With the case of developing a fixed mindset, over time you may have learned to associate a certain stimulus that you’ve been conditioned to with a conditioned response. For example, perhaps you’ve always been around negative, unsupportive people and their opinions have led you to turn your back on certain opportunities out of fear of being negatively judged. Later in life you may be in the company of uplifting and positive people, but you may perceive their good-hearted feedback as being judged this may create the same fear in you causing you to back down on potential success. What if you learn to reduce your fear of potential judgements and teach yourself to cope with unwanted situations and move ahead?

ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY

ACT was developed by Steven C. Hayes in 1982. It helps people unlearn limiting behaviours by acknowledging them and embracing their thoughts and feelings. It incorporates mindfulness along with behaviour change strategies to get one to commit to actions that will enrich their life.*

The ACT framework consists of six core processes:

1. Acceptance – allow the negative conditioned behaviour.
2. Cognitive Defusion – view the experience from opposite views.
3. Being Present – awareness of the present without predicting the outcome.
4. Self as Context – self outside of the experience.
5. Values – establishing core beliefs.
6. Committed Action – committing to action and positive behaviour changes consistent with values.

ACT is a third wave therapy which prioritizes health promotion from a holistic approach of behavioural and psychological processes and eliminate limiting behaviours by diminishing classical and negative operate conditioning.

OPERANT CONDITIONING FOR SUCCESSFUL HABITS

B.F. Skinner was a behavioural psychologist and he developed the theory of operant conditioning – it’s the idea that behaviour is determined by its consequences; whether it be by reinforcements or punishments that will either reduce or increase a certain behaviour.

Operant conditioning is the result of behaviours you exhibit that are under conscious control – this can be applied to the way you learn and unlearn certain habits and behaviours. There are two components of this type of conditioning: reinforcement and punishment:

1. Reinforcement is any event that either strengthens or increases a behaviour. There are two kinds of reinforcers:
   
   a. Positive reinforcers – favourable outcomes after the behaviour occurs. Such as keeping up with your fitness routine for a week and then rewarding yourself with a treat meal.
   
   b. Negative reinforcers – the removal of unfavourable events after the behaviour occurs. You may have done a good job on a project at work and your boss doesn’t micromanage you as much.
   
2. Punishment is an event that causes a decrease in a certain behaviour. There are two kinds of punishments: 
   
   a. Positive punishment – the outcome that weakens a certain behaviour following an event. Maybe your fitness coach may add one mile run to every workout because you haven’t been committed to your program.
   
   b. Negative reinforcers – a favourable outcome or event is removed after a behaviour occurs. If you don’t follow deadlines, your boss may remove the mini basketball net in the office.

STRENGTHEN YOUR POSITIVE BEHAVIOURS

As you know, setting small goals motivates individuals to take action. Consider incorporating operant conditioning reinforcers into your action plan to better establish success habits as you work towards fulfilling your goals.

Downloadable PDF

The post Behavioral Psychology Techniques for Success: Conditioning and Reinforcement Strategies appeared first on Sherina Chandra.

B.F. SKINNER AND OPERANT LEARNING Skinner was an American behavioural psychologist. He was interested in learning more about how the consequences of people’s actions influenced their behaviours. This later became known as operant conditioning – a type of learning where rewards and punishments are used to acknowledge certain behaviours. Skinner invented the ‘Skinner box,’ an enclosed apparatus with a key or a lever that an animal could press to obtain food or some type of reinforcement. There was also a device that recorded each response provided by the animal. Over time the animal (a pigeon in this case) learned that by pulling the lever, they would be rewarded with food. Later, Skinner incorporated green and red lights into his experiment. When the lever was pulled as the green light flashed the animal would be rewarded with food. When the lever was pulled when the red light flashed, the animal was punished with an electrical shock. Over time the animal learned to avoid pressing the lever when the light was red. Through this experiment, Skinner learned that specific consequences are associated with voluntary behaviours in natural settings. This meant that rewards increased a behaviour and punishments decreased a behaviour.

REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES

Skinner went on to discover that the timing and frequency of reinforcements influenced how new behaviours were learned and old behaviours were modified. There are four schedules of partial reinforcements that impact the operant conditioning process.

1. Fixed-ratio schedules – Responses are reinforced only after a certain number of responses have occurred, i.e. receiving a gold star after turning in homework for five days in a row.
2. Fixed-interval schedules – Responses occur after a certain amount of time has passed, i.e. cleaning your room every Friday because you know you will receive a present.
3. Variable-ratio schedules – Reinforcing a behaviour after a varied amount of responses. This keeps you motivated, i.e. your teacher rewarding your class with pizza on any given day for consistent positive work habits. (unpredictable). Gambling is another good example.
4. Variable-interval schedules – Providing reinforcement after an unpredictable amount of time has passed, i.e. being given a treat after an unpredictable amount of time has passed between you doing something nice for someone at work/school.

UNDERSTANDING THE REWARD CENTER OF YOUR BRAIN

There are ‘reward circuits’ at the top of your brain stem called the ventral tegmental area (VTA) comprising of the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens it’s where dopamine (a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and rewards) communicates with dopamine producing neurons. The dopamine is later transported to areas of your brain through two dopamine pathways: mesolimbic and mesocortical. In the 1950’s it was recognized that dopamine neurons are activated in your brain when it is exposed to pleasure and rewards. This is why certain actions such as: eating certain types of foods, ingesting certain drugs, sex and gambling give you a ‘feel good’ experience.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS DESIGNED THE WAY IT IS

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter all may be used for different purposes, but they are designed with four things in mind: trigger, action, attention and investment.

• Trigger – a human need for everyone is to belong. In other words, you crave acceptance – well, all do. Social media creates a community where you can easily be recognized.
• Action – you go on social media to share something, or to see what others are doing.
• Attention – you are rewarded with likes, comments and follows, your attention is now captured.
• Investment – the more you spend time and money, the more market research social media outlets acquire. Social media follows a variable-ratio schedule similar to slot machines. You receive likes, follows, comments and DMs at random times and the swipe down feature to refresh acts like the lever to pull on slot machines. Having an AHA moment now?

Downloadable PDF

The post How to Thrive in the Digital Age: Creating Healthy Boundaries with Social Media appeared first on Sherina Chandra.