Implementing Models of Behavior Change to Promote Good Lucid Dreaming Habits
Background
So… I was doing homework (cause the new semester has just started up) and I was reading my Health book. The last thing I expected to get from this Gen. Ed. class would have been an idea applicable to lucid dreaming, but, well… surprise!
So just what could possibly be applicable you ask? The first chapter of the book speaks about health in general. Primarily, for more than half of that chapter, it talks about improving personal health by changing behaviors so that your behaviors (called modifiable determinants because you can change them) are conducive to good health.
Well I was reading about Models of Behavior Change. The more I read about them the more I realized they could very, very easily be applied to oneself for more than just health improvements. You could use them for anything so why not lucid dreaming?
The Models
Before I move on to describe how I would suggest implementing them I think it would be appropriate to describe them in detail first. If you wish to skip the details behind the process, just move on down a section to The Proposal. For now, though, here are the two models (there were three in the book, but the first is clearly only applicable to health; the other two are much more open to other implementations):
The Social Cognitive Model
“The social cognitive model developed from the work of multiple researchers over the past several decades, though it is most closely associated with the work of psychologist Albert Bandura. Fundamentally, the model proposes that three factors interact in a reciprocal fashion to promote and motivate change. These are the social environment in which we live, our thoughts or cognition (including our values, perceptions, beliefs, expectations, and sense of self-efficacy), and our behaviors … We change our behavior, in part, by observing models in our environments – from childhood to the present moment – reflecting on our observations, and regulating ourselves accordingly.” (Donatelle, 2013)
Basically, we change the way we act depending on how we see others act, how our thoughts dictate we should act, and how we currently act. This is not limited to a single person, however. When you see others doing something you are inclined to act, depending on your thoughts and current behavior, accordingly. Simply put, what you see and what you think affects how you behave. How you behave likewise affects how others behave. It’s a social-behavioral merry-go-round of sorts. Good behaviors promote good behaviors and likewise.
The Transtheoretical Model
This one is much longer so I shall paraphrase the majority of the content.
There are six stages of change: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance, and Termination. Each of these are summarized below.
- Precontemplation: People in this stage are not considering changing a behavior.
- Contemplation: In this stage, the person realizes that there is something that he or she wants to change. The person may want to make the change but has not for various reasons (time, procrastination, etc.).
- Preparation: At this point, the person is close to starting to make the change. He or she may even have a plan of attack for doing so.
- Action: In this stage the person implements his or her action plan. Someone who has followed through with all stages so far is more prepared than someone who leaps to action immediately and, thus, is more likely to succeed.
- Maintenance: During this stage, the person making the change manages the various factors that may cause a relapse into old behavior.
- Termination: At this point, the new behavior is so ingrained that action may no longer be necessary. The change has become a part of the person’s daily life and habits.
(Summaries made from content in Donatelle’s book: reference cited below.)
The Behavior Change Contract
The book also mentions in the following chapters a Behavior Change Contract. It’s basically an outline of how you plan to change by stating your goals and how you will overcome obstacles to those goals.
I will mention using a modified version below as a sort of “Lucid Habits Contract”. I’d have to make it, but it wouldn’t be too difficult. I just thought I’d mention it before getting to the proposal so you are not confused when I bring it up.
The Proposal
Sorry for that lesson. 
Had to get you informed. 
Now, on to my plan.
What I propose is taking the two models of behavior change, the “Lucid Habits Contract”, and Thorn’s Fitting Lucidity Into Life - A Multi-Technique Routine and combining them all into a group oriented approach to making a change. But why not just do it on your own you ask?
I don’t know if anyone else is like me, but I find it hard to stick with any kind of RC based, always DJing (though I do that pretty well for about a year now), start WBTBing, don’t forget to DEILD itinerary. I just find it hard to start, and keep going… Simply put, I can’t keep the change around. I stop RCing. My DJ slacks. I forget to try to WILD / MILD at natural awakenings. I don’t do visualizations much anymore, and I’ve pretty much stopped using any mantras… The only thing that has stuck, and it falters every now and then, is keeping my DJ and that’s taken four years! (Three years if you count from when I stuck with it in August 2012.)
As you can see, this is more of a way to get you to keep up with techniques and lifestyle changes than it is a technique in and of itself. Also, among the models are various factors that the LD4All website exists for anyway! Community cooperation, and a backbone for aspiring lucid dreamers to name a few.
Thoughts?
I’d like to know what you guys think. If anyone is interested in doing this with me that’d be cool. I think actually having a well rounded plan and more than one person working on it at the same time could really help those (like me) who can’t see to remember to RC on a regular basis actually get somewhere. 
References
Donatelle, R. (2013). My health: An outcomes approach. (p. 9). Glenview, IL: Pearson Education, Inc.
