Facing Ourselves

Modifying one’s own behavior, reducing those we consider undesirable or increasing those we like, is no different than modifying the behavior of our animals/children/students.

 

The steps are the same, the laws and principles are the same.

 

If we find this challenge much more complicated, it is often because we lack the tools or techniques to achieve it.

Understanding how our own behaviors work is key to knowing how to change them.

 

We all behave as best as we can, based on our current skills and knowledge.

Mark Twain said “giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times”. This is of course what we all want to avoid. When facing ourselves, we want our plan to succeed from the first trial.

 

This six weeks course offers an introduction to tools and techniques to modify our own undesirable behaviors and, above all, to learn good ones instead, so that these last for the long term.

 

The behaviors seen during these six weeks can be diverse and varied.
So this course can be for you if you want to understand how to lose weight, increase your physical activity, stop biting your nails, stop procrastinating, be better organized, take your dog out more often, quit smoking, and so on.

⚠️ This course is absolutely not a substitute for a follow-up with a health professional or expert in human behavior!

If your behavior has a significant impact on your physical or mental health, we recommend personalized follow-up with a health professional.

Not having a formal background in human behavior, this course is a personal vision of the principles and practices of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) that I learned over the years.

 

In this course, we will offer an introduction that will hopefully give you a new perspective on your behavior.

As an expert in the animal field, Lisa Longo brings here a first approach on how to modify human behavior, one’s own human behavior. The course evokes the different main concepts of procedures in applied behavior analysis. Examples and definitions are appreciated for their accuracy and simplicity. I recommend this course for novices and those who want to deepen certain notions!

 

Alexandra Lecestre, BCBA psychologist (www.ba-eservice.info)

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Syllabus :

 

Week 1

S1-1 Tromplo Welcome

S1-2 My story

S1-3 Popular definitions

S1-4 What is a behavior ?

S1-5 Labels

S1-6 Operationalizing

S1-7 Why me ?

S1-8 Data collection

S1-9 Self-monitoring

S1-10 Creating a chart with Excel

S1-11 Goals

S1-12 Homework

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Week 2

S2-1 The different types of learning

S2-2 Classical conditioning (or respondant conditioning)

S2-3 Counterconditioning

S2-4 Operant conditioning (or instrumental conditioning)

S2-5 Positive reinforcement

S2-6 Negative reinforcement

S2-7 Positive punishment

S2-8 Negative punishment

S2-9 The behavior’s future frequency

S2-10 What works ?

S2-11 Homework

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Week 3

S3-1 The behavior’s function

S3-2 The ABC scheme

S3-3 Distant antecedents

S3-4 Motivating operations

S3-5 Immediate antecedent

S3-6 The consequence

S3-7 Prediction

S3-8 Writing the scheme

S3-9 Summary diagram

S3-10 Homework

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Week 4

S4-1 Motivation

S4-2 Procrastination

S4-3 Hierarchy of behavior-change procedures

S4-4 Intrusive, coercive and dangerous procedures

S4-5 Health and behavior

S4-6 Self-management

S4-7 Selfcontrol and Willpower

S4-8 Antecedent arrangements

S4-9 Homework

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Week 5

S5-1 Positive reinforcement

S5-2 Reinforcers

S5-3 How works a reinforcer ?

S5-4 Self-praise

S5-5 Schedules of reinforcement

S5-6 Differential reinforcement

S5-7 Premack Principle

S5-8 Homework

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Week 6

S6-1 Generalization

S6-2 Gather informations

S6-3 The behavior-change plan

S6-4 My experience

S6-5 Data collection

S6-6 TAGteach (lesson reviewed by Theresa McKeon and Joan Orr)

S6-6 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and others

S6-7 Habit Reversal Training (HRT)

S6-8 Conclusion

S6-9 Homework

S6-10 End