1. Becka Vandenboss
For my Final Fiesta project, I thought it would be great to do a project on trying to get
rid of my parent’s addictive habit, smoking. I also thought, this would project would help my
mom prep for her tonsil surgery coming up and help her quit or slow down before then
(doctor’s order: no smoking for a couple of weeks). I knew trying to do this project would be
extremely hard and time consuming considering they have been smokers for a few years now.
Rule-Governed Behavior: I started by making a fact sheet of the awful effects of smoking
to one’s body and calendar where they could track how much
A description of a they were smoking each day. I also placed in a rule that every
behavioral contingency. time they smoked, they would have to read at least one or two
facts from the sheet while they smoked. I hoped by reading
these awful facts, they would stand for an aversive condition. By having to read these aversive
facts, their behavior of smoking would be punished, hopefully decreasing the frequency of
smoking.
Aversive Condition:
Any stimulus, event, or condition whose termination immediately following a response
increases the frequency of that response.
Avoidance Contingency:
Response-contingent prevention of an aversive condition resulting in an increased
frequency of that response.
Avoidance Contingency:
Before: Behavior: After:
Will not have to Mom/Dad smokes Will have to read
read aversive fact one cigarette aversive fact
Besides having to read an aversive fact, I thought I would also place the rule of having to
pay me each time they both smoked. For every cigarette my parents would have to put in a
quarter into my piggy bank and for each pack of cigarettes, they would have to put in the same
amount they spent on the pack.

2. Becka Vandenboss
Due to my parent’s addictive habit, the motivating operation would be the need for
nicotine or withdrawal of that nicotine from the body. The need for nicotine reduces the urge
or calms them down.
Motivating Operation:
A procedure or condition that affects the learning or performance with respect to a
particular reinforcer of aversive condition.
Before: After:
Mom/Dad does not have to Behavior: Mom/Dad does have to
read aversive fact or put Mom/Dad smokes one read aversive fact and
money into piggy bank cigarette put money into piggy
bank
Motivating
Operation: With the calendar in place, I was able to see how many cigarettes
Withdrawal from my parents were each smoking on a daily basis and tried to come up
nicotine with another plan or procedure where they cut one cigarette off per two
days. Day 1 would be considered the baseline of the intervention.
Fortunately my parents both smoke exactly the same amount each day.
If the conditions were not aversive
enough to cause a slight change in their
behavior, I would add another aversive
condition in. I began to gather ideas from my
Baseline:
The phase of the experiment or
intervention where the behavior is
measured in the absence of an
intervention.
parents of what they would like
reinforcement or aversive wise in order to

3. Becka Vandenboss
help their habit. My mom suggested that I text her or penalize her behavior verbally with a rude
comment. The sight of aversive pictures would also help slow down the amount of cigarettes
they each smoked. I decide to do one reinforcer in hopes that it might help decrease the
frequency of their smoking habits and it could potentially help them gain back some of their
losses. I thought that for each cigarette they didn’t smoke that day (below 9) or whichever day
they were on (ex: Day 7, 7-6 cigarettes) I would return a quarter to them. But there is a
deadline in order to receive that quarter back; they must have smoked one less for that day but
the end of that day.
Analog Avoidance Contingency:
SD: After:
Before end of Parents will lose
day opportunity to gain a
quarter back.
Before: Behavior:
Parents will not Smokes one
lose the cigarette
opportunity to gain
a quarter back.
Sdelta: After:
After the end of Parents will lose
the day or the opportunity to gain
I was trying to next morning. quarter back. manage the
performance of my parents smoking.
According to Dr. Malott, Performance Management Contingencies can be designed to decrease
performance. In this case I am trying to decrease the performance of my parents smoking. By doing
decreasing their smoking, I needed to add in several aversive consequences. The first contingency,
Ineffective Natural Contingency is often too small or too improbable. Therefore, my parents will not
notice a huge change in their health by smoking one cigarette. It would take a long time and a lot less
cigarettes to notice a huge amount of change in their health. Since the change in health is so small and
too improbable, it is ineffective.

4. Becka Vandenboss
The Three- Contingency Model of Performance Management:
The three crucial contingencies are the ineffective natural contingency, the effective,
indirect-acting performance management contingency, and the effective, direct-acting
contingency.
Ineffective Natural Contingency:
Before: Behavior: After:
Parents will have Parents smoke one Parents will not have
infinitesimally more cigarette. infinitesimally more
health issues. health issues.
With performance management, there is the Effective Indirect- Acting Performance
Management Contingency. With my parents being able to have the opportunity to earn their
money back, the opportunity to not hear negative comments or having to read aversive facts, I
thought this would be more than enough to help end their smoking habits. From the fact sheet
that I presented them with, on average smokers spend about $3,000 a year for cigarettes. If my
parents spent that much a year funding their cigarette habit and having to pay me each time
they smoked, they would end up losing a substantial amount of money. Since they would not
be losing that substantial amount of money within sixty seconds, this contingency is indirect-
acting.
Indirect-Acting Contingency:
A contingency that controls the response, though the outcome of the response does not
reinforce or punish that response.
Effective Indirect-Acting Performance Management Contingency:
Before: Behavior: After:
Parents will not lose Parents smoke one Parents will lose
opportunity for having cigarette. opportunity for loss
a substantial amount of substantial
of money. amount of money.

5. Becka Vandenboss
The last contingency in Performance Management Contingencies is the Effective Direct-
Acting Theoretical Contingency. In theory I hope that just having that thought of losing a
substantial amount of money overtime will be aversive enough. My parents should be
consciously thinking about each time they pull out another cigarette to smoke that they will
losing money. From thinking about smoking one less cigarette and actually smoking one less
cigarette, they will hopefully think about the money they will save (this thought should happen
within 60 seconds). Since this thought should happen within 60 seconds, it is a direct-acting
contingency.
Direct- Acting Contingency:
A contingency in which the outcome of the response reinforces or punishes that response.
Effective Direct Acting Theoretical Contingency:
Before: After:
Behavior:
Parents do not have Parents have aversive
Parents smoke one
aversive thoughts thoughts about losing
cigarette.
about losing substantial amount of
substantial amount of money.
money.
Trying to help a smoker quit smoking is tough work. Smokers have to be willing to actually want
to stop smoking. I was hoping to help my parents quit smoking because it not only affects their health
but also mine. Since my mother will already be in extreme pain from her tonsillectomy, I was hoping to
avoid her having to go through nicotine withdrawals as well. I think it has and will continue to help that
my parents have each other as a support team and their kids to motivate them to quit smoking. When I
asked my mother why she wanted to quit smoking, she said “I want to be alive to see my children grow,
my grandchildren, and live past 80 years old.”
As of today, both of my parents smoke less than they were but have no completely stopped.
Besides all of the aversive conditions I put in, I think the tonsillectomy will help be an aversive effect as
well. I also believe the combination of the surgery and not being able to smoke (the withdrawal of
nicotine) will help put an end to smoking for my mother. For my dad, he tends to really only smoke
when my mom does. With her not smoking, he will probably quit as well! Lucky for him, he can quit cold
turkey without any issues (he agreed to do this intervention to really help out my mother).