A behavior to change: Controlling personal temper and anger
The Target behavior
Controlling my levels of frustration is a target behavior that I wish to change. I rarely
have the patience of Jove; most of the time I am hotheaded and quick to anger. When faced with
frustrating or difficulty situations, I tend to act thoughtless and lose control when dealing with
my temper. In addition, I am a person of high temper. I found it difficult interacting with people
especially those from different backgrounds. The same problem is observed when holding a
discussion or an argument with my peers. I always get irritated with negative comments, ideas,
views, and opinions until I find myself acting unethical. As a result, the act of getting angry
easily has significantly ruined my social life. In recent time, I have seen several individuals
avoiding me whenever we are having a discussion. I am therefore looking forward to alter the
behavior so that I can be able to control and show respect to other people whenever we are
having any form of interaction.
The Dimensions of measurement and their functions
In an attempt to reduce my frustration levels, I will apply three primary baseline
measurements: repeatability, temporal locus, and temporal extent. Repeatability would be measured basing on the rate or frequency, count, and celeration of the behavior (John, 2014).
Count is the total number of responses emitted during an observation period. In this case, I will
record the number of times I get frustrated and angered on a daily basis. Rate or frequency is a
ratio of count per observation period often expressed as counter per standard unit of time.
Though the standard unit f time is secondly, I will express the level of frustrations per hour for
easier analysis. Celeration is a measure of the change in rate of responding per unit time. With the different methods in place to change the behavior, I will evaluate myself on the daily basis to
determine the steps taken to reduce temper. The repeatability baseline will serve the function of
determine on average the number of time I get frustrated on a daily and hourly basis. Besides
that, it will help me determine the frequency hence enabling me to identify best ways to change
the behavior.
Temporal extent will be measured by duration which the amount of time in which
behavior occurs (John, 2014). Since temporal extend measures the duration, it’s essential
function will be to measure the amount of time in minutes I remain frustrated whenever I am
faced with a difficult situations. Finally, temporal locus will be based on the inter-response time
and response latency. Inter-response time is the time which elapses between two consecutive
instances of a response class while response latency is a measure of the time that passes between
the onset of a stimulus and the initiation of a subsequent response (Umbreit, 2007). Temporal
locus will serve the purpose of determining how fast or the rate at which am reducing my temper
by determining the response time to the behavior.
The goals of the behavior change
One of the main objectives of reducing my frustrations and temper is to lead a healthy
social life. I have had a lot of difficulty maintaining long lasting friendships and relationships
because of frustrations. The second objective is to improve to foster team spirit and group work.
I hardly conduct a successful group because I always get frustrated on the way whenever I feel
like some members are not cooperative or are not doings things in accordance to my will. The
third objective is to be able to appreciate and show respect to other people’s opinions, ideas, and
proposal even if they are against my wish. Finally, I have a goal of ensuring that I remain calm, maintain silence, and listen to other individual when having an argument that attracts conflict of
ideas or opinions.
A behavior intervention plan based on goals
The plan will focus on various techniques. I will use Focus groups and personal
interviews or interactions to observe and acquire baseline data in accordance with the baseline
measurement such as the amount of time I am frustrated in a day. I will also evaluate myself on
the dynamics of different situations, frequency counts of the temper and frustrations. Highly
structured observations consisting of checklist would be utilized (Sounders, 2014). Such
checklist would include the incidences that I have been unable to control my anger or
temperament frequency over s specific period of time.
The checklist would provide both quantitative like frequency counts, mean length of
interaction with different groups as well as qualitative data such as narrative or personal
description of my level of anger. With focus groups, I will hold group interviews with people that
have something in common and gather information about combines perspectives and opinions on
the frustrations levels and ways of controlling or managing it. On the same topic, I will organize
group discussions on controversial topics and evaluate my personal performance and reactions.
The propose will continue for a while to ensure that I am in a position to keep calm in a heated
debate as well as avoid confrontations with people I have disagreed with in one or another.
Basing on the data and information gathered I would be able to alter the way I react to different
situations. Consequence modifications
The consequence modification will be based on the positive reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment. Under negative, the consequence
will be modified by avoiding controversial debates or taking part in the more frustrating
activities. The move will ensure that I stay calm for a long period of time due to lack of activities
that can increase my temper. The second consequence will be handling the most challenging
tasks on a daily basis. This would be a form of positive punishment so that I can get used to
frustrating activities (Marcus & Vollmer, 1996). The effect will be accompanied by attending
various social functions and taking part conflicting debates. Being locked out of social activities
especially in school activities would be a third consequence. This will come in case I fail to show
positive improvement after a certain period of time. The modification will reflect a negative
punishment where I will be denied some freedom. The final consequence modification will be
rewarding and appraisal which be determined by my counselors, and moderators in some of the
social interactions (Marcus & Vollmer, 1996). They will be responsible for determining whether I
have improved or not. Basing on the assessment, they will decide either to reward me or punish
the outcomes.
Potential barriers to treatment and how to overcome them
Time is one potential barrier to changing the behavior. According to my plan, I need a lot
of time to take part in group works, debate and conduct personal interviews with some experts.
My current daily schedule is very tight as I have to attend classes and go to work. I rarely have
free time to attend to some of my personal needs. I will overcome this barrier, by dedicating
weekends to have some group discussions. The second barrier is lack of control in the course of trying to modify my behavior (John, 2014). In order to effectively alter my behavior as further as
frustrations are concerned, I need to have someone to control my feelings, moods, and reactions
whenever I am interacting or taking part in a controversial debate. For this barrier, I will try to
develop self discipline skills so that I can effectively control myself during a discussion.
However, on few occasions, we shall have a moderator in some debates or discussions to ensure
that I do not cross the boundaries. Another challenge would how to effectively adopt the learned
skills on how to conduct myself would be another challenge (Umbreit, 2007). Implementation
process is always a problem whenever it comes to implementing and putting in practice new
ideas or projects. I will solve this problem by seeking interventions and advices from
professional counselors and frequently taking part in social activities where my focus will be
meeting new people and maintain a concrete relationship.
The expected outcome
Healthy social life with increased social interactions, strengthened and long lasting
friendships and relationships with my peers and individuals in the society, and being able to keep
calm whenever I am confronted are some of the expected outcomes. Social researches and
studies have it that most relationships are ruined because the participants fail to understand each
other or are easily frustrated by other people actions. Therefore, being able to control and
manage my temper, I am sure I will lead a healthy social life and be able to effectively interact
with people in the community to find viable solutions to the current problems and challenges.
Furthermore, I will learn how to respect and appreciate other people opinions, ideas, as well as
their cultural backgrounds and practices. References
John O. Cooper, Timothy E. Heron, & Heward, W. L. (2014). Applied behavior analysis.
Pearson educational international.
Marcus, B. A., & Vollmer, T. R. (1996). Combining noncontingent reinforcement and
differential reinforcement schedules as treatment for aberrant behavior. Journal of
Applied Behavior Analysis, 29(1), 43-51.
Saunders E. G (2014) the Key to Lasting Behavioral Change: Think Goal, Not Tactic. Harvard
business Review. Available at https://hbr.org/2014/04/the-key-to-lasting-behavioralchange-think-goal-not-tactic
Umbreit, Ferro, Liaupsin, and Lane (2007) Functional Behavior Assessment and Function: Based
Intervention: An Effective, Practical Approach.

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