Archive for November, 2010

Many individuals want to lose weight. That can be difficult, and keeping the weight off can be difficult. I have pursued an easier goal for many years — preventing myself from gaining weight. Did you know that adults tend to gain about a pound a year? That adds up over the decades of life. I have seen individuals gain 20-30 pounds in a year — enough that their clothes no longer fit. I set a maximum weight (169 pounds or 77.25 kgs) many years ago, and I have been successful in keeping to that. I have found it more difficult in recent years to do so, and I just read an article today about research showing that animals that live near humans, e.g., pets and research animals, have gained weight as a group over recent decades just as humans have. The researcher interpreted the findings as evidence that some environmental force (an organism?) is causing weight gain in humans and animals. However, at the moment, the only sure causes of weight gain are the number of calories going in and the number being burned up. I have usually found it easier and more fun to increase exercise than to restrict calorie consumption. For whatever reason I now need to do both, as I am about a pound over the maximum and have not been able to get “down to weight” by exercise alone. I need to reduce calories daily — I will try eliminating one fruit for lunch, leaving me with two rather than the usual three fruits. I will keep a daily chart of my fruit eating at lunch. I will also aim for 1.5 hours of exercise a day on average, and keep a daily record of that. I will weigh myself on the same scale once or twice a week. There — I have important elements of a self-control project: A measurable goal, a daily plan, self-monitoring of key behaviours and outcomes, and public announcement of the plan.

John Malouff
Associate Professor of Psychology

Let’s move to a different realm of applied psychology, self-development. When I teach Behavior Modification, I always carry out a behavior change project at the same time my students are doing one. For my project this year, I set a goal several of running 5 kms in under 30 minutes. I had never run nearly that far before at any speed. Yesterday I achieved my goal, and I felt good the whole way. Several elements of my intervention helped me. These elements illustrate sound self-improvement methods:

1. I set a measurable ultimate goal.
2. I set subgoals that called for gradual improvement (running 0.2 kms farther each week at 10.1 kms per hr on a treadmill).
3. I made the running as much fun as possible by listening to music while I ran (the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar), running with a great view of a green space, and sometimes watching a virtual run thru Chicago on my treadmill screen (Chicago is a great town to visit).
4. I minimized unpleasant aspects of the task by running indoors out of the sun and by wearing quality socks and shoes and light, loose clothes.
5. I gained social support by telling others about my goal and weekly accomplishments and thereby garnering social support.
6. I kept track of my running distance every time I ran so that I could tell how I was doing.
7. I gave myself credit each time I reached a subgoal.
8. I will continue trying to increase my running performance by gradually running at a faster rate.

I avoided classic errors, such as setting an unrealistic goal, trying to do too much, too soon, and using only willpower to try to make progress.

What is my payoff for achieving my goal? In the short run, satisfaction and perhaps better sports performance and more ability to avoid injuries. In the long run, according to research, for every hour of exercise I put out, I will get an extra hour of healthy life. Not a bad deal!

Who will contribute another story of psychological principles used to achieve self-development?

John Malouff, Associate Professor of Psychology