ABSTRACT
Walking, talking out loud, throwing a baseball, yelling at someone-all are overt (visible) behaviors that could be observed and recorded by an individual other than the one performing the behavior. As will be discussed in later chapters, the term behavior can also refer to covert (private, internal) activities that cannot be readily observed by others. However, in the field of behavior modification, private or covert behaviors do not typically refer to behaviors done in private, such as undressing in one’s bedroom with the door locked and the blinds closed. Nor do they usually refer to secretive actions, such as cheating on an exam. Rather, in behavior modification they more commonly refer to activities that occur “within one’s skin” and that therefore require special instruments or procedures for others to observe. For example, just before stepping onto the ice at an important competition, a figure skater might think, “I hope I don’t fall,” and he or she is likely to feel nervous (increased heart rate, etc.). Thinking and feeling are private behaviors, and are discussed further in Chapters 15, 27, and 28. Covert as well as overt behaviors can be influenced by the techniques of behavior modification.
