Modification of Behavior (Essay Sample)

The behavior that I focused on modifying was nail-biting. I started biting my nails at the age of three years, and I have never been treated for nail-biting. I began experiencing worry, tension, and increased nervousness when I first enrolled at college for my Psychology classes. At the time of this intervention, my condition had significantly worsened. I embarked on a one-week behavior modification project using operant conditioning to save my future. I would eat Ahoy chocolate chip, my favorite cookie, during the days when my mean frequency of nail-biting reduced by three times or more. However, I would eat gingerbread cookies, my worst cookie, during the days when the mean frequency of nail-biting failed to reduce by three times.
Methods and Procedures
I was a participant in this behavior modification project. This project used a single subject, ABAB design, with nail-biting being the target behavior to be treated. A nail-biting episode was defined as any contact between my nails and teeth for at least a second. Nail-biting frequency was measured in self-monitoring data and a cohabitant's data. During the baseline phase, I embarked on my daily studies from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Then my cohabitant and I monitored and recorded the frequency of nail-biting using data collection notepads. When I realized that I was biting my nails, in addition to recording the frequency of the nail-biting, I began chewing gum at the start of the observation period. Chewing gum helped to prevent undesirable nail-biting behavior while minimizing tension and anxiety. My cohabitant used a cellphone camera to take my nails' pictures at the start and end of the project as evidence of progress in terms of growth and shape.
Results
The results of this behavior modification project were summarized in Table 1 and Figures 1 and 2 in the appendices. This behavior modification program was initiated under a fixed-interval schedule, where data collection and recording were done every day from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. My nail-biting habit reduced significantly on Tuesday (3.5), Wednesday (4.5), Thursday (6.0), Saturday (7.0), and Sunday (6.0), during which I ate Ahoy chocolate chip. Since there was no significant improvement on Friday (0.5), I ate gingerbread cookies. There was no significant difference between the participant's data and the cohabitant's data. Figure 2 showed a substantial improvement in the nail's conditions compared to Figure 1.