Stop Hair Twirling : a Behavior Modification Approach

I am type 4 natural with a mix of unyielding coils, curls and kinks, but that’s not the important part. At least not in my eyes. The important part is that my hair is thick and full. Unless my hair is stretched, it’s impossible for me to get it into a relatively smooth ponytail because I can’t get it all to fit in my hands. I love that. My thick coarse hair means hours doing any protective style, but it also means I can go many weeks, at least three or four before my hair ever gets greasy or disgusting and I need to wash it.

Behavior Modification, a psychological theory of human behavior. It evolved from the application of experimentally derived principles of learning to the modification of problem behaviors. The theory is based on a psychological model of human behavior that rejects the psychoanalytic or quasi-disease model of mental illness. Approaches to behavior modification assume that abnormal behavior is acquired and maintained in the same manner as normal behavior and can be changed directly through the application of social-learning principles. Assessment procedures focus on describing how an individual behaves, thinks, and feels in specific situations. Treatment methods are derived from the theories and findings of

If you haven’t mastered the art of a French braid or a messy fish tail braid, you

We keep doing this process until we reach no more chunks of hair to grab!!

Keep my hair pulled back in a ponytail/braid so it is not in my face.

According to the NY Post, people who chew and swallow their hair re often diagnosed with Rapunzel syndrome, which is linked to the condition trichophagia, which the Mayo Clinic describes as the hair-pulling disorder.

329). Often, this provides a gratifying or pleasurable feeling to individuals afflicted with this disorder. For some, this behavior can assuage boredom or even tension and most often occurs when the individual is alone (Rapp et al., 1999). It can be defined as specifically as “touching the fingers to the scalp, eyebrow, or eyelashes” (Rapp, Miltenberger, Long, Elliott, & and Lumley, 1998, p. 299). In the four studies I examined, there were multiple reasons and occasions in which hair pulling took place. In total, the studies examined 8 different participants. The oldest was 35 years of age and the youngest was two. The participants also exemplified a wide range of abilities. Three participants in particular, Dylan, Dexter, and Kris all suffered from profound intellectual disabilities (ID) as well as other physical abnormalities (Borrero, Vollmer, Wright, Lerman, & Kelley, 2002 and Rapp et al., 1998). Others, like Andy,

hair in a curved motion close to the fingers and towards the fringe, repeating the same process on

I pull my hair on the right side of my head by my bangs, that is why they are so short. I use tweezers that I keep by my bed in my room, I also go in front of a mirror to pull. It usually takes up to forty minutes. When I pull my hair it is due to stress because of my anxiety and OCD. It feels like I have an infected hair so I start itching where it is on my head because it is itchy, then I start pulling. My mind thinks my scalp is is itchy even though it is not and it feels like it is. I was born with this disorder, my parents say when I was three or four I was completely bald on the right side of my head. When I interviewed my dad this is what he told me” Your mom would read about Trichotillomania to understand it better. The books advised tying socks to your hands and putting a hat on your head while you slept”, ( Walkup, Shane. 11, Dec 2015). I usually pull my hair before I go to bed, while I’m watching T.V, or when I’m bored. I have tried stopping by telling myself “ Just go one day without pulling. You can do it”. I never do because of my anxiety. I’ve also tried to clean my room or workout to keep pulling out of my mind. Sometimes I don’t even notice until I start thinking about it and realize what I am doing, so I sit on my hands to try not to pull my hair. It is hard some days and easier the next, but I still try to stop

One of the terms that stood out to me was enculturation or the process of connecting back to your culture of origin. It captured my attention because I have found that over the past few years, I have begun to embrace aspects of my culture that I did not in the past. For example, within the African American community there has been a “natural hair movement” amongst women, this means that I, along with many others, have decided to no longer straighten my hair with chemicals. Although, some may see this as not a huge issue, it is the exact opposite. There have been many girls and women who have been ridiculed because of the texture of their hair and I know from personal experience the impact this treatment can have on the self-esteem of young

It was a more difficult task than I expected. I had to think of something I would reward myself with if I could go an entire day without saying any bad words, and if I did, I would need a punishment for my behavior. My target behavior is cursing, and my goal was to stop. The operant conditioning suggests that the only way to remove a behavior is through punishment; so the only way to get me to stop using curse words is to punish myself for using them in the first place. For this situation, I need to use negative punishment, which is taking away something, in order to get myself to stop using bad words. Getting a coffee from Starbucks is kind of an everyday thing for me. I used getting Starbucks as my incentive to stop cursing. If I was to use more than two curse words on purpose in one day, then I could not get Starbucks. I usually get my coffee early in the day so if I were to cuss before I got my coffee, I could not get it that day, but if I was to slip up after I got my coffee, I could not get it the next day. I used this as my punishment because getting my Starbucks is a regular thing for me and if I were to cuss, I could not be reinforced with getting my drink. This turned out to be a good method to help break this behavior. I was able to redirect my language when I was in a situation that I would usually use a bad word; instead of using a curse word, I would replace it with a different word. For example, when I was watching Game of Thrones there was a very intense scene that made me very anxious; instead of saying the curse word I would normally use, I said the word “fairy.” I was able to get creative with alternative words that I used to replace the curse words. This new way of thinking proved to be a successful way to stop using curse words. I was surprised that my method of just saying a different word actually worked. Some of the time it was funny

Because hair is a cultural mark of beauty, pullers will be concerned about social acceptance, said Keuthen. On the other hand, “pulling hair manages the anxiety they’re feeling.”

Before I start, however, I grab my iPad mini and play my playlist from Spotify. Once I find my favorite song, I get to work. I throw my hair up in a high bun, not caring about how it looks. I just hate when my hair get’s in the way.

From a very early age, children begin to learn about the association between behaviors and consequences. They realize that there is always going to be a consequence whether it’d be positive or negative, that would follow the behavior. Sometimes children behave very well and most of the time, children tend to give parents and others around them a hard time. When it comes to behavior modification, some basic steps include identifying the behavior, setting expectations, monitoring progress, and reinforcing correct behaviors. Positive reinforcement has a lot of effect on children when it comes to modifying a targeted behavior. A reinforcer,

I walked around my dressing room patiently waiting for my stylists to come and dress me bitting my nails as I walk.Its a nervous habit of mine I need to brake.especially considering half the time there extremely dirty from them always being in dirt.