Changing Habits
In a brief introductory paragraph, identify a current habit you wish you did not have. This needs to be a habit that you are willing
to talk about with classmates. It could be something common, such as nail biting, smoking, being consistently late, watching
too much television, etc. Think about how you acquired this habit. How do you maintain (reinforce) this habit? Describe the
behaviors and/or thoughts (both positive and negative) that you have about this habit. Describe the frequency of your habit
(Where, how, when, etc.) Then describe your past attempts to break this habit (if you have any.)
Using the principles of operant conditioning, create a plan of how you can use reinforcers or punishers to change
your habit. Remember: reinforcers are used to increase a behavior and punishers are used to decrease a behavior.
After reading the material in Chapter 4, which will you use? What kind of schedule of reinforcement will you use?
Why? Will you use the concept of shaping as you try to change this habit? You may want to consider using the steps
of behavior modification (outlined in your textbook) to help with this assignment.
Type your responses in a Word document and click the assignment title to attach your Word document. Include
activity_two” and your name in the file name to ensure you receive credit for submitting your assignment
(activity_twoJohn_smith.doc).
You can check if your assignment was successfully submitted by accessing your My Grades page. Your assignment
should be in Needs Grading (exclamation mark represents Needs Grading status ) status, which means it is ready to
be accessed and graded. Click the exclamation mark to see the Review Submission History page. This assignment is
worth 2 points and will be graded according to the following grading criteria.
Criteria
Student has identified a habit, described how this habit was acquired and how this habit has been
1. maintained over time. These descriptions are presented using terminology and concepts from classical and
operant conditioning.
Student has outlined a plan of how to change or extinguish this habit. The student’s plan is based on
classical and operant conditioning concepts. The plan for change is supported with realistic ways to
2. extinguish current behavior and/or replace current behavior with desired behavior. The identified
reinforcers and punishers would be effective if the plan was executed. The plan includes a specific
schedule of reinforcement that is theoretically sound.
3 The plan discusses shaping, behavior modification or some other concepts related to learning theory to
support the changing of the identified habit.
Essay is well-organized and well-developed; key points are supported with research. Essay reflects proper
You can check if your assignment was successfully submitted by accessing your My Grades page. Your assignment
should be in Needs Grading (exclamation mark represents Needs Grading status ) status, which means it is ready to
be accessed and graded. Click the exclamation mark to see the Review Submission History page. This assignment is
worth 2 points and will be graded according to the following grading criteria.
Criteria
Student has identified a habit, described how this habit was acquired and how this habit has been
1. maintained over time. These descriptions are presented using terminology and concepts from classical and
operant conditioning.
Student has outlined a plan of how to change or extinguish this habit. The student’s plan is based on
classical and operant conditioning concepts. The plan for change is supported with realistic ways to
2. extinguish current behavior and/or replace current behavior with desired behavior. The identified
reinforcers and punishers would be effective if the plan was executed. The plan includes a specific
schedule of reinforcement that is theoretically sound.
The plan discusses shaping, behavior modification or some other concepts related to learning theory to
3.
support the changing of the Identified habit.
4 Essay is well-organized and well-developed; key points are supported with research. Essay reflects proper
word choice, sentence structure, spelling and punctuation.
