Transcript Changing Stressful Behaviors

Chapter 13
“Unless we change directions,
we are liable to end up
where we are headed…”
“The only person who likes change
is a wet baby.”
- Roger Von Oech
“I didn’t come to be told I’m
burning the candle at both ends,”
said a patient to his doctor. “I
came for more wax.”
How People Change
 Doctors – 3%
 Self help groups – less than 3%
 Friends – 14%
 Family – 21%
 Spouse/significant other – 29%
 People on their own – 30%
Gallup Poll 1990
Your Attitude on Change
 I won’t
 I can’t
 I will try
 I can
 I will
 I commit
Can’t is a will
that refuses
to succeed
Locus of Control
 Locus of control: Perception of one’s control over
events that affect one’s life
 (Use Lab Assessment 7.5 p.164 to identify your locus of
control)
 Use Lab Assessment 13.4 as a guide to reducing
stressful behaviors
Behavior Change
 Hear a good idea
 Develop a plan
 Decide when to implement plan
 Discuss with another (commits)
 Set a future date for accountability
20%
40%
55%
80%
95%
Health and Lifestyle Behaviors

Health Behavior: Activities taken by people
who believe themselves to be healthy and that
are designed to maintain health; a subclass of
lifestyle behaviors
 Examples: limiting sugar and salt in your diet,
avoiding smoking cigarettes, exercising
 Before you can change health-related
behaviors, you must identify behaviors that
need to be changed (Lab Assessment 13.1)
 Lifestyle Behavior: All of the activities in which
people engage
 Examples: daily chores, going to school or
work, meeting new people, listening intently
to a lecture (Lab Assessment 13.2)
Types of Conditioning
 Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
 Stimulus produces physiological reflex
 Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)
 Reward / punishment
 Modeling
 Concept of imitation
Barriers to Changing Behavior--- reasons
given as preventing one from engaging in
certain activities
 Cost
 Fatigue
 Embarrassment
 Not available
 Family responsibilities
 Other people
 Inconvenience
 Pain/discomfort
 Lack of family support
 Time
 Lack of proper
 Transportation
facilities/equipment
 Weather
 Work responsibilities
 Lab Assessment 13.3
Methods for Decreasing
Stressful Behaviors
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Self-monitoring: Observing and recording
behavior
Tailoring: Making changes specific to the life of
the individual
Material reinforcement: Rewarding a behavior
with a tangible object
Social reinforcement: Rewarding a behavior with
social approval
Social support: Emotional or informational
support from a friend
Methods for Decreasing
Stressful Behaviors (cont.)
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Self-contracting: Making a contract with oneself
to change behavior
Contracting with a significant other, a person
who is important to you
Shaping: Changing behavior a little at a time
Reminders: Receiving messages to promote
behavior change
Self-help groups
Professional help
Application of Behavior-Change
Techniques
 Example: Exercise
– Identify desired behavior
– Identify barriers
– Self-monitor behavior
– Write a self-contract or contract with a significant other
– Tailor the program
– Include material or social reinforcement
– Shaping: start with an easy program
– Use reminders
– Consider using self-help groups or professional help
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reserved.
Behavior Change Theories and
Stress
 Stages of Change Theory
 Precontemplation- unaware of the problem or need to
change
 Contemplation- thinking about change, but no action
taken yet.
 Decision/determination- start planning
change/action.
 Action- implementing management program.
 Maintenance- continuing the changed behavior over
time.
Behavior Change Theories and
Stress (cont.)
 Self-Efficacy Theory
 Confidence in ability to carry out the change is predictor
of success
 Four ways to increase confidence:
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Performance attainment- nothing succeeds like success.
Vicarious experience- influenced by observing others.
Verbal persuasion- “you can do it”
Physiological state- receive information from our level of
stress.
Behavior Change Theories and
Stress (cont.)
 Theory of Reasoned Action
 Behaviors are a result of attitudes, norms, and
intentions. Intent has been shown as the best predictor
of the behavior actually being performed.
 Theory of Planned Behavior
 Adds the variable of amount of perceived control
Goal-Setting Theory
 Moderately difficult goal is best
 Establish proximal and distal goals
 People with higher self-efficacy set higher goals
 Self-efficacy and importance assigned to goal are
predictors of success
 Core properties include specificity and difficulty of goal,
anticipated benefits, and feedback
Effective Goal Setting
 Be specific about the goal and how
difficult it is to achieve.
 What are the anticipated effects of
achieving the goal?
 Feedback regarding the goal.