INTRODUCTION
This report is about making a plan that will eventually elliminate a maladaptive driving behavior.The target behavior that I will choose will depend on how maladaptive and often I execute it.I will first have to observe my naturalistic driving behavior for a period of 5 days and record the negative driving behaviors I have displayed.After analyzing the data I will choose a behavior I will wish to target and eventually extinguish.After establishing which behavior I wish to change I will compose a plan about which I will execute for one week and then evaluate its effectiveness on my driving behavior.
What Is A Driving Persona Modification Plan?
In simple terms it is a process in which you attempt to change a target behavior.Nancee Aki says that it is a three step process that allows an individual to alter his or her behavior while a driver.
Why would you want to change?
The reasons why we should change our negative behaviors as I learned in class is that negative behaviors hurt yourself and the ones you love, so out of love and compasion for yourself and your loved ones you should always strive to change your negative behaviors because it only does good.There are no benefits in continuing negative behaviors however there are many countless benefits one could reap in ridding of negative behaviors.
SELF-OBSERVATIONS
DAY #1
Today I drove from Hawaii-Kai to UH to Ala Moana to Kanehoe and then back to Hawaii-Kai(This is my usual driving route throughout the work week.) I must have driven over seventy miles and spent a great deal of time in traffic today so I have observed a number of negative behaviors today.I will list them from the greatest frequencies to the least.
#1-----Swearing
#2-----Speeding
#3-----Tailgating
#4-----Changing lanes without signaling
#5-----Thinking evil thoughts about drivers
#6-----Threatening drivers who make me mad
#7-----running lights and signs
#8-----cutting people off
#9-----boxing people in
#10----edging out into traffic
These are the behaviors I have displayed today starting from the most occured to the least. I started my first swear word of the day only two blocks from leaving my house, did this because the car in front of me was going slow which to me at that time was "The speed limit" so out of frustration I swore, then swore at him then tailgated him until the stop sign, after he turned I turned also not bothering to stop at the stop sign nor signaling and I overtook him by doing twenty over the speed limit which amounts to 45mph in a 25mph zone which to me isn't that bad. Already in less than ten minutes I have displayed more than three different kinds of negative driving behaviors.
DAY #2
Today I drove from Hawaii-Kai to UH to Ala Moana to Pearlridge and finally to back to Hawaii-Kai. Again I must have driven over seventy miles and again I spent a great deal of time in traffic.Today however I have observed only about 5 siginificant negative behaviors.I will list them from the greatest frequencies to the least.
#1-----Tailgating
#2-----Speeding
#3-----cutting people off
#4-----Swearing
#5-----Changing lanes without signaling
Today wasn't so bad as far as the amount of negative driving behaviors were concerned. I guess it might be due to the fact that I was in a really mellow mood today and that I went shopping and bought myself some new shoes.
DAY #3
Today I drove from Hawaii-Kai to UH to the airport then back to UH to Ala Moana to Kanehoe and then back to Hawaii-Kai. I must have driven over 100 miles today so I have observed a great number of negative behaviors.I will list the top ten negative behaviors from the greatest frequencies to the least.
#1-----Speeding
#2-----Tailgating
#3-----Swearing
#4-----Changing lanes without signaling
#5-----Cutting people off
#6-----Arguing with passenger(mother)
#7-----Running lights and signs
#8-----Boxing people in
#9-----Slaming on my brakes
#10----Thinking evil thoughts about drivers
I must say that today was a rather hectic day. I had to pick up my mother who was at the airport but I had to go to UH first so I can drop off a paper. I then had to pick her up and make it back to my psy311 class which left me only 45minutes between times, so I of course sped like a maniac and was tailgating all the slow drivers who were preventing me from getting where I wanted to go on time.
DAY #4
Today I drove from Hawaii-Kai to UH to Ala Moana to Kanehoe and then back to Hawaii-Kai.Today was a pretty normal day, there really wasn't anything bad today, but nonetheless I still committed my driving sins.I will list the top seven negative behaviors from the greatest frequencies to the least.
#1-----Speeding
#2-----Changing lanes without signaling
#3-----Running lights and signs
#4-----Tailgating
#5-----Swearing
#6-----Boxing people in
#7-----Thinking evil thoughts about drivers
DAY #5
Today I drove from Hawaii-Kai to UH to Millilani to Kanehoe and then back to Hawaii-Kai. Another typical day of driving hell.I will list the top ten negative behaviors from the greatest frequencies to the least.
#1-----Speeding
#2-----Tailgating
#3-----Swearing
#4-----Arguing with passenger(girl friend)
#5-----Thinking evil thoughts about drivers
#6-----Slaming on my brakes
#7-----Running lights and signs
#8-----Cutting people off
#9-----Boxing people in
#10----Changing lanes without signaling
A typical day of traffic and incompetent drivers! Today's negative driving behaviors was in the most part due to the aggitation I felt when driving under the slow conditions of traffic.But the moment I was able to bypass a traffic situation I would speed like the devil himself just so I can make-up for the lost time I spent in the traffic.
Analysis of Behaviors
Looking at the data I see very strong patterns in my driving. I noticed that I speed more than anything else and following very close behind is cursing and tailgating.The behavior that I will target will be my tailgating, since that is the behavior that I wouldn't mind changing because I have seen plenty of accidents because a person tailgated too close.This behavior is both maladaptive and unlawful.I also agree with Berna Collado, who says,It's(tailgating) very dangerous and stupid."
Defining a Variable
Since tailgating is my target behavior, I should first try to define it.The definition I will go with, since I don't know the legal definition for tailgating is, will come from my dad.My dad, the self-proclaimed "defensive driver" said that in all his thirty something years of driving he has never got into a major accident.Why? Because he claims he never tailgates.What is tailgating to him? He says that you should be at least three car lengths away from the car in front of you and on the freeway you should be at least five.Three car lengths!!!!!!NO way!!!!!!So that will be the working definition for tailgating: No less than three car lengths except for the freeway which is NO less than five car lengths.
My Plan
My plan is to extinquish my target behavior(Tailgating) by using both classical and instrumental conditioning components along with cognitive behavioral techniques in the self-modification process.I will record the first five days of execution(nice pun!)
Classical Conditioning
The theory behind classical conditioning is basically: That two stimuli paired in temporal continguity come to take on the properties of each other, whereby connections are formed and associations are made.I am going to use classical conditioning to help me associate tailgating(cs) with pain(cr) therby making tailgating a painful experience and hopefully come to stop tailgating to avoid the pain.How I'm going to do this every time I tailgate(cs) I will pinch(ucs) myself however if my girlfriend is in the car I'll give her the honors, which will elicit a natural response of pain(ucr) and hopefully in time tailgating will be associated with the unpleasant experience of pain.
Instrumental Conditioning
The theory behind instrumental conditioning is basically:a connection is formed and strengthened between two stimuli if what the target response is appetetive.In other words our actions are guided by reinforcements, therefore I will not reinforce my tailgating in any way, I will however punish my tailgating behavior by pinching myself therby weakening and/or destroying any kind of reinforcement I used to get while tailgating.
Cognitive Behavioral
The theory behind it is basically:How we think/perceive affects how we feel and behave.So if I think/perceive that tailgating is a bad thing or even more a downright EVIL thing then I would behave differently towards tailgating.I have to do this by means of cognitive restructuring, inother words altering how I think about tailgating.
Execution
DAY #1
Now that I had the plan the most important thing is making sure I carried it out or else it wouldn't amount to "a hill of beans!"Today I did my usual seventy plus miles routine.I did really good while driving to school because I never tailgated, not once.I did, however, felt very frustrated for driving so slow but I kept telling myself that tailgating was a very evil thing but that alone didn't make me feel better about tailgating. I guess I had to wait till I started to slip up so I can start to get conditioned.This did not take long at all because the moment I left school I started tailgating a slow moped but it wasn't till a few minutes after that I realized this.The moment I did I pinched myself untill my arm got pretty sore and then said to myself that tailgating was an evil thing and that I deserved to be punished for doing it.This apparently didn't have too much effect because I continued to pinch myself and repeat that same line for about seven more times the rest of that day, well I really can't say that it didn't have any effect because I was a little under my average for tailgating today!
DAY #2
Today was almost a carbon copy of the first day.Again I never tailgated on my way to UH but after I left it I was back to my old stunts again. Tailgating like a maniac and receiving punishment and self-scoldings for it also.I even had my girlfriend give me a bunch of pinches today which she didn't at all mind doing!But still my progress seems slow.
DAY #3
Today was better.Maybe because I wasn't at all in a rush.I was way ahead of my schedule since one of my classes was cancled and I finished my homework early.I think I only tailgated three times today which of course came with its usual consequences.I just hope it gets better.
DAY #4
The same old me again.Today was almost like I never decided to change my tailgating behavior because I tailgated so much today that I don't even remember how much. About four times out of that I forgot to punish and scold myself!I think it might be due to the fact that I was late to school and I was in two traffic jams today which I so desperately tried to swim through quickly.I think that my anger far outweighs my desire to change my tailgating behavior.
DAY #5
The last day of my observations and I think that fact alone affected my impecable driving behavior today. I didn't at all tailgate today, OK, maybe once but I stopped the moment I caught myself in the act.I felt pretty good about not tailgating today but I think it was because I wanted my self-modification to be somewhat of a success.
Conclusion
Even though my attempts to self-modify were not as successful as I wanted it to be it did decrease the frequency of my tailgating behavior.For future attmepts I believe that the punishment or the cs should be more intense and should also be accompanied by other aversive stimuli such as donating some money to a charity everytime you do the target behavior, and maybe by doing this my frequencies of tailgating will decrease even more until it will finally extinguish.
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