John M. Luby
University of North Texas

Topeka, KS–Behavior analysts have long held that covert thoughts and feelings, sometimes termed “private events,” may be changed in the same ways as observable behavior. Now teenage and adult students are using simple recording devices to count positive and negative “inners.” Researcher Abigail B. Calkin taught the students to increase their positive self-statements as a way to improve self-esteem.

The students learned to count their own positive and negative inners, and plot their daily totals on a special graph. After a week the students began to increase their positives by using 1-minute timings, a technique adopted from Precision Teaching. For 1 minute they wrote or said positive self-statements as fast as possible. Then they recorded in their charts how many they did in 1 minute. Each day they practiced saying their positives more rapidly than the day before.

Students found that the more adept they became at positive self-talk the more positive thoughts and feelings occurred during the entire day.

Some of the students practiced repeating direct opposites of negative inners. These were designed to get rid of negative thoughts and feelings that would have lowered their self-esteem. Sure enough, when they were able to say or write these at very fast rates the negatives decreased throughout the entire day.

Additional information may be obtained from Abigail B. Calkin at abicalkin@aol.com.

Calkin, A. B. (1992). The inner I: Improving self-esteem. Journal of Precision Teaching, 10, 42-52.

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