All Behaviors Are
Complex
Research by
psychologist James O. Prochaska, Ph.D., an
internationally renowned expert on planned
change, has repeatedly found that change
occurs in stages. To increase the overall
probability of success, divide a behavior
into parts and learn each part
successively.
Strategy:
Break down the behavior
Almost all
behaviors can be broken down. Separate
your desired behavior into smaller, self-contained
units.
He wanted to
be on time for work, so he wrote down what
that would entail: waking up, showering,
dressing, preparing breakfast, eating,
driving, parking and buying coffee—all
before 9 a.m.
Change Is Frightening
We resist
change, but fear of the unknown can result
in clinging to status quo behaviors—no
matter how bad they are.
Strategy:
Examine the consequences
Compare all
possible consequences of both your status
quo and desired behaviors. If there are
more positive results associated with the
new behavior, your fears of the unknown
are unwarranted.
If he didn't
become more punctual, the next thing he'd
be late for is the unemployment office.
There was definitely a greater benefit to
changing than to not changing.
Strategy:
Prepare your observers
New behaviors
can frighten the people observing them, so
introduce them slowly.
Becoming
timely overnight would make co-workers
suspicious. He started arriving by 9 a.m.
only on important days.
Strategy:
Be realistic
Unrealistic
goals increase fear. Fear increases the
probability of failure.
Mornings
found him sluggish, so he began preparing
the night before and doubled his morning
time.
Change Must Be Positive
As B.F.
Skinner's early research demonstrates,
reinforcement-not punishment-is necessary
for permanent change. Reinforcement can be
intrinsic, extrinsic or extraneous.
According to Carol Sansone, Ph.D., a
psychology professor at the University of
Utah, one type of reinforcement must be
present for self-change, two would be
better than one, and three would be best.
Strategy:
Enjoy the act
Intrinsic
reinforcement occurs when the act is
reinforcing.
He loved
dressing well. Seeing his clothes laid out
at night was a joyful experience.
Strategy:
Admire the outcome
An act
doesn't have to be enjoyable when the end
result is extrinsically reinforcing. For
instance, I hate cleaning my kitchen, but
I do it because I like the sight of a
clean kitchen.
After
dressing, he looked in the mirror and
enjoyed the payoff from his evening
preparation: He looked impeccable.
Strategy:
Reward yourself
Extraneous
reinforcement isn't directly connected to
the act or its completion. A worker may
despise his manufacturing job but will
continue working for a good paycheck.
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