In this assignment you will Describe the behavior in detail, Explain the origins of your problem by applying the B = f (P+E+PE) formula, Predict what will happen if you do not make any changes to it, and identify Changes that you can make to improve your behavior.

Begin by identifying the single behavior you will be exploring for the assignment.
Describe: Describe three examples of this one behavior occurring in your life. Examples are best when they are specific, that is, they actually describe a specific time when this happened, and help the reader understand why you consider this behavior problematic.
Explain: Explain your behavior in terms of the B = f (P+E+PE) formula.
Identify two Person variables (i.e., things that come from “within you” like your biology, personality, traits you were born with, etc.) and explain how they contribute to and/or have led to the development of this behavior. Include vocabulary terms from the course in your explanation. For example, terms from Chapter 7 – Personality could be used as you discuss how your personality traits may have played a role in the acquisition or development of your behavior. You may include vocabulary from other chapters as well.
Identify two Environmental variables (i.e., things in your environment, experiences that have shaped you, people around you, etc.) and explain how they contribute to and/or have led to the development of this behavior. Include vocabulary terms from the course in your explanation. For example, you might incorporate terms from Chapter 4 – Learning & Memory as you discuss how classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or observational learning may have played a role in the acquisition or development of your behavior. You may include vocabulary from other chapters as well.
Predict: Make at least two predictions about what could happen if you do nothing about this behavior. Consider what will happen one year from now or five years from now if you ignore this problem. What do you hope to be doing in one year or five years? For example, will you have graduated? Will you be working? Will you have a family? How could this problem behavior affect you at these stages in your life if you ignore it?
Change: Describe at least two changes you could make that would be likely to improve the behavior. Changes are most effective when they address the causes of your behavior. For example, if one of the explanations you provided for why you are always checking Facebook is because your phone beeps every time someone likes your photo, you might turn off these notifications. Your suggestions for change should be specific and it should be clear how you would actually implement these changes. For example, if your problem is that you are hesitant to talk to people in new situations, it is not sufficient to simply say that you need to realize that there is no reason to be scared. Likewise, it is not sufficient to simply state that you should do the opposite of what you are currently doing without explaining how you are going to make this change happen. For example, saying that you are just going to start talking to people more often is not enough because you haven’t explained how you are going to make this change. Instead, you should state specific things that you either will or will not do to initiate change.
You must incorporate concepts from the course throughout your paper to support your explanations, predictions, and changes. Here are some examples, however you may use vocabulary from other chapters as well.
You might incorporate terms from Chapter 7 – Personality as you discuss how your personality traits may have played a role in the acquisition or development of your behavior.
You might incorporate terms from Chapter 4 – Learning & Memory as you discuss how classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or observational learning may have played a role in the acquisition or development of your behavior.
You might incorporate concepts from Chapter 9 – Stress and Health to make predictions about how this problem could affect your health or well being long term.
You might discuss methods for coping from Chapter 9 or treatment methods from Chapter 10.
Format:

You should organize your paper into four sections with the headings Describe, Explain, Predict, and Change.
All vocabulary should be in bold font with the corresponding chapter number listed in parentheses. Keep in mind that in order to receive credit for use of a course concept it must demonstrate your knowledge of the course material. Using terms like “stress,” or “change,” or “explain” for example does not demonstrate depth of knowledge and your ability to apply course material to your life in a meaningful way.
In your explain section, identify your two Person and two Environmental variables by typing them in bold font with the label (P variable) or (E variable) in parentheses.
Papers should be between 750 and 1000 words. Papers that go beyond this word limit will receive a deduction.
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