7/28/2019 B - CLAYTON,M.(2006) - Self-Management Contingencies

1/3

143EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS NUMBER 2 (WINTER 2006)2006, 7, 143 - 145

143

We must consider the possibility thatthe individual may control his own be-havior.

(Skinner, 1953, p.228)

Sel-management has been dened as the

personal and systematic application o behaviorchange strategies that result in the desired modi-cation o ones own behavior. (Cooper, Heron,& Heward, 1987, p. 517) Indeed, one o Skinnerscentral motivations would appear to have beenthe management o his own behavior, rst andoremost (Epstein, 1997). In his own words:

I have been as much interested in my-sel as in rats and pigeons. I have applied

the same ormulations, I have looked orthe same kinds o causal relations, and Ihave manipulated behavior in the same wayand sometimes with comparable success(1967, p. 407)

Tere are several very good reasons or usingsel-management. First, private events, by deni-tion, are accessible only to the individual and thus,can only be measured in this way. For example,the number o times a person experiences anegative emotion cannot be reliably observed byothers, thus only that person can act as observer.Second, generalization is acilitated when wemanage our own behavior. We can catch ourproblem behaviors wherever and whenever theyoccur, and respond accordingly. Tereore, notonly do we rerain rom making sel-deprecatingstatements during therapy, but also when we arealone making dinner. Further, some behaviorsrequire constant attention. We need to watch what

we eat and remember to exercise consistently inorder to reach our health-related goals. No otherperson is capable o observing and responding to

all o our behavior better than we can. Finally,many o the behaviors we most want to manageare controlled by immediate, strong outcomes.For example, saying, I I quit smoking now, I willprobably live longer is no match or the immedi-ate and strong outcome o a nicotine x. A more

eective approach would be to restate the ine-ective, weak outcome above as a statement thatcan compete with the immediate reinorcementprovided by smoking (e.g., For each cigarette Ismoke, I must run one mile). It is obvious thatby engaging in sel-management and restructuringthe contingencies that surround us, we can bettermanage our own lives.

Skinner (1953, pp. 231-241) outlined a tax-onomy o sel-control techniques, ranging rom

antecedents and consequences to manipulatingestablishing operations, in order to address theproblem. For instance, i you want to rememberto do something in the morning, leave a note onthe ront door to serve as a prompt. Stimuli thatcontrol desired behavior can be arranged to makethe behavior more likely. For example, a colleagueprompts himsel to write by prominently display-ing a cardboard box rom a previous unpleasant

job he held beore nding an academic position.In order to make undesirable behavior less likely,remove the stimulus that precedes that behavior.Tus, recovering alcoholics are advised not tospend time in bars, avoiding the primary stimulusas well as the social reinorcers that were support-ive o the problem behavior.

Consequences, both positive and negative, arepowerul determinants o our behavior, but beore

we can consequate anything, we must count it.Tus, sel-monitoring is an essential ingredientor sel-management. In act, by simply counting

a behavior we can aect its rate. Feuding spousesare asked to keep track o the annoying behaviorsthey (or their spouses) display, smokers count the

Sel-Management Contingencies

Michael C. Clayton

Youngstown State University

7/28/2019 B - CLAYTON,M.(2006) - Self-Management Contingencies

2/3

144

number o cigarettes they smoke each day, anda pedometer will serve as a strong motivator o

walking behavior.

Guidelines or Efective Sel-Management

First, it is important to convert hard-to-ollow,weak rules, into easy-to-ollow, strong rules. Anexample o the ormer is, I I smoke, I mightget cancer and die. Tis sel-rule can be easilyconverted into an example o the latter by stating,For each cigarette I smoke, I must run one mile.Second, you must build in periodic accountability.Malott (1981) phoned his secretary each morningby 9am to report that he was at his desk working.

A related technique is to make the goals we haveor ourselves public, thereby increasing the prob-ability that they will be attained. More probablebecause Only by behaving as predicted can weescape the aversive consequences o breaking ourresolution (Skinner, 1953, p. 237). In graduateschool my proessors wanted to lose weight sothey displayed graphs, updated daily, on their o-ce doors, o their current weight. Any time their

weight increased, they had to endure the ridiculeo their colleagues and students. Each day thattheir weight was lower, they received powerulsocial reinorcers, or at least escaped the aversiveconsequences that would otherwise have ollowed.Finally, by involving others in a sel-managementplan it is possible to increase the probability o adesirable behavior. In this way, each time that agoal (i.e., I will write one page o my dissertationeach day) is not reached an immediate conse-quence is orthcoming (You pay your riend onedollar). Tis eectively combines the power o

making a contingency public with a consequenceor the behavior.

Remote Contingencies and Current Behavior

Many o the consequences that are expected tomaintain sel-management behavior are remote;too remote to maintain the behavior. Knowing

what to do, when to do it, and why, is not enoughto get us to do it. Tereore, we need to arrange

contingencies or the behavior o sel-manage-ment. First, write a perormance contract. Tecontract should clearly state the behavior, whether

it is to increase or decrease, and the consequencesor meeting (or not) the contract. Next, take dataand graph your perormance. Te graph should beposted somewhere where you can see it requently.Further, it is important to always consequate your

behavior. Te graph will provide consequencesby making clear how you are doing, but you alsoneed to provide other consequences contingent onyour behavior, such as a movie, restaurant meal,or video game. Lastly, it is essential to includeothers. By making your sel-management behaviorpublic you increase the likelihood o success.

You can have a roommate or spouse co-sign theperormance contract, provide accountability oryour data collection, and they can be part o the

consequences as well. When you do not meet agoal, the other person will know too, and canconsequate your behavior accordingly (Malott,2002a).

Rules and Covert Guilt Statements

Both rule-governed and contingency-governedbehaviors play important roles in the managemento our own behavior. Rule-governed behavior ismainly determined by verbal antecedents, whilecontingency-governed behavior is behavior thathas been shaped by its consequences (Catania,1989. p. 119-120). Rules tell us what to do, whento do it, and why. We can set up sel-rules andconsequate our perormances when they meet (ornot) our expectations. Te observation that somepeople appear to manage their behavior quite

well, while others do not, is unavoidable. Malott(1981; 2002b) has argued that sel-managementproduces covert guilt statements, and the only

way to escape these statements is by engaging indesired behaviors. He argues that a ear o ail-ure leads to behavior conducive to success, andspeculates that some o us were raised to believethat good is never good enough and that we

will never live up to the expectations we have orourselves. He concludes that those o us with thisJewish mother dont need extra contingenciesto perorm because we have strong sel-rules tomanage our behavior. Everyone else must set up

perormance management contingencies (de-scribed with explicit rules) with clear deadlinesor desirable behavior. Tat is, those o us not

Michael C. Clayton

7/28/2019 B - CLAYTON,M.(2006) - Self-Management Contingencies

3/3

145

sufciently motivated by the rules instilled in usas children must construct explicit rules and ad-minister the contingencies supportive o eectivesel-management.

Tus, some o us need explicit perormance

contingencies and some o us have sel-rules thatsufce. In either case, it is contingencies thatcontrol our behavior. We owe it to ourselves asbehavior analysts to manage the contingenciesresponsible or our behavior to the best o abil-ity. Which brings me to the nal reason to usesel-management: I we cannot manage our ownbehavior, why should anyone else trust us to helpthem manage theirs?

Reerences

Catania, A. C., Shimo, E., & Matthews, B. A.(1989). An experimental analysis o rule-gov-erned behavior. In S. C. Hayes (Ed.), Rule-

governed behavior: Cognition, contingencies,

and instructional control(pp. 119-150). NewYork: Plenum.

Cooper, J. O., Heron, . E., & Heward, W. L.(1987).Applied Behavior Analysis. Columbus,OH: Merril.

Epstein, R. (1997). Skinner as sel-manager.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,30, 545-568.

Malott, R. W. (1981). Notes from a radical behav-iorist. Kalamazoo, MI: Author.

Malott, R. W. (2002a). Ill stop procrastinatingwhen I get around to it. Unpublished manu-script.

Malott, R. W. (2002b). What OBM needs is moreJewish mothers. Journal of Organizational

Behavior Management,22, 71-87.Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior.New York: Macmillan.

Skinner, B. F. (1967). B. F. Skinner. In E. . Bor-In E. . Bor-ing & . Lindzey (Eds.), A history o psychol-ogy in autobiography: Vol. 5 (pp. 387-413).New York: Appleton-Century-Crots.

Sel-Management Contingencies