PSYC 305 1ST Edition Exam 1 Study Guide SELF DIRECTED BEHAVIOR CHAPTERS 1 2 PEARSON CUSTOM LIBRARY CHAPTER 1 Self regulation o Implies the ability to control ourselves exert control over our own acts and inner processes o Occurs in short and long time spans Self direct o The ability to self direct thoughts feelings impulses and behaviors The capacity to self control to direct our own self modification Allows you to modify behavior to gain desirable outcomes Strength Model of Self Control o Similar to a muscle Using it too much will cause it to be fatigued Self Control Fatigue o When temptation is resisted for long periods of time and eventually becomes weak Brute will power self control o Success gained by a deliberate effortful exercise of willpower o If used to much it will become weak Implications of thinking of self regulation as a skill o The idea of skill implies skill in a specific domain o Implies that one can perform some action in spite of the fact that the task varies Elements of a skill o Knowledge o Practice What tactic should you use when your goal is to eliminate some undesirable behavior o Make a list of concrete examples of what you want to change o List the details of the problem o Observe your behavior o Specify the behavior and situation that you want to change o Begin to increase the desired behavior What tactics should you use if you are not sure what to do o Specify the chain of events that will lead to the goal o Observe ppl who are successful in doing what you re trying to accomplish Even if your goal is not a behavior change explain how you can reach it by changing behaviors o Modify and continue to practice desired change Why might you expect your targets to change as you continue in your self change project o Those who are successful at self change may go through successive approximations which in turn can change target behaviors What is self talk o The internal dialogue that represents non vocal thinking stream of consciousness What are self efficacy beliefs How do they affect what we do o Your personal estimation of your skill in handling some task Self efficacy belief can influence whether you start a plan for change or not and whether you continue or not Why should you expect mistakes o Unforeseen things come up nothing is for certain you might have relapses in unwanted behaviors Why practice o Skills are learned through knowledge and practice Practice makes perfect in order to get rid of the unwanted behaviors its essential to practice through them What does it mean to take a skills development attitude about your target for change o Each time you try and perform old behaviors ask yourself What does my success or mistake so me I have learned How is my skill level What need more practice What is the best plan to avoid self control fatigue o Have a plan that minimize the need for brute self control o Have a plan to deal with temptation What is brute self control o Explain the idea of conflict between what we want and what we should do o Temptation sometimes reveals a conflict of what we want and what should be done Why does it help to admit you have a conflict o It helps to admit you have a problem so that you can then decide if the behavior you want to stop something you want to do What will you lose and what will you gain by changing o Changing can lead to new situations youre not prepared for o Encourages you to be realistic o Allows you to plan ahead What stages might you go through in thinking about and actually changing o Precontemplation o Contemplation o Preparation o Action o Maintenance How do short term and long term goals each contribute to your plan o With long term and short term goals you wont try to change What are the advantages of sub goals o They are reachable What characteristics should sub goals have o Specific o Attainable o Challenging o Flexible Why should you tie your important values to your target for change o Ppl tend to work for goals when they fit with general life goals Use several techniques for change Change behavior gradually Don t expect to reach your goal all at once Recommendations for Success Give yourself extra practice rewards and instructions to increase the chances that you will be able to change Use the techniques long enough to have an effect