Performance

Personally, I found the “human mammal, human hunter” video that was provided in the “performance” lecture slide to be immensely fascinating. The video showed the San people of the Kalahari Desert as they hunt. The San tribe is the last tribe on earth to use the ancient technique of running down their prey. The video shows the hunters as they hunt their prey in the scorching heat of the desert. As the hunt precedes the members of the tribe separate their prey from the pack and the fastest member of the tribe continues to hunt their prey as the others go another direction. This hunt is a test of endurance and in the end the member of the San tribe is able to run down the prey and capture it as it collapses from exhaustion. I thought this video was very fascinating because the San people choose to use their physical endurance and a simple weapon to hunt their prey and succeed.

The Science of Self-Control

"The Science of Self-Control is a book that deals with behavior when it comes to self-control, willpower, temptation, indulgence as well as commitment. Rachlin places emphasis on addicts as well as everyday situations. Each part of the book is related back to an experience the general reader can relate to.  The book involves subjects such as motivation, ambivalence, commitment, patterns in behavior as well as a section on addiction and economics. In this book you will look at how to control ones behavior, self-knowledge willpower and habits.

My favorite part of the book was when he spoke about the alarm clock. Even though it went on for quite a few pages and was introduced in different topics. I could relate to the idea of placing my alarm clock on the other side of the room so that i had to get out of bed to shut it off. This was big in motivating myself to get out of bed. This allows you to control your behavior, have control over waking up on time and staying awake and it is a commitment forcing yourself to get up. I also enjoyed a few of the quotes that he stated throughout the book. The first one was "taking drugs to control a drug addiction is like swallowing a spider to catch a fly" (Rachlin, 2004, pg. 20). Another quote was "According to Plato, there is no fundamental difference between knowledge (cognition) and self control (motivation)" (Rachlin, 2004, pg. 134).

I thought this book related a lot back to the section on rewards and self-control. Learning to have self-control, self-knowledge, willpower and to release yourself from a habit is a huge accomplishment. The section on self-control relates to this book because it talks about self-commitment, as well as positive addictions and negative addictions. I believe that once you have learned to have self-control and are released from the bad habit that you had then their will be a positive habit. For instance, I believe that helping another alcoholic overcome their habit is a positive reinforcement. In the section about rewards, the matching law relates to this book. The basic principal of choice behavior allows those individuals to choose the behavior in which they are participating. It is a self choice in behavior.

This photo relates to the book because, just like the alarm clock, exercise is something that I was not motivated to do. I tried for months to work out on my own and nothing was working, i had no motivation to exercise for more than ten minutes. Then I added a pattern into my life and I learned self-knowledge about the things that I enjoy doing. I grabbed a group of people that I could exercise with at the same time everyday so that it became a pattern in my life and eventually it because a positive habit. This allows me to have control over myself mentally and physically. Which is a great feeling.

The things that I have taken from this class and from "The Science of Self-Control" is going to help me in a career as a nurse one day. I will be dealing with patients who may be struggling with addiction, or teenagers who do not have self-control, or even mentally disabled individuals who have problems with self- knowledge. This information will help me to motivate them to getting better, as well as leave me feeling secure that I know the steps to take to help them.

References
Rachlin, H., (2004). The Science of Self-Control. Cambridge: First Harvard Univeristy Press.

book report - The Power of the Habit, by Charles Duhigg

The book, The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg, offers the reader hope to become the person, he or she has always wanted to become. There is an optimism throughout the book conveyed by anecdotes of familiar individuals and companies which owe their incredible personal and financial success to the simple formula of developing the appropriate habits as explained by Mr. Duhigg. Within a few months, or possibly several days, most college texts are thrown away or posted on half.com. The Power of Habit will remain on my bookshelf, not only for myself, but for family and friends. The reader believes the message of the author and is inspired to examine his life for growth and change.

Without a doubt, the most interesting sections of the book are the anecdotes of individuals Mr. Duhigg uses to illustrate the strength of his presentation. And despite the fulfillment of their dreams, the individuals all began their journey exploring different behaviors and habits which fueled their eventual success. Charles Duhigg describes the simple process of identifying a goal, discovering the habits which will facilitate the goal, then deliberately adhering to the habits to reach success. Every story is a story of a brain reprogrammed because of a goal and a belief that change is possible.

The story of Michael Phelps greatly clarified the explanation and the significance of keystone habits. Without the keystone habits established by his coach, his story may not have had the same conclusion at the Olympics. It was his reliance on previously learned and practiced behaviors under any circumstance, which allowed Michael Phelps to remain calm and swim to victory time after time. He never failed to visualize one small win after another before bed, when he was practicing, or when he was racing.

Another anecdote with power is the story of Starbucks. Their success may be largely attributed to embracing the same ideas as the author. The employees were all trained extensively in providing "fantastic customer service". And in order to provide this service, the goal was to create habits for all eventualities, even those extremely negative. Starbucks gave their employees willpower habit loops. These loops rely on the employee reacting in a specified way whenever the cue, or trigger, is recognized. One of the most amazing statements in the book is on page 130, and states "Starbucks has succeeded in teaching the kind of life skills that school, families, and communities have failed to provide". And Charles Duhigg provides the evidence to support this statement.

The book is inspiring and contains enough information to support a class within its pages. And although this report has focused on the more positive aspects of habits and how they may be changed, there are several topics addressed by the author which send warning signals about the use of this same knowledge to determine the consumer habits of individuals beyond the smile of the employee at Starbucks.


Attached to this report is a picture of an x ray of the  the metal plates put into my arm following a motor cycle accident. I think they look pretty neat.

Impulsivity & Self Control

            As I read through the Impulsivity & Self Control lecture slides. I came across this radio talk show that had two guest speakers Zelda Gamson and Mary Belenky. They spoke of their addiction to smoking cigarettes and how Zelda in particular was able to overcome her addiction.  When faced with an addiction, a person struggles between two internal desires if they want to quit. One desire is to stop smoking and the other desire, is to continue their addiction. Zelda knew the consequences of smoking but continued to smoke, even while pregnant. The urge to smoke caused her to try many times to quit but al attempts failed. She then thought of a plan and decided to make a deal with herself because she knew she was stuck. She told herself that if she ever smoked again, she would give away $5000 to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). She could not ever imagine herself giving away $5000 to the KKK.

             This is called the Ulysses Contract. In the previous example, Zelda was able to identify a feeling of disgust to battle her desire or craving to smoke. She wanted to win this long-term battle and this plan helped her to accomplish her goal.  She allowed her desire for smoking and her feeling of disgust to battle each other, which allowed her to quit much easier. To me it was interesting to see how she was able to think of this plan to overcome her addiction. Everyone can apply this method in one way or the other to accomplish a goal because in the long run it can be beneficial.  

Good Gene Hypothesis

Good Gene Hypothesis is an interesting topic to discuss. When you think about a person having good genes you immediately think about your intelligence, health, looks and that you will have healthy children. But it is still interesting that even though that is considered a good gene, that people still choose their mate on things like looks and financial status.
I agree with the fact that someone with a good gene is someone who is intelligent, healthy, and has good looks.

Willingness and Self-Control

Willingness is an important part of self-control when it comes to getting past an obstacle. It is a helpful way to approach a behavior change, whether it be with an alcoholic or a cigarette smoker, etc. In the ted talk "The Secret to Self Control" by Jonathan Bricker, he mentions a process called 'I am having the thought...' He has his clients say to themselves "I am having the thought that I am stressed and I need a cigarette." After this client gets used to that saying he has them add 'I'm noticing I am having the thought that I am stressed and I need a cigarette." This approach that Jonathan Bricker uses helps the individual understand that they are aware of their cravings and that they need to open up to them, This will help the individual realize that they are there and help them let those cravings go (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTb3d5cjSFI).

I believe that this part of acceptance that Bricker is pointing out could be heightened by replacing those negative thoughts with more positive thoughts. The support groups that are offered nowadays allow the individuals to bounce their circumstances off each other. This could allow each individual to give others advice on how to go through the process. When they are teaching someone else those methods, it is a positive addiction.

Book Report The Will Power Instinct: How self Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More Of It

The book that I chose to read for the assignment was The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why it Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of it. Besides its unusually long name, this book manages to stand out from the rest for a variety of reasons, but the main one being that is delves deep into the human psyche. It goes deep to look at what exactly motivates out everyday actions, and more importantly the science of self control itself. It talks about how self control relates with temptations, addictions, and how those outcomes ultimately decide which route we want to take in the end. It even talks about how even though sometimes we may want to do something, sometimes that course of action may not be the best for the situation at hand and that that decision will depend on what we wish to gain in the end while even providing ways on how we can gain more self control as a whole. It also manages to provide the reader with numerous case studies on a variety of situations involving self control and desire to see real world applications of what is being talked about in the book.

The part that I really liked about this book was the section that talked about the development and origin of willpower. I thought this section was particularly interesting because it talked about how back when homo sapiens were in tribes, one bad move would lead to death,injury or abandonment and so they developed a will to survive in a sense because it was either do what's best for the tribe or suffer. What is interesting is that this book actually relates back to a lot what was talked about in the slides. For example with in the slides it mentions how self control is not an issue of will power but an issue of conflicting outcomes which basically mean what needs to be done versus what you may want to do personally. This internal struggle is what is talked about in the book as well and that is why I find it so interesting because I can relate to having to deal with that very thing. Rewards are also an integral part because that will most certainly influence whether or not you repeat an activity and if there is a negative outcome, the person will not want to do that activity again. I think this video clip showcases my point quite well. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=self+control+experiment

The thing that stuck out most for me, even more so than the actual content of the book, was the message. What the book is basically telling us is that we should be much more aware of our actions and implement self control in our every day decisions. Not simply acting of what's in your best interest, but looking at what the right thing to do is after looking at all possible outcomes and choosing which will be the most beneficial in the long run; even though it may not be the most instantly gratifying. This book allows us to see how other make decisions under certain stimulus and allows for reflection within ourselves to perhaps ponder not only how you would react given the same situation, but maybe what decisions are you making right now that could be better; that is what I think the true message is and what the real world application of this book is, it allows us to question ourselves in a way that we did not think about before thus allowing us to become better people overall.

Book Report: The Power of Habit

General Overview: It is often said that we are creatures of habit, in that many of our daily activities end up being a matter of routine rather than direct deliberation (just think of your morning routine). While this is no doubt true, author Charles Duhigg insists that this is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact that habits have on our daily lives. In his book, ‘The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business’ Duhigg argues that habits pervade not only our personal lives, but that they have an integral role to play in the businesses and other organizations of which we are a part. They are also at the heart of social movements and societies at large. Given that this is the case, and given that there is a world of difference between good habits and bad, getting our habits right can mean the difference between success and failure not only in our personal lives, but in our professional lives, and in the communities in which we live. Now, while our habits may be deeply ingrained, most of us recognize that they can be changed. Duhigg argues that a proper understanding of our habits reveals not only that they can be changed, but also the most effective ways to change them. It remains only for us to use these lessons to help improve ourselves as well as the organizations and communities of which we are a part.
Favorite Part: The first part of the book was my favorite because it focuses on the role that habits play in our personal lives. Here we learn about the habit loop consisting of cue, routine, and reward, and how the elements in this loop can be manipulated to help modify our habits (say from crashing on the couch with a bag of chips, to heading out for a run). We also learn about the power of particular habits called keystone habits (which include exercise, as well as eating together as a family) that help initiate a domino effect that touches all of the other aspects of our lives. Also, we learn about the power of belief and the importance of social groups in helping create this belief that stands behind successful habit transformation programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
Related: Like mentioned in the lecture slides, rewards are reinforcers. They increase the likelihood of a behavior. Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box. The box contained a lever in the side and as the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box. The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they would repeat the action again and again. Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you five dollars each time you complete your homework, you are more likely to repeat this behavior in the future, therefore strengthening the behavior of completing your homework.
Creative: I have created a quiz focused on the types of reinforcement. Test out what you know and see how many you get right! The answers are located at the bottom of the page. Goodluck!
1. Negative reinforcement increases the strength or frequency of a response by ______ an aversive stimulus.

1. Increasing
2. Decreasing
3. Removing
4. Ignoring

2. An employee receives a reward for his work, but the reinforcement is only awarded for the first response after a specified period of time. This schedule produces a high rate of response near the end of the specified time period, with a drop in response after the reward has been given. What type of reinforcement schedule is being used?

1. Variable Ratio Schedule
2. Fixed Ratio Schedule
3. Variable Interval Schedule
4. Fixed Interval Schedule

3. What is a reinforcer?

1. Any event that strengthens or increases a response.
2. Something the individual finds pleasant.
3. Anything that decreases a response.
4. An incentive

4. What learning process did B.F. Skinner describe?

1. Classical Conditioning
2. Operant Conditioning
3. Modeling
4. Observational Learning

5. Which of the following is true of learning?

1. Learning is relatively permanent.
2. Learning involves a change in behavior.
3. Learning occurs through experience.
4. All of the above.

6. If a child is rewarded for appropriate behavior every fifteen minutes, what type of schedule is being used? 

1. Fixed ratio
2. Variable ratio
3. Fixed interval
4. Variable interval

7. Salespeople who are paid exclusively by commission are reinforced on which type of schedule?

1. Fixed ratio
2. Fixed interval
3. Variable ratio
4. Variable interval

8. Behaviors that have been reinforced on a variable schedule are more difficult to extinguish than those that have been continuously reinforced. This is known as:

1. The partial reinforcement effect
2. An extinction schedule
3. Shaping
4. Avoidance conditioning

9. Learning that results from the consequences of behavior is called

1. Extinguished conditioning
2. Operant conditioning
3. Classical conditioning
4. Positive conditioning

10.  Reinforcers that are innately reinforcing, such as food, water, and warmth are called

1. Primary reinforcers
2. Secondary reinforcers
3. Negative reinforcers
4. Positive reinforcers

Extension: I do believe The Power of Habit can help solve a real world problem or address a current issue. The book focuses on how habits help shape businesses and organizations. Here we learn that the formation of habits and routines within organizations is unavoidable. It is always best for the leadership of a group to make a deliberate effort to shape the habits of their organizations. It is still important to make it clear who is in charge of each particular aspect of the operation. Second, we learn that keystone habits, which are at the center of our personal lives, are also essential when it comes to larger organizations. We also learn about the greatest keystone habit of all: willpower, and how this habit can best be cultivated (and how companies such as Starbucks are employing these lessons to help train employees successfully). Finally, we learn about how companies such as Proctor & Gamble and Target instill habits in their customers. The third and final part of the book examines the importance of habits in social movements, such as the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. We learn that movements tend to follow a three-part process. To start with, a movement tends to begin with a group of close acquaintances and friends. The movement tends to grow when these people spread it to the broader communities of which they are a part. Finally, in order to really take hold and spread, the movement must be guided forward by an effective leader who lays down new habits for the movement’s members in a way that allows them to gain a sense of identity.

Answer Key: 1. C, 2. D, 3. A, 4. B, 5. D, 6. C, 7. C, 8. A, 9. B, 10. A

Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength: Willpower

Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength: Willpower

By: Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney

            Baumeister and Tierney created a dynamic understanding of willpower and self-control. This book took a wildly studied concept in social science and gave its readers comprehension of the many facets it holds. Throughout the book the authors’ wisdom of the topic is explored using scientific research and experimentation. This book contains a broad range of different applications of willpower and self-control, such as the importance of diet in chapter two or setting goals in chapter three. Furthermore, a few more topics that are discussed in the reading consist of how willpower diminishes when a person has low glucose or how self-control can be compromised during the process of overcoming goals. This book provides extensive examples of personal stories of people where some of them had triumphs and others had failures. This book concludes with advice related to each of the ten chapters in the book explaining to the reader different ways to improve their willpower and self-control.

                        It was difficult to chose my favorite part of the book because I enjoyed reading it very much. I would have to say chapter six about David Blaine is my favorite. I hardly knew anything about Blaine before reading this book.  He is truly an anomaly in this world. This chapter brings the idea of strengthening willpower to light. The book had previously discussed in earlier chapters a woman named Amanda Palmer who would stand on a box in times square with no movements for long periods of time in order to make income. However, Blaine takes this ideal to a different planet.  According to Baumeister and Tierney (2011),

            “he stood for thirty-five hours more than eighty feet about New York’s Bryant Park, he spent sixty-three sleepless hours in Times Square encased in a giant block of ice. He was entombed in a coffin with six inches above his head for a week.” (p.124-125).

All of this seems inhumanly possible to accomplish, but somehow Blaine has accomplished the impossible.  This resonates with me because when things seem impossible it is easy to be your own worst enemy and give up without even starting. Blaine had been training himself to withstand extreme conditions from a young age. The accomplishment of these goals previously discussed did not happen overnight, he trained to be able to complete his goals. This is my favorite part because it is a clear reminder success does not happen overnight and the impossible is possible.

            The lecture slides: impulsivity and self-control relate to chapter six of this book. The peirs steel: the procrastination equation helps confirm my point. The chance of an outcoming occurring and the value are the reason we do things. Blaine needed to measure his expectancy against his value and decide if it was worth taking the risk.  As stated in the lecture notes self-control is the result of conflicting outcomes. Blaine had to keep composure when self-control was being tested during his feats in order to accomplish his ultimate goals. The outcome that had more gain for him was his reasons for pushing past his weak points.

           

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oXAeKoS2RU (this is a short clip of David Blaine in Times Square encased in a block of ice)

            This topic of learning how to control willpower and improve self-control will always be a current issue. Every human being has issues with willpower it is in our nature. It is really the issue at hand that may be different. Some issues may be related to shopping, diet, exercise, work, etc. the list certainly could go on forever. It is important to constantly be improving yourself to become a stronger person. This book brings a overview to the issue that helps its readers understand the concept and help encourage different ways to strengthen their willpower and themselves. A personal example of how this book has helped me was reading about glucose levels. Also, the importance of  having a healthy diet and the repercussions of having a bad one, especially during a menstrual cycle. Related to that I also learned the fast fixes of sugar provide a boom and bust effect, which means the chocolate provides you with instant energy but lasts a short amount of time. Where as, protein such as a piece of chicken may take a longer amount of time to give you energy but will give you energy that lasts. This book can help solve real-world problems.

            All in all, this book is a great read and I would highly recommend it. I thought it may be to much of telling me what to do and less informative. However, it was not, it provided me with a clear-cut understanding of willpower and self-control and how I can improve my own.

Book Report The Power of Habit

The Power of Habit  
By: Charles Duhigg
Angela D’Adamo

General Overview:
Within this book, Charles Duhigg a New York Times staff writer and author of Power of Habit describes the secret behind habit formation among individuals, companies, and groups of people. Charles describes habits and how they form in 3 parts in the book. In Part one of the book Duhigg describes the habit of individuals, Duhigg goes on to explain how rats react when they find a piece of chocolate in a maze and how there brain reacts and how animals and humans have a three-step loops. The cue to go after the chocolate the routine of finding the chocolate and the reward is the rat eating the chocolate. In order to make habits become of themselves you need start the cue in order to receive  the award.

In part two of the book, is the habits of successful organizations. One of the organizations Duhigg spoke about was The Aluminum Company of America also known as ALCOA. They had a lot of injuries during work, and the new CEO wanted to figure out a way on how to lower injuries during work, and a safer environment for the workers. The new CEO,  Paul O’Neil decided to start a new habit for the workers, if someone got injured they would report it to the unit president and then report it to O’Neil within 24 hours and then present a plan to ensure this certain injury would not happen again. People who did this routine got promoted, and this also promoted a healthy habit within all the workers at the company. Over time the ALCOA company was one of the safest places to work in America.

In part three of the book Duhigg describes, the habit of societies and the neurology of free will, in simple terms are we responsible for our own habits. The answer is yes, if the person is aware of the habits they are forming then they should be aware and know the consequences that will come out of the situation that is present. Duhigg describes a housewife who lives in Iowa had a gambling addiction and lost her house because of that situation. When she went to court she was held liable because the Iowa housewife knew she had a gambling addiction which explained her being responsible for loosing all the money and the house she once previously owned. This book was useful for people trying to change their habits and make new positive habits. 

Favorite Part:
My favorite part of this book was when Charles Duhigg described how Febreze made millions but at first, no one was buying the product. They introduced the Febreze spray as something to cover up odors but the reason why no one was buying it was everyone was immune to most of the odors in their house. Most people bought the product in the launch of selling the product but over time, every one simply forgot the product was on shelves in the grocery stores. So the group of people who made Febreze had to think of another idea. They watched a House wife clean her house and she used the Febreze at the end of cleaning each room to spray it. She said it was the finishing touch and made everything smell good. So they knew the perfect idea, the cue to clean, cleaning the room, and the reward was spraying the amazing smell of Febreze as the finishing touch. This relates to the motivation it takes to form a habit, without the motivation the positive habit will not occur.

Related: 
In our class we discussed impulsivity and self control. Impulsive decisions usually lead to conflicting outcomes. This discussion about self control and random impulses relates to The Power of Habit because you need to make self control a habit because if you do not have self control over situations a negative habit comes out of it. Such as alcohol consumption if you make it a habit to drink over five beers every time you go out, the habit becomes a drinking problem over time.  Also self control relates to The Power of Habit because, you need to control the actions you do. If your phone goes off and you constantly have to check it, this habit becomes negative and your cellphone will consume your life.

Creative: 
Ted talk with Charles Duhigg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMbsGBlpP30

Extension:

This book overall was a great read. It explained a lot of positive and negative situations and how to end bad habits and how to start positive ones. I learned a lot from this book and how a lot of products in our industry became popular and what inventors did to start the cue routine and reward three step loop idea. The three-step loop idea became very interesting to me and I know use it in order to start more positive habits in my life. This book describes issues such as alcohol anonymous and how they create good habits in people to stop drinking. The good habits are switched with the bad habit of drinking.  This is a real world problem and with the Power of Habit, this can save a lot of peoples lives, and bring family and friends back together.