Chapter+24+A+Theory+of+Rule+Governed+Behavior+ANSWERS

** A Theory of Rule Governed Behavior ** ** ANSWERS **
 * Chapter 24 **

1. The cause of poor self-management: The myth vs. the truth

a. What is the myth of poor self-management?

Poor self-management occurs because immediate outcomes control our behavior better than delayed outcomes do.
 * ANSWER:**

b. Why is this wrong and what is the real cause of poor self-management?

It isn’t the delay at which an outcome will occur that leads to the failure of a rule to control our behavior, but it is the rule’s description of outcomes that are **//too small//** or **//too improbable//** that leads to that rule’s inability to control behavior. So, in other words, you simply have to increase the size or probability of an outcome **while keeping the delay the same in order** to increase its effectiveness//.//
 * ANSWER:**
 * Poor self-management results from poor control by rules describing outcomes that are either too small (though of cumulative significance) or too improbable. **The delay is not crucial**.

c. Please provide an everyday example of a rule with a delayed outcome that fails to control behavior. Then explain how increasing the size or probability of the outcome can increase the effectiveness of that rule while keeping the delay the same.

Let’s talk about buckling up your seat-belt. Let the rule be that if you are stopped by a police officer and you are not wearing your seat-belt, you will receive ticket and a fine. Now, normally, you are the kind of person that hates the restrictiveness of a seatbelt, so you don’t often wear it. You know that the probability of a police officer stopping you is pretty low and because that scenario is so rare, you fail to wear your seatbelt. What we have just described is a low-probability outcome which does not control your behavior. Now, let’s suppose that it is Memorial Day weekend, the weekend for travelers. Because there are so many cars out on the road, there are also a lot more police officers. For these three days, the probability of being seen driving without a seatbelt on by an officer has significantly increased. As a result, you forgo the discomfort of the seatbelt and decide to wear it while driving. Here we can see that the increase in the probability of an aversive outcome has caused the rule to increase in effectiveness to where it now controls your behavior.
 * ANSWER:**
 * The change in the probability of getting pulled over without your seatbelt from the before condition to the after condition must be large enough for the rule to control your behavior of buckling up.