Behavior Modification Final Project

Methods 

Several diseases such as coronary heart diseases, high blood pressure, and obesity have often been blamed on the failure of an individual to engage in physical activity. Physical activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles resulting in the use of energy by the body. Types of physical activities range from simple sit-ups and press-ups to more complex activities such as weight lifting. Physical activity is a complex behavior; therefore, the process of behavior modification requires several critical steps to ensure its successful execution. The ultimate target behavior of this project is to instill the habit of working out regularly to ensure participants remain physically fit. This behavior change will help get rid of previous behaviors of failure to engage in physical activities. The behavior modification strategy will involve shaping the development of new operant behavior by the reinforcement of continuous approximations of the behavior and the elimination of previous approximations of that behavior and the extinction of prior estimates of that behavior till the adoption of a new behavior. 

The measurement of the target behavior will include three timed tests to measure progress towards the target behavior. The tests will comprise of push-ups, sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile run. My goal is to reach 35 push-ups, 58 sit-ups, and a 14-minute run. In most people, push-ups and sit-ups have a time limit of 1 minute to perform many correct repetitions as possible; the run has a time limit of 16:25. The ultimate target behavior is to get in to the habit of working out regularly to remain physically fit. This behavior change will focus on the following components of physical fitness which include cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, and flexibility. 

There will be a daily journal that will list the different exercises performed for that day. These exercises are recorded in the journal. The category of physical fitness such as exercises for muscular endurance, muscular strength, etc. will also be recorded in the journal. I will notate any changes in appearance that may reflect any noticeable difference in weight and tone definition. I will use a stopwatch to record the time duration taken to conduct each exercise. 

Data collection will be done daily during the performance of each exercise. The number of repetitions (sets) and rest time in between repetitions will also be recorded. The exercises of sit-ups, press-ups and a 1.5-mile run will be performed at the time of the experiments. If the time of the exercise increases, then that will be recorded in the data. A gradual increase in the repetition per exercise should be performed within a shorter amount of time. The weekly table shown in the appendix will be used in the recording of data 

I will collect my baseline data by performing a timed test before starting the exercise program. Once this information is collected, the points of weakness will be identified based on the time limits to establish which areas need more work to reach the target behavior. It is expected that the duration for conducting the exercise would be longer at the beginning and would gradually decrease with an increase in the frequency of performances of the exercises. The primary goal of the intervention program is to decrease the duration taken to conduct the exercises. A decrease in the duration would be an indicator of the efficiency of the method of intervention 

When I can complete a workout and gradually add to the length of my workout, the immediate reward will be self-encouraging messages. These messages will be put in an alarm description to signify the completion of the workout. Each week will result in a goal to reach with reduced workout durations. During the course of the exercises, reinforcements should be issued to the participants to motivate them. Reinforcements can be either categorized as immediate reinforcements or secondary reinforcements. Immediate reinforcements are viewed as words of appreciation given to the participant for completing a given task. Secondary reinforcements are rewards given to the participants. Examples of goals will include buying a new outfit, buying new shoes, having a baby-free Saturday, and a spa day. If specific exercises prove not to be effective, they will be replaced to receive reinforcements for changing my workout behavior. The peers involved in the exercises can also give instant reinforce messages. It is important that the nature of reinforcements be changed from time to time and their frequency changed. Reinforcements will increase in frequency based on the improvement in the program (Miltenberger, 2011). 

Results 

The average number of sit-ups and push-ups per week was recorded against the number of weeks for five consecutive weeks. In the first week, I did an average of 58 sit-ups and 18 push-ups. The number of sit-ups and push-ups increased slightly in the second week with 59 sit-ups and 21 push-ups. In the third week, I experienced a significant change in the number of exercises I was able to complete. I was able to complete 68 sit-ups and 28 push-ups successfully. During the fourth week, I experienced a decline in the rate of completion of the exercises. I was able to complete 70 sit-ups and 25 push-ups. In week five, I did 85 sit-ups and 30 push-ups. 

In the 1.5 miles running exercise, the first week was characterized by an average running time of 18 minutes. During the second week, the running time decreased to 17.5 minutes. In the third week, the average duration taken to run was 16 minutes. On the fourth and fifth week, the average running time was at 15 minutes. 

I also noted that the post works out satisfaction increased on different days of the week, recorded across the different weeks the exercises were done. There were higher levels of post-workout satisfaction experienced on Saturdays as compared to Mondays. The relevant graphs are shown in the appendix. 

Discussion 

The data for the number of push-up and sit-ups done reveals that the number of exercises done in a one-minute increased gradually from week one to week five. A higher number of the exercises was recorded in the fifth-week ad compared to the first week. The values recorded in the first week were taken as the baseline data. From the baseline data, it was noted that there was a positive change in behavior towards the target behavior. By the end of the fifth week, I felt the urge to continue engaging in the physical exercises. An increase in post-workout satisfaction, especially on Saturdays, was an indicator of the ease of the body to engage in the exercises. 

From the data, it is evident that the intervention was successful. The target behavior change was achieved with the ease of workout increased indicating a positive change in cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength and flexibility (Miltenberger, 2011) . For instance, a decline in the duration of run signified an increase in cardiorespiratory endurance. Increase in the number of sit-ups and push-ups done within a one-minute duration indicated improvements in muscular strength and muscular endurance. 

The incorporation of new behaviors involves the implementation of certain principles. These principles help modify a person’s behavior. Several considerations should be taken on the environmental conditions present while conducting the exercises. According to Pratt & Bowman (2019) , physical and social environments influence learning and behavior. Proper environmental conditions will lead to appropriate behavior modification. The exercises should be conducted in favorable environmental conditions preferably in the morning hours, reduce the fatigue brought about by harsh environmental conditions like wind, and high temperatures. The exercises should be done in naturalistic conditions such as outdoors or in gyms. Specific cognitive principles should be taught to help guide behavior change (Martin & Pear, 2015) . It is essential to build specific knowledge and skills for participants to help support new behaviors. This knowledge and skills will assist in the incorporation of new behaviors into the participant's lives (Pratt & Bowman, 2019) . The following principles should be adopted to enhance the efficiency of the behavior modification strategy. 

This project makes use of course material to show an example of a behavior modification program. Lessons on behavior modification enabled me to come up with this project on the introduction of physical activities on a person’s behavior. The data obtained enable us to understand the efficacy of my behavior modification program in the achievement of the undertaking of physical activities to promote physical fitness. The introduction of several categories of physical exercises could have helped to arrive at proper conclusions on the overall appropriateness of the behavior modification approach. The effect of fatigue should also be factored in behavior modification experiments involving physical activities (Martin & Pear, 2015) . Fatigue in the participants may result in difficulty in behavior change. 

A problem experienced with the research methods was data collection. There were cases of error witnessed when the participant doubled up as the data collector. These errors may lead to improper conclusions. To eliminate this source of error, a separate instructor should conduct the data collection practice. 

Appendices 

Post workout satisfaction 

Run chart 

Push-ups and Sit-ups 

References  

Miltenberger, R. G. (2011). Behavior modification: Principles and procedures . Cengage Learning. 

Martin, G., & Pear, J. J. (2015). Behavior modification: What it is and how to do it . Psychology Press. 

Pratt, C., & Bowman, S. (2019). Principles of Effective Behavior Change: Application to Extension Family Educational Programming. Retrieved from https://joe.org/joe/2008october/a2.php