FOR PHYLLIS YOUNG ONLY

Exercise as a Behavioral Modification

Treatment Phase Report

Susie Sample

Liberty University

Disclaimer: This sample treatment phase report was created by a residential student according to the timeframe of a 16 week semester. Your Liberty University Online 8-week course requires you to adjust the length of the baseline/treatment phases to fit within this term.

Treatment

The method of treatment used for the behavioral deficit of exercise in the participant was a token economy. The participant was given a chart that recorded points that were received in exchange for behaviors. These points could be later exchanged for positive reinforcers. This token economy consisted of positive target behaviors in which the participant engaged to receive a point on the participant’s chart, and negative target behaviors that removed points from the chart.

Positive target behaviors included behaviors that helped the participant to engage in physical activity and make healthier daily choices. These positive behaviors included waking up before 8 a.m., eating three meals a day, walking to and from academic buildings, using the stairs instead of an elevator, going to the gym, and engaging in purposeful physical activity that resulted in perspiration and raised heart rate.

Negative target behaviors included behaviors in which the participant was not engaged. Negative behaviors contradicted positive behaviors, and, therefore resulted in the loss of points. These behaviors included taking the bus instead of walking, using the elevator, staying up after midnight, making negative body comments, and complaining about working out. Negative body comments and complaining were considered negative target behaviors that needed to be avoided because they are correlated with lower self-esteem and may hinder performance.

Once points were tallied on the chart they became available for the participant to use to purchase backup reinforcers. Backup reinforcers were desirable activities to the participant that were removed from the participant at the beginning of the treatment phase.

Treatment period

The first treatment phase started immediately after the first baseline phase ended. The first treatment began on February 27, 2012, and ended on March 2, 2012. This treatment phase was initially established to last 14 days, but due to the participant’s uncooperativeness with the treatment, the first phase ended after 5 days. The treatment was modified to fit the participant’s schedule. After a two week disruption, due to the participant’s spring break, the second treatment phase was introduced. The second treatment phase resumed on March 19, 2012, and concluded on March 30, 2012.

Schedules of treatment

The schedule of treatment was continuous for both treatment phases. When the participant engaged in a positive target behavior, a point was immediately added to the chart, and when a negative target behavior occurred, a point was immediately deducted. All points were tallied at the end of each night and recorded on a chart in the participant’s dorm room. The participant’s roommate and one friend had access to the chart and were able to account for all points that were tallied.

Positive reinforcers in exchange for points from the chart were delivered on a fixed interval schedule. The participant was only able to exchange points for desirable activities once every night, and was held accountable by the participant’s roommate. Positive desirable activities included the following: 30 minutes of social networking on the internet, attending a movie at a movie theatre, watching one television show, or watching a movie. Negative reinforcement, however, was continuous and was implemented immediately as the points were deducted from the chart.

Summary

Treatment was divided into two phases. The first phase was productive in increasing the amount of time the participant engaged in physical activity; however, after four days the participant was unable to generate enough points to exchange for backup reinforcers. The positive target behaviors were unrealistic to the participant’s availability to complete them, which hindered the participant from succeeding to reach the maximum points available for each day and increased the participant’s stress.

The second phase of the treatment incorporated a workout plan that allowed the participant to complete her exercises inside the dormitory instead of going to the gym. This workout plan, entitled “Something has GOT to Change,” was created by a friend of the participant and focused on specific activities that the participant was able to perform. “Something has GOT to Change” (SHGTC) required another person to help the participant complete it, which allowed for friend support when engaging in physical activity.

The treatment phases were productive and increased the amount of time the participant spent engaging in purposeful, physical activity. However as treatment progressed, the amount of time the participant engaged in physical activity at the LaHaye Student Union Gym decreased.

The participant’s engagement in physical activity increased, but was inconsistent. The behavioral deficit of exercise remained a deficit, but to a lesser degree.

Because the behavioral deficit decreased, the results of the experiment were positive, however, further modification may need to take place to reach the participant’s goal of incorporating physical exercise into a daily activity. A token economy worked well but was not the best fit for the participant and this particular behavioral modification. The token economy allowed for the participant to be informed of the behavioral expectations and aware of all points added and lost, but the participant’s lack of free time to engage in positive target behaviors greatly hindered the experiment. The way to increase the deficit of exercise may be to first increase the behavioral deficit of time management. Figure 2 exemplifies the frequency of the behavior of exercise and how long the behavior lasted during each baseline and treatment phase.

Figure 2. A line graph showing the frequency and duration of the participant’s engagement in physical exercise during baseline and treatment phases.

The following two charts are the target behaviors for each treatment phase and the amount of points they were worth.

The following chart was used to record points the participant gained each day.