1. EATING AT HOME TO
SAVE MONEY
Psychology 671
Courtney June
Dr. Malott
8.11.11

2. Problem
 I was eating food from restaurants
several times a week and spending too
much money.

3. Competing Contingencies
 Will not have to cook
 Will not have to clean dishes
 Easier
 More time to
 study
 socialize
 sleep

4. Natural Competing Contingency
BEFORE BEHAVIOR AFTER
Have N Eat a meal Have N+1
hours to at a hours to
study restaurant study

5. The SM Intervention
 Target behavior: Eating at a Restaurant
Intervention: Lose $2 for meals eaten out
after already having eaten out that week
 Contingencies: analog to a penalty contingency
 Deadline (SD): n/a
 PM manager: Lori June
 Start Date: June 13, 2011
 End Date: August 11, 2011

6. Ineffective Natural
Contingency
BEFORE BEHAVIOR AFTER
Have given Eat one meal Have
amount at a infinitesimally
of money restaurant less money
The outcome was too small to control my behavior,
though eating out many times has a cumulative
significance on a bank account

7. Performance-Management
Contingency
BEFORE BEHAVIOR AFTER
Won’t lose Eat one meal Will lose
$2 on at a $2 on
Monday restaurant Monday

8. Direct Acting Contingency
Does not Eat a meal Does fear
fear losing at a Losing
$2 restaurant $2

9. 5
Weeks at a Glance
Cum. Behavior: Meals I Baseline SM Recycle
Eat from a Restaurant 4
3
2
Goal Line
1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Starting Date:
June 13, 2011 Weeks

10. Target Behavior Graph
Cum. Behavior Meals I Eat
Weeks at a Glance
Baseline Goal line Recycle
14
SM
12
at Home
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Starting Date: June 13, 2011
Weeks

11. Benefit Measure Graph
Baseline SM
Meals from a Restaurant
4
Cum. Behavior of Eating
3
2
1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Weeks

12. Problems During Intervention
 Not always enough time to go grocery
shopping
 Ineffective contingency
 $2 penalty was not large enough

13. Recycle
 The $2 penalty contingency was
ineffective
 Increased penalty to match the
cost of the meal
 If meal was $6, penalty was to pay
performance manager $6
(Including
performance
management)

14. My Results
 I found the recycle phase to be more
effective
 Paying my performance manager the
amount that matches the price of the
meal was more aversive than the simple
$2

15. My Comments
 Between you and me, I will not continue
this project any longer.
 It was nice being able to save money by
limiting myself to one restaurant-meal a
week.
 BUT, it was so annoying.
 Especially when I would not finish
homework until later in the evening and
was too tired to cook.

16. THANK YOU!!
Any Questions or
Comments?