Behavioral Modification Project
(BMP)
• This PowerPoint will walk you through the
BMP assignment with examples and further
explanation.
Part 1: Briefly introduce your BMP and
explain why you chose it.
• Choose a behavior that is limiting you in some
way, unhealthy, or a new behavior that you
would like to develop.
Then share:
• In what way might this behavior limit you in
some way?
• For example, you might want to quit smoking,
shopping when you really don’t need
anything, stop drinking caffeine, loose weight,
stop cursing, or exercise more, eat healthier
foods, meditate regularly, speak more lovingly
to people, pay bills on time, save money,
etc…the ideas really are limitless!
Whichever behavior you choose to
modify, it should be:
• MEANINGFUL TO YOU!!!!!!!
• And, that you feel personally connected to!
The next question is:
• How do you foresee your life different once
this behavior is changed?
• Here you talk about how your relationships
would look like and how you would feel, and
how the different aspects of your life would be
different, if for example, you spoke more
lovingly to people or had greater selfconfidence, or didn’t curse as much.
The next segment is part 2:
Describe your experiment:
• How did you track your behavior? Be specific.
• Take four weeks to simply track your behavior to
see really the frequency and depth of the
“problem” behavior. In this segment, you have
not altered or modified your behavior yet!
• Create some sort of tracking system: you can use
Excel, or simply draw four weeks on a piece of
paper, or use a calendar. Then select a rating
system by using different colored check marks,
“x”s, stickers, or something else that comes to
mind.
The last point explained the next point
in the assignment:
• What was your time frame to observe your
behavior (before modifying it) and describe
what you noticed about this behavior and
yourself. Remember: one month of observing
your behavior before starting your action plan
is preferable so that you can really understand
the workings of this behavior and help shape
your action plan in a meaningful and realistic
manner.
The next segment is part 3: State your
Action Plan
• This is the section where you implement a
plan of action to modify your behavior.
• You should practice your action plan any
where from 2 to 4 weeks, and of course,
longer is great as it makes the new behavior
even more habitual!
The questions are:
• What did you do?
• How often?
• What were your incentives/reward system?
(Be specific; remember these
incentives/rewards must be based on operant
conditioning principles).
• What was your time frame?
In other words:
• Share your process in detail of how you
modified your behavior.
• This is where you will integrate the principles
of operant conditioning (primarily positive
reinforcement) to encourage your new,
healthier, desired, target behavior.
For Example:
• If you want to stop buying caffeinated drinks from
Star Bucks, you might, for every day you don’t
spend your money on a Star Bucks drink, put in a
saving’s jar. At the end of the week, you can
either buy something else non-caffeinated that
costs more than simply one drink that you have
been wanting, or add an extra $20 dollars to the
savings jar. By the end of implementing your
action plan, you might have enough money to
take a small trip or simply put into savings!
Another example might be:
• You want to practice yoga more frequently.
For each week that you do yoga 3 or 4 times,
you treat yourself to an extra 20 minutes of
yoga, or prepare/go to a raw, vegan restaurant
for a special meal.
Or,
• You might want to pay your bills on time and
take the money either from prior late fees or
simply as a reward and take a friend out to eat
or invite your friend over for a meal.
In all the cases mentioned above:
• The desired target behavior has to be demonstrated
first (before positively reinforcing it) and;
• The reinforcement should be something that you really
enjoy, something that inspires and motivates you to
keep going!!!!!!! So that the new behavior replaces the
old and becomes habit!
• And, keep in mind that applying a reinforcement is
deliberate and intentional (it is NOT just the “feel good
feelings” of experiencing the new behavior).
Share also:
• Your reinforcement schedule (ie. How many
times did you elicit the new behavior and how
often did you reinforce it). You can utilize your
prior rating system of check marks, stickers,
etc. to see if the behavior is really decreasing
over time and also create a symbol for when
you exhibit the new behavior.
• For what was your time frame? State for how
many weeks did you undergo your action plan.
Part 4 States: Share your results and how you feel
about them:
• How did this BMP impact you
mentally/physically/emotionally/spiritually?
• For example, now that you are not drinking
caffeine, are you mentally clearer, have more
physical energy, notice more natural cues of
sleepiness, emotionally more balanced,
spiritually more grounded?
The remainder of the questions are
more self-explanatory:
•
•
•
•
How do you feel about your results?
Will you continue with your BMP?
Would you recommend this BMP to others?
What did you learn about yourself through
this process?
This project is really about you!!!
• If a behavior doesn’t come to mind right away,
that is okay!
• You can set the intention and perhaps ask the
question in a reflective manner: “What is the best
behavior that I can modify so that I can feel
happier and more at peace with myself?” Or
choose a self-inquiry question that works for you.
Then surrender, let go of the question.
• Pay attention in your waking life and to your
dreams, your unconscious might start to speak to
you!!!!!
Please do:
• Enjoy this process;
• Use this process as a path of self-growth;
• And, email me if you have any questions at
speterson@peralta.edu.