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Self Change Program (Behaviour modification) Essay

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Behaviour Modification
A Self-Control Program for Smoking Cessation
Christine Chambers
Trent University

Introduction
The behaviour modified for this self-directed behaviour change project is smoking. Smoking was selected as the behaviour I wish to change because it is known that tobacco use is the leading cause of premature, preventable death and disease (Edwards, Bondy, Callaghan, & Mann, 2014). Smoking is a behaviour that has been recently initiated; I started smoking occasionally in August 2013 (one cigarette a few times a week) and intended to buy only the one pack. However over a period of several months, my smoking has increased. The rationale for this choosing this target behaviour is that it is still a relatively …show more content…

Self-Directed Intervention Method
The initial phase of the self-directed intervention consisted of baseline measurement of smoking behaviour. Baseline data was collected for a period of 7 weeks and a functional assessment was completed during this time. Upon starting the intervention phase, the final target behaviour of smoking cessation was broken down into smaller, short-term objectives lasting 2 weeks each.
Functional assessment revealed that smoking behaviour was often preceded by a busy or stressful environment (antecedent) and that mood and/or anxiety levels functioned as establishing operations for smoking behaviour (smoking was often preceded by higher anxiety rating or lower mood rating). As well, the functional assessment revealed that smoking behaviour was maintained by positive sensory stimulation (the experience of a slight “buzz” when smoking) and by temporary escape/distraction from a demanding environment. Based on assessment results, the intervention phase consisted of a reinforcement schedule that provided rewards for changing criterion levels for smoking behaviour. The initial criterion was determined by calculating the mean number of cigarettes smoked per day during the baseline period. Each criterion level (or short term objective) lasted for a two week period before changing the criterion level again. The timeline for baseline, intervention, maintenance phases are outlined in table 1. The initial intervention selected was a

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