Ch. 10: Staying in Control

What are the principles for transfer?

1. New behavior may not transfer to new situations if you don't make conscious effort to make it transfer -If aware of problem of transfer, then more likely to transfer behavior 2. Transfer effects can be very specific to situations -Can't expect automatic transfer, must deliberately build it in 3. Obstacles to transfer often occur -Should expect them -Use problem-solving skills & relapse prevention -May increase transfer of new behavior when need it 4. To transfer your new skills, you need to practice. -Look for opportunities to practice, remind self to practice -In new situations, give instructions to practice

What are the four categories of behavior that lead to life satisfaction?

1. The life work dimension, in which we are committed to our work and feel it gives our life meaning 2. The spiritual dimension, which can involve conventional religion or a spiritual feeling for something else such as the environment, and which usually involves joining a community of the like-minded 3. The relationship dimension, in which our life with others and intimacy with them gives us meaning 4. Social dimension in which one transcends self-interest and has an impact on society, leaving something behind

What are the two goals you should have at this point?

1. To maintain gains 2. To make sure that newly learned behavior transfers to new situations

When should you seek professional help?

1. Your personal goals may not be clear enough to permit the choice of goal behaviors 2. The technical problems of designing a plan may be greater than the skills that can be acquired by reading this book 3. The natural environment itself may be too chaotic or unyielding to allow a plan to succeed 4. Your emotions may be so strong that you can't plan enough to reach goals on your own

How important is practice in developing new behaviors? What does it mean to say "Practice of perfect - not practice makes perfect"?

A some point, behavior will "take hold" It becomes easier to do, automatic, a habit Directly related to number of times behavior is practiced "Regardless of particular methods chosen to promote transfer, practice is crucial." Overlearning: practicing beyond level of errors (trained people to perform w/o error) "The guiding rule should not be practice makes perfect (implying simply practice until one gets it right, and then move on), but practice of perfect (implying numerous overlearning trials of correct responses after the initial success)

What happens in psychotherapy or counseling?

All professions employ one general strategy: They help establish situations that encourage the development of new behaviors and emotions They help you find yourself Even with professional help, will still be engaging in building personal skills of self-direction They don't solve problems, they help you solve them (by creating environment that fosters one efforts to change)

How can you increase the chances that you will use self-change techniques when needed in the future?

Expect that the old habit may return, design a plan for it in advance, and institute the plan immediately when the problem returns. Follow steps for relapse prevention, learn from your mistakes Don't give up b/c you haven't reached perfection Sometimes you have to settle for less than perfect Continue trying, at least by maintaining records, and over the long run you may come closer to perfect goal

In the early stages of terminating a self-change project, what are some things you should do?

Good idea to remind yourself of rewards that bolster behavior ex: woman lost weight saw that people found her more attractive Be sure you will be reinforced for new behaviors you have developed Should plan natural situations that will reinforce your new competence without punishing you for skills you still lack -putting self in situations where you can reasonably expect to be rewarded Ask other people to reinforce your new behaviors Soliciting reinforcement isn't bragging, it's asking for feedback, and the more you get the better you're able to guide own behavior Actually seeking social support for new changes, which increases chances you'll stick with new behavior

What are the three elements of happiness?

Having frequent positive emotions -pleasure we know as happiness Infrequent negative emotions -absence of gloom, anxiety, or pain Feeling satisfied with your life -idea that the most satisfying life is not simple amusement -we must feel satisfied with our lives to feel deeply happy

What three factors affect our level of happiness?

Heredity -People inherit a happiness set point, a point around which their happiness fluctuates throughout life -Events may take them up or down for a while, but they return to base range of happiness Life circumstances -Bad and good childhood or events affect level of happiness Heredity & life circumstances account of 60% of variation in happiness Behavior & activities account for 40% The most effective thing we can o to increase happiness is to perform behaviors that lead to happiness -What you do affects your happiness and life satisfaction Can't control heredity, and may be difficult/impossible to control circumstances, but can all control behavior

What is a maintenance problem?

Level of work hasn't said here you want it ex: studying habits is at new, satisfying level, but after few months it's dropping back toward old level

How can you cope with challenging situations?

Make list of different kinds of situations you'll be tempted to relapse Rate confidence in each situation In situations you feel least confident, use self-control techniques

How do you use thinning?

Once thinking about transferring to naturally occurring reinforcers, should take steps to ensure newly gained behaviors aren't lost b/c of extinction -A behavior that has been reinforced continuously is most likely to extinguish when reinforcements don't continue to occur Don't stop modification abruptly Use intermittent reinforcement schedule to guard against extinction Instead of stopping reinforcement system, start preparing for fact that world out there couldn't be counted on to always reinforce her behavior Continue to count frequency of target behavior, it may decline, some drop from upper goal might be acceptable, but will want to know if there has been a drop and, if so, how much If drops too low, go back to full 100% reinforcement

How do you program for transfer to new settings?

Personality is set of different behaviors we perform in different situations -This view makes it easy to see why we might not transfer newly learned behavior form situation to other Has support =Newly learned behavior won't automatically transfer Transfer is only likely to occur if you specifically train yourself for transfer -Program for transfer

What emotional, social, and prosocial steps can you take to increase happiness?

Reduce negative emotions: -Focus on reducing negative and increasing positive -More positive emotions = better happiness -Meditate to reduce nervousness, exercise, or both -Work up list of positive thoughts, then practice substituting them for negative ones Deliberately switch from negative to positive thoughts -Watch for excessive negative thinking & rumination Spend more time socializing: -Other people make us happy -One of main sources of happiness is close relationships -Reduces risk of health menaces such as stroke Prosocial behaviors: -Practice kind acts; make others feel good and yourself -Keep records of kind acts -Expressing gratitude increases level of happiness -Being grateful is good for health -Practice being grateful will make you better at it -Forgiving people; "Forgiveness liberates the goal

How can you get social support for new behaviors?

Reinforce others for behavior that cooperates with your goals Ex: Rick wanted to increase open communication but Wife didn't. He wasn't going to be reinforced by her for his new behavior. Started plan to invite her to cooperate and try to get her to discuss why she was opposed to his attempts to improve communication. Praised her for participant and reminded himself to be patient.. Realized that he might be reinforced for his changes when she changed too. Meanwhile, he continued reinforcing himself and kept records of his new behavior, b/c feel that it would drop way from lack of reinforcement if he did.

How should you choose a therapist?

Shop around for someone with whom you think you can work Use initial interview w/ therapist to make decision Need to feel confident and comfortable w/ counselor and free to talk about problems -Whether you like or not isn't important Do comparison shopping Shop for good price (more expensive doesn't mean better) Ask if kind of therapy offered has been shown by research to be effective -Some therapies have been empirically shown to work, others haven't been researched

Do people ever carry out lifelong self-modification projects? When might this be necessary?

Some goals require nearly lifelong attention to records and self-change techniques Is sometimes necessary If didn't, bad habits would win. Can increase chances that you'll continue to use techniques if you make plan now for another self-change project Anticipating problems and thinking of ways of using self-change techniques in dealing with them may increase chances of remembering them when time comes How will you cope with challenges in a few years? Our lives need to be directed Use self-management to direct now life When you run into problems that require self-direction, remember techniques you've learned

Why should you continue to keep records?

Surest way to scuttle plan is to stop keeping records If stop keeping record, much more likely to stop new, desired actions b/c there'll no longer be feedback indicating you're living up to own values Once you've changed, continued record keeping makes it easier to maintain change b/c it tells you if you're living up to standards

How confident are you that you can maintain your new behaviors? How is this measured?

Technique only works if you take credit for the control you've gained. It's you who has done the work, not the course. You don't seem to think you personally have control over the behavior. So you probably won't try to control it. New behavior is under personal control if you're to have good chance of maintaining it As behavior changes, should deliberately notice it's coming more and more under own control If you do, you increase chances that you'll maintain behavior ex: ex-smokers who think their quitting was due to something other than own self-control, they're less able to stay away from cigarettes, but if they do see that they're controlling behavior, they're more able to avoid relapse Develop skills, from course, to have greater self-control Before stopping formal self-modificiaton plan, rate ability to maintain new behavior without plan. If below four, then it's not time to stop it. Continue practicing and figure out why confidence isn't higher

How should you deal with lack of reinforcement from others?

When you change yourself, you may affect others, but they may not reinforce your new behavior. Must notice own gains and benefits and remind self of goals. Try reinforcing others for behavior that cooperates with your goals.

What is a transfer problem?

When you developed good habits for certain courses, but still don't seem to be studying well for other courses