Behavior Change Project
Goal
My goal was to increase my behavior of going to the gym three times per week
from a baseline average of one time per week.
Behavioral Analysis
To formulate the problem in terms of behavior, a behavioral analysis was done to
observe antecedents and consequences to the target behavior, and to formulate possible
interventions. It was observed that while I attempted to attend gym aerobics classes more
than one time per week, this behavior only occurred when scheduled with a friend.
Social support, therefore, became a key intervention strategy to increase the behavior.
Other antecedents that interfered with gym attendance were as follows: poor sleep the
night before, failure to follow a daily routine, spontaneous activities with peers, and poor
eating habits. Antecedents which lead to the target behavior were as follows: expectation
of social obligation to keep my gym appointment, following a healthier eating plan, and
having gym clothes packed in my car. Consequences for non-gym attendance included:
lower energy level, feeling non-productive, and poor eating habits. Consequences for the
target behavior included: higher energy level, social reinforcement (spending time with
my friend), healthier eating, and increased positive mood.
Self-Interventions
My self-interventions were to improve my eating habits (i.e. no fried or heavy
foods) before expected gym attendance, and to always have gym clothes in my car. In
addition, I also tried to maintain a more regular sleep schedule.
Contingency Management
The most obvious intervention for myself was to illicit others to attend the gym
with me. My roommate agreed to join my gym, and my boyfriend agreed that I should
go to his gym at least once per week. I made regular appointments with my roommate
and boyfriend on separate days, just as I already had an ongoing gym appointment with
my other friend. In order to ensure that the target behavior increased, I enlisted the help
of my roommate and boyfriend. They agreed to reinforce my behavior directly after gym
attendance by either a) going to dinner with me or b) by watching a movie with me. If
gym attendance did not occur on the prescribed dates, then these reinforcements would
not occur. I found these to be strong positive reinforcements because of the social
interaction and relaxation qualities. They were also more effective due to the direct
implementation after the target behavior (reduced delay between behavior and
reinforcement).
Outcome Data
Within the two weeks that the interventions were implemented, my gym
attendance did increase to three times per week. This was made more difficult on days
when my partners cancelled for various reasons, and so my positive reinforcements were
not made available. This suggested that I should rely on more self-strategies in order to
maintain my goal. These might include going to the gym in the morning in order to avoid
interference from spontaneous activities later in the day, and keeping a thought record to
observe mood alterations. Although I would like to eventually increase my gym
attendance to four or five times per week, I felt that three days per week was an attainable
goal to begin with. In the future I plan to add the contingency management strategy of
including monetary weekly rewards (dispersed by my roommate) for attending the gym
four times per week.