Self-management programs operate under the premise that change can be brought about by teaching people how to cope with problematic situations. Various assessment strategies are incorporated into a systematic program that encourages client responsibility for decisions about specific behaviors of control or change.

Self-management is often used in learning and study skills situations as well as time-management for academic success. There are four stages that should be addressed when designing a self-management program for improving study skills. The Watson and Tharp (1993) model gives a framework for the construction of a successful self-monitoring study program. The four stages are: (1) selecting goals; (2) translating goals into target behaviors; (3) self-monitoring; and (4) working out a plan for change.

The first stage, selecting goals, allows the student to define the problem areas where change is desired. These areas must be significant to the student and not externally mitigated by the therapist. Otherwise, change becomes more difficult.

Stage two, translating goals into target behaviors, allows the student to target specific behaviors for change. In effect, the student must ask and answer honestly the following questions: "What specific behaviors do I want to increase or decrease? What chain of actions will produce my goal?"(Corey, 1996, p.297).

The third stage, self-monitoring, is where the student deliberately observes his or her own behavior. By monitoring closely one's behavior, there is an increase in awareness of how one acts. This, in turn, allows for positive movement towards the established goal(s). It is important at this stage to elucidate on one's behavior in a concrete, quantifiable manner in order to ascertain the underlying meaning involved with the observed actions. This offers the opportunity for the student to reflect on the behaviors and an opportunity to modify any undesirable tendencies through active contemplation.

Incorporating self-reinforcement or self-contracting strategies is an important aspect of self-monitoring. A reward structure should be in place that allows the student to engage in a pleasant activity when the objectives of the program are fulfilled to expectation. The self-contract acts to reinforce the student's commitment to the study skills program by establishing consequences for actions and behaviors. These consequences do not have to be negative; they can be incorporated with the self-reinforcement regime that would allow for a specific reward when program challenges are successfully attained.

The last stage, working out a plan for change, involves making a comparison between what the student observes through self-monitoring and the student's specific behavioral change aspirations and goals. This is the stage where an actual action plan is devised and implemented incorporating the strategies mentioned in stage three. The plan for change should involve a gradual shift from the undesirable academic behaviors to the desirable ones.

References:

Corey, G. (1996). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Watson, D. L., & Tharp, R. G. (1993). Self-directed behavior: Self-modification for personal adjustment (6th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

5/28/98

William F. Ritchie, M.S., is a Ph.D., student in educational psychology and measurement at Cornell University. His research interests include attribution theory and explanatory style, and college student academic performance.