Where there is a will, there is a way...

Result and Discussion

2008-10-29T11:11:00.002+08:00

Result

Data on the amount of time I lounge in the bed after 7 am was collected during the program implementation as to compare to the baseline period.

Figure 2 below shows the trend of the target behavior before and after the self-modification program:

Figure 2: the duration of the target behavior before and after the designed program

The graphical presentation of the data in figure 2 shows that there is an inconsistent decrease in the duration of the target behavior once the program was carried out. The average durations of my problem behavior during the baseline period and the program implementation period were 143.43 minutes and 86.18 minutes respectively.

Discussion

The baseline was considerably stable within a significant period, hence was acceptable to be compared with. Although the target behavior met the ultimate embedded goal at the end of the program, it has not changed reliably with the change in criterion. The gradually decreasing trend in the target behavior compared to the baseline was attached with a few rebounds. For these causes, it is hard to conclude that the program itself was solely responsible for the behavioral change even though the changing direction was desired (Martin and Pear, 2003).

As the program was carried out for only a short period, there may be other factors that contributed to the change. I found it's easier for me to be an early riser if I have crystallized the reason for getting up. If I have committed myself to do activities with my friends, it was crucial and important to follow through. Hence, the target behavior was fulfilled not due to the consequences of the program, but rather the motivation to adhere to the commitment that I have made. Furthermore, I managed to obey the criterion set when my boyfriend acted as my alarm clock under my request. The behavior was under the other’s external controlling behavior instead of my own self-control.

The four days which I failed to wake up within the allowed time were 17^th, 19^th, 20^th and 24^th. For 17^th, 19^th and 20^th, the contributing factor was I had insufficient and poor quality of sleep resulted from delayed bedtimes at the night before. On 24^th, I was too snug being underneath my blanket as it was a rainy morning, hence unable to wake up in time.

The short-coming of the program was the reinforcer was not appetitive enough as the other alternative entertainment such as watching Hong Kong drama series was available to me. Thus, it was a huge drain on my motivation to reach my sub-goals as I didn’t mind to receive the reinforcer later. Furthermore, positive behavioral contrast occurred when the limited access to my Facebook lead to an increased time spent in watching drama (Powell et al, 2005).

Another limitation of my program was I didn’t use both punishment and reinforcement simultaneously. Punishment that follows each occurrence of the unwanted behavior might play a role to demonstrate the apparent effect of the program. I would be more attentive to my own problem behavior if positive or negative punishment is being imposed. Without the aversive consequences when I failed to hit the target, it would be less likely to reduce my probability of arising late.

Besides, the distinct period of each criterion (which was around two days) was too short for my performance to stabilize at a new higher level. The subsequent phase with a change in criterion should be initiated only when the target behavior has become persistent for acceptable duration at the preceding phase. It was even harder for me to meet a new higher criterion if I have failed in the previous two-day phase. So, a comparison of the data between these brief phases and the baseline might not provide an accurate complete analysis.

On the other hand, my low self-control and self-efficacy ought to be accountable for the failure of this program. I indulged myself to sleep in easily because it was really hard to pick out from an immediate small reinforcer (incentive derived from sleeping) versus a delayed large reinforcer (achievement of my program). Based on the Value Discounting Function, when attainment of the "sleeping pleasure" becomes imminent, its value and my preference towards it increase drastically (Powell et al, 2005).

Conclusions

After evaluating the results, it is reasonable to say that my self-behavior modification program seems to be less successful. Although my program progress was not as satisfying as I expected before, it was a meaningful breakthrough of my behavior and self-discovery. I wish I could maintain the program until the objective is reached and adopt this modified behavior as my habit. To obtain a more validating result, the follow-up self-design program should be carried out for a longer period with a more thorough design.

Day 11: A final sprint

2008-10-26T12:23:00.002+08:00

Ultimate goal: to wake up within 5 mins after the alarm sounds at 7 am

I was so enlightened as my program would ended up today. Being able to make a spurt at the finish, I woke up especially early in the morning, at 703 am! I was so surprised of my accomplishment of this program as I thought I would quit during the halfway.
I wish I could adopt this modified behavior as my daily habit. The final exam is coming and I should start to prepare for it. Waking up early in the morning can save me more time for my study.

Before ending the story here, I would like to shout: 3 cheers and 3 cheers and 3 cheers for Lemonpsy; Hip hip, Hurray~ Hip hip, Hurray~ Hip hip, Hurray~ ^____^

-the end-

Day 10: The recipe of a successful change

2008-10-26T11:51:00.005+08:00

Ultimate goal: 7 am
Subgoal: to wake up within 35 mins after the alarm sounds

Special thanks to my boyfriend-- he called me at 730 am to wake me up in the morning. We agreed to study at old Canteen A together for the whole day. It's really beneficial to be an early bird as my day was fruitful. Moreover, I could access to my Facebook at night to reward myself for the paid effort.
Tomorrow would be the last day of my self-modification program. Strive for the last aim!!!

Ingredients of the GOLDEN DISH of successful change: social support, persistence, personal strength to serve the embedded goal, self-control, autonomy, self-efficacy......

Day 9: It's a challege, rather than a drawback!

2008-10-26T11:20:00.005+08:00

Ultimate goal: 7 am
Subgoal: to wake up within 35 mins after the alarm sounds

Oooppss...I was late for my Japanese lesson as I woke up at 832 am in this morning!!! A lot of factors play a part in my failure: (1) I slept around 2 am last night (2) it was a rainy morning (3) I was too snug being underneath my blanket...Is this so called the "self-serving bias"? I would attribute my success to my dispositional factors but failure to the external factors. Lol ^o^

It's really hard to pick out from an immediate small reinforcer (pleasure derived from sleep) versus a delayed large reinforcer (achievement of my program)! Especially when attainment of the "sleeping pleasure" becomes imminent, its value increases drastically.

Today's moral lesson: There is no GIANT step that brings to a success. It's a lot of LITTLE steps with pits. I must buffer against the failure as to continue the jouney.

Day 8: Sustain the firing!!

2008-10-23T21:13:00.005+08:00

Goal: 7 am
Max. ammount of time allowed on the bed: 60 mins

This morning at 755 am, I overcame the barriers and found success by waking up within the allowed time. Self -efficacy, is an important element in predicting a successful change. With the belief that I am responsible for my own awaking behavior, I am able to control it. The early morning lecture was also one of the contributing factor because I like Stat lesson very much and I would not want to miss it.
I may get my reinforcer with one more hit in the next trial. I was very happy as my ultimate goal is getting closer and closer to me. I am able to grab it if I keep my pace for the rest of my program.

Today's moral lesson: Most of the time, our perception of the reality rather than the reality itself affects our thinking and behaviors. Therefore, we should always believe that we can make a change instead of being controlled by the environment.

Day 7: Never lay down my arms easily

2008-10-22T22:56:00.006+08:00

Goal: 7 am
Max. amount of time allowed: 60 mins

Today I had to wake up no later than 8 am. For me, it was a tough task that required substantial amount of effort and determination. I knew there would be a sharing session in this evening. It's such a shame to let people know that my program wasn't carried out smoothly. So in order to make my result looked more "achieving", I really have to resist the temptation of falling back asleep.
Finally, I wasn't disappointed by myself because I didn't shake my resolve and jump out of my bed strike at 8 am! Although that was after I reset the alarm twice, I managed to prove that the behavior was under my self-control.

P/s: Within the 1 hour sharing session, I was acknowledge that everyone was working harder towards their goals. Therefore, I shall take them as my model and remind myself not to lay down my arms to the program so easily.

Day 6: Behavior modified->"blogging" or wake up early?

2008-10-21T23:35:00.006+08:00

Ultimate goal: 7 am
Subgoal of day 6: wake up within 80 Mins after the alarm sounds

I slept pretty early yesterday night as it was a tiring day. After satisfied the desire to have a good rest, I woke up at 814 am in the morning. I did press the snooze button for twice, but I effectively convinced myself to obey the criterion set. I managed to utilize the extra time to do my Japanese homework before going to the school. I felt relieved as I wasn't left behind the schedule today.

p/s: I guess Venus is the most successful person in changing our behaviors. We are accustomed to post our blog everyday to ensure that our mark won't be deducted. She is using negative reinforcement in shaping our "blogging" behavior.. haha =)

Day 5: 5th attempt; 3rd failure =(

2008-10-21T22:32:00.004+08:00

Ultimate goal: 7 am
Subgoal of day 5: wake up within 80 Mins after the alarm sounds

I have to admit that I have low self-control ability. Today was my 5th attempt and meanwhile my 3rd failure. I knew I shouldn't have any excuse for myself but I was really too tired in this morning. Last night, I had a great time enjoying a drama performance in the Raffles Hotel. It's too late when I went back to my room, most likely after midnight. Consequently, I have insufficient sleep over the night, thus unable to fulfill the subgoal-of-the-day. The record in the 5th day was 924 am.

Today's moral lesson: I have to reconsider the value of my reinforcer because it seems like I don't really care whether I can access my Facebook or not. I think that's because i can have the other alternative entertainment such as watching Hong Kong drama series. However, I want to change for myself but not for the reinforcer. So, I have to be persistent and determined towards my goal.

Day 4: A turnoff -- sleep or awake?

2008-10-19T13:37:00.007+08:00

Goal: 7 am
Max amount of time allowed on the bed: 100 mins

Superego: It's time to wake up! U have to meet the criterion in order to exchange for the reward.
Id : Nope~ Today is Sunday. So, everyone will just sleep on both ears. U no need to attend classes what, why so SERIOUS?
Superego: If u wake up now, you can have more time to do your assignment and presentation slides. Moreover, your Mummum is waiting for you to feed it.
Id : Buddy, don't distress yourself. Life is simple and easygoing! Enjoy your sleep, Mummum is just a virtual pet--it won't really "die"~
Superego: ...

That's the conversation between my "devil" side and "angel" side in this morning. As a result, Id won over Superego and I didn't get out of my bed until 926 am...

Today's moral lesson: Never ever have a negotiation with these "little voices" in the head!! Say "NO" whenever the discussion starts.

Day 3: Overleap the barrier

2008-10-18T22:11:00.006+08:00

Goal: 7 am
Max. amount of time allowed on the bed: 100 mins

Criterion met in this morning! I woke up determinedly at 832 am as my boyfriend called me. Under my request, he acted as my alarm clock today =) Another motivation for me to stick to the program is a date with my friends to sing Karaoke. I found it's easier for me to be an early riser if I have crystallized the reason for getting up. Since I had committed myself to go out with them, it was crucial and important to follow through.
For sure, Mummum was saved!!! It would be happy to see my improvement.

Today's moral lesson: Friends contribute powerful support and strength!!

Day 2: Here comes a setback

2008-10-17T13:54:00.008+08:00

Target: 7 am
The max. ammount of time allowed on the bed after the clock sounds: 120 mins

The time when I physically rose was already 936 am. I remembered I woke up once but just to turned off the irritating alarm. Dazedly, I sat on my bed and kept rationalizing as to get enough sleep. Moreover, my dear roommate was sleeping like a log, so I indulged myself to lie in. This was a huge drain on motivation for me to get out of my bed.
I felt so sad because I couldn't log in my Facebook to play with my "pet", Mummun in Pet Society. It starved because of its slack master!! Mummum is going to miss me a lot. ToT

Today's moral lesson: For the sake of Mummum, I must awake before 840 am tomorrow.

Day 1: On your marc, Get set, Go!

2008-10-16T20:54:00.010+08:00

Target: 7 am
Max. ammount of time allowed on the bed: 120 mins

I slept around 3 am last night. I thought I was not able to wake up within the maximum allowed time in this morning. I didn't hit the snooze button when the hand phone and the alarm clock sounded because they were too far away from me. I just stayed on my bed and let the alarm ringing went off. Luckily, there was this little voice in my head urging me to wake up to attend an important lecture at 930 am. At 836 am, I finally adhered to my commitment-- I....woke up (hurray~~~)!!!! Without hesitation, I left my bedroom and cleaned my face. Yippie~Tomorrow, I shall get my reinforcer! Muahahahaha..
Although I managed to meet the criterion today, but I wasn't getting enough sleep. It's hard for me to concentrate in the lectures and my studies. I also experienced headache T.T
Today's moral lesson --> to wake up early, at the same time to have a good quality sleep.
Anyway, it was a good starting point =)

Contemplation: Self-Modification Program

2008-10-14T23:45:00.005+08:00

Problem to modify

In this self-behavior modification project, the specific behavior that I targeted to modify concerns my hatred to getting out of bed in the mornings. It is really difficult for me to tip out of my cozy bed and ease myself into full wakefulness. In a case whereby my physiological alarm will shatter my dream around 7 am every day, I’ll wind up groping blindly for my hand phone, hitting the snooze button for 30 minutes and falling back asleep. I often struggle in such a dilemma between an intention to bounce out of bed and an urge to drift back into my slumber. An extra 30 minutes sleep surely will lead to another 30 minutes and then so on. It ends up setting my alarm around 4 or 5 times before I finally get up reluctantly. Soon, I have adopted a bad habit of giving myself an extra time to lounge before I wake up in the mornings. Oversleeping seems to be a next to impossible feat for me to get over.

As this cycle of refusing to get out of bed occurred every morning, it resulted in some undesirable outcomes. I have not only become a snooze button violator, but I have also gradually turned out to be a procrastinator. I have wasted my time lazing on the bed until the latest time I absolutely must get up to start my day. I could have done a lot of work in that 2 or 3 hours of time. Occasionally, I was late for classes and my learning progress was surely affected. I also experienced cognitive dissonance where my biological clock of waking preference rarely coincides with my schedule and responsibilities. Above all, I inflict in such anguish where it’s hard to refrain myself from the temptation of falling back asleep even I reset the irritated and intrusive alarm clock. Furthermore, my poor roommate was tortured by the annoying, continual ringing of my alarm clock.

Therefore, I decided to quit my bad habit of hating to get out of bed in the mornings.

Goal

The goal that I have set is to decrease the amount of time I spend in the bed after the alarm goes off every morning, and to habitually get out of my bed no longer than 5 minutes. In the long-run, my goal is to resist the excuse “Give me five more minutes” and spring out of my bed as fast as possible when the alarm sounds even after this program.

The commitment to change

As I have made up my mind to change this behavior, I realized the importance and advantages of doing so (Passman, 1977). In fact, the pros will definitely outweigh the cons if I were to change my waking up habit. I foresee the benefits of getting extra valuable time in the mornings to do my work (such as study, exercise and take a bath), hence improving my productivity in a day. Apart from that, I could discipline myself to be punctual to attend classes so that I have more time prepare my studies. If time to stay in bed is saved, I will have more time to savor a better life. The other advantage is that I will have a healthier routine and lifestyle once this daily ritual has been established. Although the effect is too small to be apparent unless being accumulated over time, it’s still important for the sake of my health in the long run. Lastly, by decreasing the number of time I press the snooze button, my dear roommate will suffer less from the annoying alarm ringing. The only thing that I have to scarify to obtain all the advantages listed is just the warmth and comfort of my bed.

In order to have a high chance to succeed in changing my behavioral problem, I have to be strongly committed to stay on with this self-modification program (Passman, 1977). Firstly, I listed down all the benefits of my program and posted it onto the conspicuous study board of my table (Martin and Pear, 2003). Then, I made my commitment to change known to public (Seigts et al., 1997). I told my course mates, my friends and my family members about this program (Passman, 1977). I also published my plan in my MSN nickname and MSN space to increase the number of people who know about it. Moreover, I specifically sought my boyfriend’s help to remind me of my targeted goals and to stick to the program persistently. He made a bet with me, and agreed that if I were to succeed in changing myself, he would treat me to a meal. My boyfriend’s support and prompting, as well as that of all the other people mentioned above, are vital sources for me to face the challenges and to resist the temptation of giving up.

I came to the resolution of altering my immediate surrounding environment to deal with the problem of not waking up to the sound of the alarm clock in the morning. (Martin and Pear, 2003). A few goal-reminder notes were also written and pasted at the appropriate places which I deem conspicuous, for instances my cupboard, door, table and the shelf beside my bed. (Garziano, 1975). This would encourage me to fight the unwanted urge and to wake up quickly.

In addition, I have invested considerable time and effort in planning this self-modification program (Watson & Tharp, 1997). I created a blog to post my program progress everyday and to receive comments from my friends. I also bought a new alarm clock with an earsplitting ringing tone but without an alluring snooze button. The time and effort I have put in would serve to strengthen and maintain my commitment. All these would go to waste if I were to give up. The invested time and effort have to be justified by positive therapeutic changes to reduce the cognitive dissonance (Axsom and Cooper, 1981). With the display of a list of statements related to the investment I have made, I will keep reminding myself to move towards the goal (Martin and Pear, 2003). A request was made to my roommate to wake me up for breakfast together so that I would get involved in a routine that I look forward to in the mornings. This is an incentive to deal with any of my temptations to give up getting out of bed at the required time (Watson & Tharp, 1997).

Baseline data and analyze cause

To provide a reference point to evaluate the progress, the amount of time I lounge on the bed after the alarm sounded in each morning was consistently recorded for 7 consecutive days before the program starts. The recording was done each time after I was completely awakened and leapt out of my bed. I would set my alarm clock to 7 am every morning and the duration of my problem behavior would be the extra time taken to get out of bed after 7 am. For this purpose, I placed a piece of paper on the shelf beside my bed to keep track of the data. The recording chart was in an obvious place to increase the likelihood of feedbacks from my roommate, which in turn would reinforce my tracking behavior (Martin and Pear, 2003).

The baseline data is shown in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Baseline data taken over a week

During the preliminary observations, I realized that my self-control problem consists of behavioral excesses which are caused by immediate reinforcers and delayed punishers (Martin and Pear, 2003). The immediate pleasure derived from sleeping for an extra 30 minutes may override and win out over the delayed negative consequences of time constriction or being late for classes. The emotional flare up of my roommate is also too long delayed to counteract the attractive enjoyment of lazing on the bed.

More to the point, I managed to detect the antecedents that might be served as the discriminative stimuli for my problem behavior. There is a higher tendency of staying in bed when the air-conditioner is on and when my room dark and conducive for sleeping, with the curtains drawn. I am more likely to become a “snooze pusher” when my hand phone, which acts as my alarm, is an arm’s length away from the bed. Most of the time, I tend to sleep in when my roommate is not there to wake me up. At the same time, it is harder for me to wake up in the morning if I were to get into bed after midnight the night before. Ironically, the amount of time required for me to wake up is significantly reduced whenever I need to accomplish certain tasks before classes. For example, on certain days, I need the extra time before classes to study for quizzes or to complete an assignment before the deadline.

Designing and implementing a program

After taking the baseline data and identifying the stimulus control, I deliberately designed a self-modification program. For manipulating consequent events, my strategy is to eliminate the inadvertently reinforcing stimuli of my problem behavior in the room (Martin and Pear, 2003).I first removed the key attraction of my room by using the fan instead of the air-conditioner so that I would be less comfy while sleeping. In addition, by packing away some of the pillows into the cupboard, I hope to reduce my affection for the bed. I would also leave the curtains drawn before I sleep so that I could be more responsive to the bright morning sunlight. I would set my handphone alarm tone to an irritating ringing tone instead of a soothing piece of music so that I wouldn’t be habituated to the soft melody. I placed both my hand phone and the new clock out of reach across my room so that I would have no option but to remove myself from my bed in order to turn them off.

Subsequently, I made concrete self-instructions by writing down the program rules on the headboard of my study table (Martin and Pear, 2003). This was done to present the cues to strengthen self-control through keeping myself engaged in the alternative desired behavior. If only abstract mental or verbal instructions were to be applied, it would be less likely for me to keep to my goal. Then, I signed a contract with my buddy, PingJun to ensure the rules would be followed constantly.

The program I am going to execute is based on the use of a Token Economy, where the primary reinforcer is a sticker dispensed by my roommate, YinYue. She will place a sticker on the data collection paper if I meet the criterion in the morning. The sticker acts as a salient immediate reinforcer which exerts a strong effect on my behavior (Powell et al, 2005). According to the Premack Principle, a high frequency behavior can be used to reinforce a low frequency behavior. So, the associated secondary reinforcer is to earn myself with a 2-hour access to Facebook (which is a lengthy appetitive event), if I receive a certain amount of stickers. YinYue will release the password to me in order to log in to my Facebook and set a new password for the next reinforcement. Rewards are administered and monitored by her to prevent reinforcer bias or self-biasness.

The criterions to receive the rewards are shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1 Criterions set to attain rewards :

Using changing-criterion design, successive changes in the behavioral criterion to receive reinforcers were manipulated across the level to demonstrate the effectiveness of my program (Martin and Pear, 2003). I would use postitive reinforcement where the reinforcement schedule of the primary and secondary reinforcers are fixed ratio=1 and fixed ratio=2 respectively. So as to gain my secondary reinforcers, I have to collect the number of stickers required. The criterions to receive stickers which are progressively increasing in difficulty are suitable in shaping my behavior systematically within my abilities and patience (Powell et al, 2005). By doing so, I can refrain myself from easily give up as a result of trying too much too soon at the beginning.

The same method during baseline recording is used to collect the amount of time I perform the undesired behavior in the mornings. Mere daily measuring and graphing might lead to improvement in my progress towards the goal (Martin and Pear, 2003). Whenever I find myself falling behind, I’ll put myself back on track to sustain the program. The behavioral change will be served as an indicator of the effectiveness of my program.

This self-modification program is being carried out from 16th to 26th Oct 2008. Keeping in mind that the delayed natural consequences are for my own benefit, I gradually reduce the maximum amount of time I allow myself to lie on my bed before I completely wake up. Hand in hand with this, I’ll try to push my bedtime before midnight as to get enough sleep overnight.