Positive Reinforcement

Brittney Tutton Southwestern Illinois College Abstract This study is based on the effect of positive reinforcement on exercising more regularly. I wanted to try and exercise at least 30min – 1 hr everyday within one weeks period of time. In trying to do so I used positive reinforcement to increase to time I used to exercise more each day. I studied myself for this case and I am a 21 year old female who attends Southwestern Illinois College. Over a seven day baseline period I noted that I never exercised at all, unless you count the time token to walk to y car and or from one class to the next.

Over the seven day treatment period I exercised more being that I couldn’t watch TV unless I completed at least 30mins of exercise. So if I wanted to watch an hour of TV I had to exercise at least 30mins and this was very successful for me. The use of positive reinforcement in this study was easiest for me and worked to help me exercise more. In the future when applying behavior modification to help me exercise more I may try something different to help me increase the timed used to exercise daily.

Instead of using a privilege as a reward I can switch it up and use something I really want, such as a new pair of shoes as a positive reinforcement to continue to get me to exercise more regularly each day. Keywords: positive reinforcement, baseline period, treatment period, behavior modification For my behavior modification project, I wanted to increase how much I exercised. My goal was to exercise at least 5 days a week for at least 30mins a day. The reason I chose exercising for this project is because I believe it’s something I needed to do ore of to stay healthy and fit.

The reasons I think I have trouble exercising regularly is 1) I am so busy with school and school work, I made myself believe I didn’t have time to. 2) I procrastinate a lot and would always put it off for later and end up never doing it at all. I plan on using positive reinforcement to increase how much I exercise daily. My short term goal is to exercise at least 5days a week for at least 30mins long. My long term goal is to increase the time spent exercising each day from 30mins to 1 hour long and to start eating healthier as well. Methods

My operational definition for my target behavior is exercising more, to exercise at least 30mins a day. Positive Reinforcement will be my treatment. Whenever I want to watch television I have to complete 30mins of exercise. I will use positive reinforcement by rewarding myself 1 hr of television if I exercise for 30mins. Procedurel For 2weeks I collected data for this study. For 7 days I collected data before I used behavior modification to change my non exercising habit. For another 7 days I collected data in the treatment phase where I started using positive reinforcement henever I exercised.

Baseline phase. During the 7 day baseline phase I recorded how much I did or didn’t exercise each day. I did not reward myself for exercising and I didn’t punish myselt tor not exercising at all. I wrote down and kept track in my notebook how much I did or didn’t exercise each day. Treatment phase. During the 7 day treatment phase, I rewarded myself 1 hour of television if I exercised for at least 30mins. Results During the baseline phase I spent zero minutes exercising a day. I did not exercise at all. During the treatment phase I exercised an average of 45min a day.

I met my goal of exercising more regularly at a minimum of at least 30mins a day. Summary During the treatment phase of this study I met my goal of exercising more every day for a minimum of 30mins by using positive reinforcement. I plan on continuing this and using positive reinforcement to help me exercise more each day and increase my time spent exercising. I also would like to try to start eating healthier to lose weight and I will use positive reinforcement to do so. I am going to try new rein forcers for exercising more and eating healthy, such as a pair of new shoes when I reach my oal.