Description

Behavioral self control and management are techniques associated with behavioral therapy and the ideas of Skinner(1953). It has been used extensively with procrastination. It's goal is to help people lead self directed lives and gain sufficient autonomy to change their lives at some level. It emphasizes self responsibility and not blaming others. Self-control therapy tries to teach clients coping skills which include self monitoring, self reward, self contracting and stimulus control. Eventually, it is hoped that the client will have no need of experts or drugs to solve their problems and can implement the therapy on their own.

In treating procrastination, the technique begins with self observation of one's physiological, cognitive and imaginable responses to stress. It is then determined what caused the stress. The client evaluates how to cope with the stress, sets goals and practices or copies specific strategies. Later, they evaluate if their goals have been met through self monitoring using techniques like a behavioral diary. The client is taught to use stress as a cue for relaxation, to talk differently to himself and to re-label the panic reaction. It is also very important that the client use self reinforcement /rewards, and looks at the consequences of his or her actions / punishments.

When to use it

This therapy is used to treat procrastination when it is associated with anxiety, depression, pain and a lack of coping skills. It works best with individuals who have a high degree of self control (Corey 1995). It may not be as effective for chronic procrastinators. Self Control therapies are the therapy of choice when therapists want to determine a precise functional relationship between the environment and stress (Thorensen and Mahoney 1974).

Effectiveness

Self control therapy is a relatively recent phenomenon in psychology however it lends itself well to research. Empirically, people who use self control methods for procrastination improve more over time than a control group (Lopez & Wambach 1982) and better than a simple study skills training group(Groveman, Richards & Caple 1977). However, it must be used consistently and for a sustained period in order to be effective (Ziesat 1978). Ziesat also found that self control techniques increased the time spent studying and effected a positive attitude change. It seemed to make no difference as to the type of stimulus control or reward that was used. Self punishment seemed to be ineffective because it may have increased anxiety and therefore increased procrastination (Ziesat 1978).

References and Citations

Groveman, A.M., Richard C.S. & Caple R.B. (1977). Effects of study skills counseling versus behavioral self control in the treatment of Academic performance. Psychological Reports, 41, 186.

Lopez, F.G. & Wambach, C.A.(1982). Effects of paradoxical and self control directives in counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 29, 115-124.

Thorensen, C.T.,& Mahoney, M.J. (1974). Behavioral Self management, New York: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston.

Ziesat, H. A., Rosenthal, T. L., White, G. M. (1978). Behavioral self-control in treating procrastination of studying. Psychological Reports, 42, 59-69.

For more information : To a taxonomy of interventions, To main procrastination research group home page, To interventions