Define self-control and describe the techniques of self-control, giving one example for each
What will be an ideal response?
ANS: Students' answers will vary.
Self-control is defined as the ability to exert control over the variables that determine our behavior.
According to Skinner, behavior is controlled and modified by variables that are external to the organism. Although these external stimuli and reinforcers are responsible for shaping and controlling behavior, we do have the ability to use what Skinner called self-control, which he described as acting to alter the impact of external events. Skinner did not mean acting under the control of some mysterious "self."
He suggested that to some extent we can control the external variables that determine our behavior through four self-control techniques:
- Stimulus avoidance
- Self-administered satiation
- Aversive stimulation
- Self-reinforcement
Stimulus avoidance: In stimulus avoidance, for example, if your roommate is too noisy and interferes with your studying for an exam in the morning, you could leave the room and go to the library, removing yourself from an external variable that is affecting your behavior. By avoiding a person or situation that makes you angry, you reduce the control that person or situation has over your behavior.
Self-administered satiation: Through the technique of self-administered satiation, we exert control to cure ourselves of some bad habit by overdoing the behavior. Smokers who want to quit can chain-smoke for a period of time, inhaling until they become so disgusted, uncomfortable, or sick that they quit. This technique has been successful in formal therapeutic programs designed to eliminate smoking.
Aversive stimulation: The aversive stimulation technique of self-control involves unpleasant or repugnant consequences. Obese people who want to lose weight declare their intention to their friends in person or to a larger audience through Facebook or other social networking sites. If they do not keep their resolution, they face the unpleasant consequences of personal failure, embarrassment, and criticism.
Self-reinforcement: In self-reinforcement, we reward ourselves for displaying good or desirable behaviors. A teenager who agrees to strive for a certain grade point average or to take care of a younger brother or sister might reward himself or herself by buying concert tickets or new clothes. To Skinner, then, the crucial point is that external variables shape and control behavior. But sometimes, through our own actions, we can modify the effects of these external forces.
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