Self Monitoring Reflection Paper

Over the course of two weeks, I focused on monitoring and modifying a specific behavior as part of a self-monitoring assessment in PSYC 4400. During the first week, I chose a target behavior in which I have frequently engaged in all my life and find important to eliminate. I chose to target my bad behavior of biting my nails too often. Since biting my nails is a habit that I engage in when feeling stressed or anxious, I wanted to reduce the amount of times that I bite my nails daily. Biting my nails is not only unhealthy because of the bacteria on my hands, but it is also very unattractive for others to watch. I used a chart to help me organize and record episodes of urges and temptations of my target behavior. Additionally, I kept track of

Keeping track of where the behavior seemed to occur the most really helped me in terms of decreasing the frequency of the behavior. I believe that providing a positive reinforcer helped me to develop a new, healthy habit of not biting my nails daily. The reward at the end was almost like the light at the end of the tunnel. I was so focused on the reward of getting a manicure, that I was able to resist even the biggest of urges. Although abstaining from biting my nails can very minimally be compared to abstaining from addictive substances such as alcohol and nicotine, this exercise increased my appreciation of the challenges faced by persons who do attempt to reduce or quit their addictive behaviors. I would say that it definitely takes a lot of willpower, dedication, and motivation to overcome an addictive behavior. For me, this exercise was all about overcoming my mind. I had to teach my mind that I did not need to bite my nails in order to control my feelings of stress and