Identify a daily habit you wish to get rid of (e.g., smoking,
eating junk food, aggressive driving) or a new one you would like to start/increase
(e.g., drinking more water, exercising, spending more time with family). Do not
use this assignment to change behaviors that involve harm to yourself or others or
that involve illegal activity.
 Make sure to describe and consider the behavior in a way that success and
failure can be easily determined- saying you want to “eat healthier” is too
vague, saying you want to “eat fewer than 1800 calories per day” is
better.
 How and when did the habit form? If you don’t remember, say that and
speculate on the time period and cause. If you’re trying to start a new
behavior, describe why you want it to start.
 Use classical conditioning for behavior modification.
 If you are trying to get rid of a habit, identify those stimuli that encourage
you to engage in the behavior (e.g., locations, people, time). Also identify
how you will reduce or eliminate these stimuli. If this is not possible,
describe why. If you are trying to start a new regular behavior, identify what you will
introduce the environment to increase response. How will you associate
the new behavior with these stimuli? Be sure to use the term
“stimulus/stimuli” so that we know that you know what they are.
 Operant conditioning is required here too.
 What reinforcer(s) will you use when you either resist temptation (for
ending a habit) or engage in the behavior (for starting a new behavior)? Be
realistic and try to fit the reinforcement to the behavior (e.g., when I don’t
eat junk food for a day, I’ll buy myself my favorite fruit- no matter how
expensive it is this time of year).
 The reinforcement CANNOT be a natural consequence of the habit
change- it must be in addition to any automatic outcomes. You can
mention these natural outcomes, but you must set up another reward. If
natural consequences were sufficient for behavior change, you’d already
have done it! Also, do NOT make the desired behavior the reinforcement
for stopping (e.g., If I don’t drink soda for a week, I can have a soda)
 Reinforcers must be something you receive daily- even if it’s just a
progress chart with more tangible reward at the end (e.g., if I resist for 4 of
the 5 days, I’ll buy myself silly putty). Change the reinforcement as
needed if it is unrealistic or ineffective.
 Let’s avoid punishments, unless you really think it will help you change.
 After you have these identified, keep a brief record of your progress (or lack thereof)
daily for each of 5 consecutive days. Turn this log in too.
The format of this log is up to you. Some people like to use a table format, others
prefer a brief narrative.
 Record what you did related to the behavior and what changes occurred.
Were you successful?
 Identify whether or not reinforcer(s) received daily.
 If you failed, what do you plan to do differently for better success the next
day
 At the end of the 5 days, describe…
 whether you anticipate continued success and why
 how will you wean yourself from the reinforcement? You will want to
slowly stop using the reinforcer so that you continue the behavior even
without the reinforcement. Even if you were unsuccessful up to this point
and expect continued lack of success, describe how a weaning plan could