Behavior Modification on Drinking More Water 1

Behavior Modification on Drinking More Water

Jonathan Bussey

The University of Memphis

Behavior Modification on Drinking More Water 2

Behavior Modification on Drinking More Water

Like many other students in college, I drink unhealthy beverages, one of them being

soda. I enjoy drinking soda because it tastes well is better tasting then water. I know that I should

drink water instead because it is better for my health, but sometimes late at night I will just enjoy

drinking soda. I do this because it is easier than drinking water and because get a temporary

enjoyment from it. I regret doing this because I like to sometimes pride myself on living a

healthier lifestyle with physical activities such as playing basketball, weightlifting, and

cardiovascular workouts. However, when I drink unhealthy drinks such as sodas, I feel bad

because I am cheating myself on my diet or I am basically cancelling out my work outs by

drinking soda. Therefore, I will be increasing my water intake throughout the day and decrease

my intake of soda. This will help me live a healthier life, while also causing me to feel better

about myself.

Antecedents, Behaviors, and Consequences

For a week, I recorded my antecedents, behaviors, and consequences (ABCs) related to

me drinking water. The antecedents that I noticed were that I did not plan to drink solely water

that day. I would just start drinking the soda and not even thing a about it until the behavior

started effecting my weight later that week. During my behavior of drinking the sodas I would

simply start drinking one, then that would lead to two, etc. I would drink the sodas until I

basically was full. I then started to realize how unhealthy the behavior started to become. In the

beginning, it was a very small habit, then it became every other day, and eventually an everyday

thing. The consequences of drinking the sodas instead of water were that I was more sluggish

while working out and in my everyday life, I gained a small amount of weight, and I was not

happy with my body image any longer.

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My main motivation for increasing my water intake is to develop a healthier lifestyle.

Also, I will develop a strong esteem in my body due to the increased water intake and decrease

in soda intake. The motivation of this behavior modification will also give me that sense of

accomplishment in myself and my healthy lifestyle that I strive to live.

Behavior Intervention Plan

My intervention plan will consist of positive punishment and positive reinforcement. I

will use positive reinforcement by rewarding myself with one hour playing Xbox one when I get

home from work if I go an entire day of not drinking any soda and drinking a gallon of water a

day. I will measure this by dividing my gallon into four parts and draw lines on the side of it and

try to get past all four of the markers. At the end of each of week I reward myself If I got twenty-

five or more markers for the week and by putting thirty dollars towards my next sneaker

purchase.

On another note, I will use positive punishment by making myself write from the

dictionary for twenty minutes for every day that I do not reach all four markers on the gallon. I

am not fond of writing from the dictionary and I really don’t know of anyone that is, so therefore

this will be an effective restraint from not reaching all four markers and not drinking any sodas.

So to quickly review, the short-term consequences are having to write from the dictionary and

the long-term consequences are not getting to play any Xbox after work.

When I am not successful in changing my drinking habits I will be motivated due to the

consequences that come with it. Whether it be from the short-term punishment of writing from

the dictionary, not getting to play Xbox, or the long-term punishment of not getting to buy my

next pair of sneakers sooner.

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This is a SMART goal because it is specific on what I am trying to achieve in drinking

more water and less sodas. It is measurable because I will be tracking my progress daily. The

behavior modification is achievable because of the motivation that I will “bring to the table” by

not wanting to take in any part of the short and/or the long-term punishment that I will have to do

if this is not met. Additionally, it is realistic because drinking more water and less soda is better

for my health. Finally, my behavior modification is time-bound because this project is designed

to only last four weeks.

Behavior Plan Implementation

For the most the part, the plan was followed with fidelity. My goal of changing my

behavior of drinking more water and less soda was achieved. However, it wasn’t until the end of

my month-long journey that I reached being soda free for days on end and drank the entire gallon

of water consistently. The plan was followed by starting slow with simply drinking more water

then soda, which I did every day why marking my gallon of water into 4 parts. It wasn’t too

complicated, however it had days where I didn’t want to follow through with my plan because it

was still difficult to only drink water. My ultimate goal though was to cut soda out of diet

completely and finish the entire gallon of water each day. I knew this would be hard, but

achievable. The plan was to everyday cut back more on the soda intake, (e.g. Day 1: 2 sodas,

Day 2: 1 sodas, and Day 3: 0 sodas) and finish the gallon of water. Therefore, I would replace

with the sodas that I normally drank with the gallon of water. I implemented the plan myself, and

thought that it would be challenging and maybe complicated, but achievable.

Implementation

The data that I collected over the three-week period shows an overall increase. The

baseline data showed that I did not participate much that week, while in Week 1, I got a little
Behavior Modification on Drinking More Water 5

better, but still did not reach my weekly goal of twenty-five or more markers of water. Then in

Week 2 I got even better by going two days without drinking any sodas and finally reached my

weekly goal. Then in Week 3, I went an entire week without drinking soda and only water which

resulted in me reaching my weekly goal.

The behavior modification plan was successful. My daily water intake sky rocketed, as

shown by the data. Even though I experienced some difficulty in the early weeks with the water

intake, I followed through with the positive punishment of not being allowed to play Xbox when

I got home from work. I felt that my level of success was high due to the amount of water that I

drank due to the amount of soda that I drank each day. Also, I felt as if my plan was successful

because, I reached where I was no longer drinking sodas on consist basis in Week 3 and then

after.

There are a few changes that I would do to improve the behavior plan. First, I would ask

my girlfriend to maybe try it with me. That way I would have a sense of accountability with

another person. Second, I would make the weekly reward something more tangible and, in the

moment, than putting money aside for something that I was going to buy later.
Behavior Modification on Drinking More Water 6

Appendix

Water/Soda Intake
7
Portions of Liquids Consumed

0
Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Days
amount of water amount of soda