Page 165 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

avoidance of tobacco. It is recognized that reduction in morbidity and mortality from CVD can be
significantly reduced by modest, sustained changes in lifestyle behaviors. Additionally, these positive effects
accrue over time so that long-term success at behavior modification is warranted for CVD reduction.33

Evidence supports goal setting, self-monitoring, reinforcement, and modeling as effective in modifying
behaviors related to diet and physical activity.33 Other important elements of long-term success in behavior
change include frequent and prolonged contact of patients with their healthcare providers who advocate
positive behaviors, as well as enabling the client to problem-solve, especially during times of relapse, which
may be a normal part of behavior change.

A policy statement from several European and American organizations calls for a model to combat
noncommunicable diseases using healthy lifestyle interventions on a global perspective.34 Since it is generally
recognized that CVD may result from self-selected behaviors such as smoking, inappropriate eating behaviors,
lack of physical activity, and the pursuit of stress-prone lifestyles, it is encouraging that the initiation of the
behavior is by choice and that modification of these self-defeating behaviors is possible. Because the risk
factors are behavioral in nature, it is particularly appropriate to attempt to alter them using psychological
methods based on behavior modification. The degree of difficulty with such behavior modification partially
depends on how long the undesirable behavior has been in place.

Human Resource Management

The behavior of employees is of major concern to supervisors interested in productivity and good human
relations. Setting observable, measurable goals and noting the discrepancy between actual and desired
performance may help in actualizing desired behaviors. Supervisors need to convert ambiguous affective goal
statements into a format that is useful for producing improved performance. In this way, employees are
encouraged to periodically assess their own performance and adjust behavior as needed for improved results.
Rather than attempting to catch employees doing things wrong or inefficiently, managers are encouraged to
positively reinforce when employees are doing something right or approximately right and then gradually
move them toward the desired behavior. Positive reinforcers include the following:

• Praise
• Positive feedback
• Recognition employee of the week, month
• Added responsibility
• Compliments
• Special assignments
• Social events
• Knowledge of results
• Thank-you letter
• Salary increase
• Bonus
• Promotion

Praise is used immediately to reinforce proper behavior. Eventually, some employees begin to praise
themselves for the proper behavior, which provides additional reinforcement. A gentle reprimand may also be
used, concentrating on the improper behavior and not on the person.

An important aspect of job satisfaction and performance is the employee’s sense of personal control;

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