Question

Michael met his final daily behavioral goal during the last week of the project. He wants this change in behavior to last long-term. What would be best for him to do to maintain his change?

O Michael should continue implementing his plan and add a punishment program to it to make sure that he keeps himself honest and motivated to engage in the behavior.
O Michael should stop implementing his plan because he met his goal and is now motivated to keep engaging in the behavior.
O Michael should continue implementing his plan for as long as it is working. There is no need to change it because he met his goal and will continue to do so.
O Michael should continue implementing his plan until he has consistently met his final daily goal and then slowly increase the requirement for reinforcement. This way he will gradually remove his reinforcement plan until he is still engaging in the behavior consistently but no longer providing himself with reinforcement daily.

Answer 1

Michael should persist with his behavioral plan until he consistently achieves his goals, and then gradually modify the reinforcement to make the behavior self-sustaining.

Step-by-step explanation:

Maintaining long-term behavioral change requires consistent application of a successful plan and sometimes:

Gradual weaning off external reinforcement. To best ensure that the change in behavior lasts, Michael should continue implementing his plan until he has consistently met his final daily goal and then slowly adjust the reinforcement strategy. This approach allows behaviors to become internalized as habits, reducing the reliance on external rewards.

It is important to note that if Michael abruptly stops his plan upon meeting his goal, he risks reverting to old behaviors, as operant conditioning indicates that behavior is more likely to be maintained when reinforced. Furthermore, adding a punishment program could create aversion and is not as effective for long-term behavior maintenance as positive reinforcement. Instead, Michael should take a gradual approach and perhaps transition to a variable interval reinforcement schedule, which could make the behavior more resistant to extinction similar to the effects seen with variable-ratio schedules in gambling.