Checking twitter has become a terrible habit of mine. I am never able to get homework done while using an electronic device with Internet access. I always end up spending hours on twitter instead of doing the homework. The reason I habitually check twitter whenever I use technology is due to a lack of punishment. I do not have a consequence for myself when I do not get work done nor do I have a consequence for getting distracted by twitter. Furthermore, this behavior may also have been continued as a result of the rewards. For example, by checking twitter, I am turning my mind away from the stress of homework and other academics. Checking twitter often is a voluntary behavior that can be adjusted with operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is the process in which a behavior is conditioned due to a following response of a punishment or reinforcement (Kalat, 2014). A punishment is a response that decreases the likelihood of the prior behavior while a reinforcement is a response that increases the likelihood of the prior behavior (Kalat, 2014). I picked this kind of conditioning because it is something I can control. .
Method.
To start changing this behavior, I am going to have to collect baseline data. I plan to do this over the course of three days in which I count every time I go on twitter on my phone. After I collect this data, I will use operant conditioning for the next three days to change my behavior of checking twitter too often. I plan to do this by utilizing a negative punishment. A negative punishment is a removal of a pleasurable stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a prior behavior (Kalat, 2014). I will count how many times I check twitter per day, observing if it decreases or increases. The negative punishment will be that whenever I check twitter, I will take away all electronic devices for five minutes. After these three days, I will spend the next three days without the negative punishment to observe how operant conditioning has shaped how many times I check twitter.
