Self-control strategies are cognitive and behavioral skills used by individuals to maintain self-motivation and achieve personal goals. Initially the skills may be learned from a therapist, text, or self-help book. However, the individual is responsible for using these skills in real-life situations to produce the desired changes.
There are many varieties of self-control strategies. Other terms for self-control strategies are behavioral self-control training, cognitive self-regulation, and self-management techniques. In recent years, the term "self-management" has replaced "self-control," because self-control implies changing behavior through sheer willpower. Self-management, on the other hand, involves becoming aware of the natural processes that affect a particular behavior and consciously altering those processes, resulting in the desired behavior change.
Most people who decide to use self-control strategies are dissatisfied with a certain aspect of their lives. For example, they may feel they smoke too much, exercise too little, or have difficulty controlling anger. Self-control strategies are useful for a wide range of concerns, including medical (such as diabetes, chronic pain, asthma, arthritis, incontinence, or obesity), addictions (such as drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, gambling, or eating disorders), occupational (such as study habits, organizational skills, or job productivity), and psychological (such as stress, anxiety, depression, excessive anger, hyperactivity, or shyness). If symptoms are severe, self-control strategies may be used in conjunction with other therapies, but should not be the only form of treatment.
The goal of self-control strategies is to reduce behavioral deficiencies or behavioral excesses. Behavioral deficiencies occur when an individual does not engage in a positive, desirable behavior frequently enough. The result is a missed future benefit. For example, a student who rarely studies may not graduate. Behavioral excesses occur when an individual engages in negative, undesirable behavior too often. This results in a negative future consequence. For example, a person who smokes may develop lung cancer.
In the case of behavioral deficiencies, one may fail to engage in a desirable behavior because it does not provide immediate gratification. With behavioral excesses, there is usually some type of immediate gratification and no immediate negative consequence. Self-control strategies help individuals to become aware of their own patterns of behavior and to alter those patterns (usually by creating artificial rewards or punishments) so that the behavior will be more or less likely to occur.
Self-control strategies are based primarily on the social cognitive theory of Albert Bandura. According to Bandura, one's behavior is influenced by a variety of factors, including one's own thoughts and beliefs, and elements in the environment. Bandura proposed that certain beliefs, self-efficacy and outcome expectancies, are important factors in determining which behaviors an individual will attempt, and how motivated the individual will be when engaging in those behaviors. Self-efficacy is one's belief about how well he or she can perform a given task, regardless of that person's actual ability. Outcome expectancies are what the person believes will happen as a result of engaging in a certain behavior. If self-efficacy and outcome expectancies are inaccurate, the individual may experience behavioral deficits or excesses.
Donald Meichenbaum developed the idea of self-instructional training, which is a major part of self-control strategies. Meichenbaum believed that learning to control behavior begins in childhood, based on parental instruction. Children eventually control their own behavior by mentally repeating the instructions of their parents. These internal instructions may be positive or negative. Self-instructional training teaches individuals to become aware of their self-statements, evaluate whether these self-statements are helpful or hindering, and replace maladaptive self-statements with adaptive ones.
Frederick Kanfer suggested that individuals achieve self-control by using a feedback loop consisting of continuous monitoring, evaluating, and reinforcing of their own behavior. This loop occurs naturally in everyone. However, the loop can be maladaptive if (a) only negative factors are noticed and positive factors are ignored during the monitoring phase, (b) standards are unrealistic during the evaluation phase, or (c) responsibility is accepted for negative behaviors but not for positive behaviors during the reinforcement phase. Self-control strategies help individuals to be aware of these phases and to make the appropriate changes in monitoring, evaluation, and reinforcement.
Self-control strategies are often taught in treatment centers, group or individual therapies, schools, or vocational settings. However, self-control programs may also be designed without the help of a professional, especially if the problem being addressed is not severe. The use of professionals, at least initially, may increase the likelihood that the program will succeed. Following are the necessary steps for creating a self-control program:
Self-control strategies can be grouped into three broad categories:
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES. Environmental strategies involve changing times, places, or situations where one experiences problematic behavior. Examples include:
BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES. Behavioral strategies involve changing the antecedents or consequences of a behavior. Examples include:
COGNITIVE STRATEGIES. Cognitive strategies involve changing one's thoughts or beliefs about a particular behavior. Examples include:
In a therapeutic setting, self-control strategies are usually taught in weekly group sessions over a period of several weeks. The sessions typically include an educational lecture regarding a specific strategy, group discussion of how the strategy should be applied and how to cope with potential obstacles (relapse prevention), role-plays or rehearsal of the strategy, a review of the session, and a homework assignment for further practice. Sessions usually focus on one type of strategy at a time. Preferably, an individual should master one strategy before attempting another. After the series of training sessions are complete, the individual is responsible for implementing the strategies in daily life.
Relapse is a concern in any therapeutic situation. Current research suggests that individuals are more likely to continue using newly learned self-control strategies if they have periodic follow-up contact with a professional or other designated person. The contact serves at least three purposes: (1) a source of accountability, (2) review of strategy use to ensure proper application, and(3) discussion of problematic situations and development of plans to overcome these situations.
Self-control strategies are especially prone to short-circuiting of contingencies. This refers to the tendency for individuals to partake of reinforcers at inappropriate occasions, or to avoid punishers designated in their plan. If contingencies are short-circuited, the desired behavior change is unlikely to occur.
Relapse is another risk involved in self-control strategies. Causes of relapse include: (a) a poorly defined target behavior (progress cannot be recognized); (b) unrealistic or long-term goals without immediate sources of reinforcement; (c) failure to anticipate and plan for obstacles to goal-achievement; (d) overreaction to occasional setbacks; (e) negative self-talk, especially when one feels goals are not being satisfactorily met; (f) failure to use desirable or frequent reinforcers; (g) ineffective consequences for undesirable behavior; and (h) an inaccurate or unnecessarily complex monitoring system.
Ideally individuals will use self-control strategies independently in their everyday surroundings to meet their designated goal. They will decrease behavioral deficiencies and excesses, engaging in desirable behaviors more often, or engaging in undesirable behaviors less frequently or not at all.
If the self-control strategies are ineffective or used improperly, individuals may show no changes or increases in behavioral deficiencies or excesses.
See also Behavior modification; Bibliotherapy; ; Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Guided imagery therapy; Rational emotive therapy; Social skills training
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Association for Behavioral Analysis. 213 West Hall, Western Michigan University, 1903 W. Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008-5301. (616) 387-8341;(616) 384-8342. <http://www.wmich.edu/aba>.
Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy. GSB Building, City Line and Belmont Avenues, Suite 700, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania 19004-1610. (610) 664-3020. <http://www.beckinstitute.org>.
Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. 336 Baker Avenue, Concord, Massachusetts 01742-2107. (978) 369-2227. <http://www.behavior.org>.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Institute. 211 East 43rd Street, Suite 1500, New York, New York 10017. (212) 490-3590. <http://www.cbtinstitute.com>.
Sandra L. Friedrich, M.A.
The following comments are not guaranteed to be that of a trained medical professional. Please consult your physician for advice.