as a goal, it is important to figure out when these purchases are taking place…breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
After considering these #s and info on places and times as they relate to your behavior and your goal, you can now create your goal!
Introducing: Our First SOR!
Our first SOR involves choosing one behavior that you want to get rid of! The way to do that with this SOR is to choose a specific amount of time that you’ll go WITHOUT engaging in this undesired behavior.
With the info your gathered about your chosen behavior your goal can look like this:
Baseline data: You eat fast food for breakfast and lunch Monda-Friday.
For breakfast and lunch on Mondays I will NOT eat fast food.
- Make sure to write a list of places that you consider to be fast food.
…As you go 1 week to the next reaching your goal you can increase the challenge of your goal until it looks like this:
For breakfast and lunch on M-Wed I will NOT eat fast food
Eventually your goal may lead to you no longer eating fast food during the times you typically did before:
For breakfast and lunch on M-Fri I will NOT eat fast food
Why Should I be Motivated?
You might say…”Why would I be motivated to just STOP eating fast food?”
Well, the last juicy bit of an SOR is the reward part!
If you reach your goal, then your reward must be self-administered!
You must ask yourself, what will your reward be?
- $5 put towards an amazon gift card for yourself?
- A Starbucks coffee Sunday morning?
- Watching your favorite show 3 episodes in a row?
- Buying yourself a little something at Target?
Choosing An Alternative Behavior is a Great Idea!
Coming up with an alternative behavior to eating fast food would be very helpful as well! Again, read more about how to increase alternative behaviors on my blog post here.
A short summary of choosing an alternative behavior would be to choose a behavior that replaces the behavior you want to change. The alternative behavior must feel “equal” to the behavior that you’re trying to change. For example, instead of eating fast food, you could make your own burger, or you could buy a healthier ready-made version from the grocery store. Is this alternative behavior healthier than purchasing fast food behavior? It’s up to you to do the research!
Introducing: The 2nd SOR!
The 2nd SOR that I’d like to introduce is on how to increase a behavior that is already happening but that you want to increase!
Say you’re exercising 2 times a week and it took you a long time to get to that schedule of exercise and you’re so proud, but you really want to reach 5 times a week.
How the heck can this be accomplished? This goal seems so far-fetched that you can easily feel discouraged.
Well, there is a strategy…two in fact… that can help you get there!
One SOR helps you to increase a behavior that’s already happening and the other strategy, that isn’t really an SOR but a technique, can be put into place to shape your behavior so that it’s always improving.
Let's Start with an Example
Let’s go use the original example. You’re exercising 2 times a week, but you want to get to 5. You CAN do this.
It all comes down to, again, taking baseline data.
Ask yourself these questions before creating a goal:
When are you managing to exercise? How long? What type of exercise? What materials are you using? Where is it taking place?
After answering these questions, figure out where you can place these extra three workouts during your week.
With the answers to these questions create a goal that may or may not read like this:
Wednesday: 10-minute HIIT using YouTube at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad
Thursday: 10-minute jog at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad
Saturday: 30-minute yoga session while kids are on morning walk with Dad
With this example, I’m being sensitive to a very busy Mom that has support from her partner. Your schedule will most likely look different. Don’t be afraid to recruit support, begin going to exercise classes during your lunch hour (if you can), or working out in the week hours of the morning, or after work.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine “short workouts can still be hugely beneficial to your body.” So, when creating new space for exercise you can start with very short durations of exercise.
How to Graduate from One Level to the Next
My last note on adding these three extra workouts into your week will be that you can add one workout session per week if you’ve graduated to that next level. It can look like this:
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
| Wednesday: 10-minute HIIT using YouTube at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad | Wednesday: 10-minute HIIT using YouTube at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad | Wednesday: 10-minute HIIT using YouTube at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad Thursday: 10-minute jog at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad |
If you’ve done well with adding 1 workout to your weekly exercise routine for 2 weeks, you can then add an additional workout for the coming week and then maintain that new schedule for 2 weeks before you add yet another exercise session.
Gradually Changing your Expectations
That’s how I would describe “shaping a behavior” to someone. Shaping a behavior is like gradually changing your expectation of what you’ll accept as “good enough” behavior-wise.
Let me give you two examples of how this may look with health behaviors:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
Wednesday: 10-minute HIIT using YouTube at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad Thursday: 10-minute jog at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad Saturday: 30-minute yoga session while kids are on morning walk with Dad
| Wednesday: 15-minute HIIT using YouTube at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad Thursday: 15-minute jog at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad Saturday: 45-minute yoga session while kids are on morning walk with Dad
| Wednesday: 30-minute HIIT using YouTube at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad Thursday: 30-minute jog at 7am while kids are getting dressed/fed by their Dad Saturday: 1 hr yoga session while kids are on morning walk with Dad
|
Let’s use a meal plan as another example:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
Wednesday: Salad for lunch Saturday: Salad for lunch Sunday: Salad for lunch
| Wednesday: Salad for lunch + veggie heavy dinner Saturday: Salad for lunch Sunday: Salad for lunch
| Wednesday: Salad for lunch + veggie heavy dinner Saturday: Salad for lunch + veggie heavy dinner Sunday: Salad for lunch
|
By shaping a behavior, you change PARTS of the behavior so that it’s a more challenging behavior as weeks progress. In other words, according to your goal, you get access to rewards ONLY if your behavior has gotten better and better as time goes on.
In Conclusion
Readers, I hope this was a helpful post and I hope that you can translate these strategies into your daily lives and across any behavior that you want to change!
Do you have a behavior in mind that you’d like to change? Which strategy do you feel you can use to change this behavior?
Please feel free to comment! I love to read comments on your thoughts and suggestions for more posts you’d like to see on my blog!
Until next time,
Kristi
Written by Kristi on July 20, 2023
So it is just as easy to let a whole week go by without the changes taking place. It’s when you make these small adjustments each week that, poof!, you start new habits! It’s like saving money, shopping, etc. Small things become big things, if you start with the first step.
I would like to know if you are ever too old to make a difference in how you feel. I’m 63.
Thanks, Kristi!