PLEASE READ ENTIRE INSTRUCTIONS For this assignment, you will be engaging in a desired behavior change. We will be using the theory of cognitive dissonance to bring about a successful behavior change for at least 24 hours:
select a behavior that you would like to change
e.g., be healthier
write down what the behavior is and what your attitude is toward the behavior (to bring about a successful change, your attitude must be in line with your desired behavior)
e.g., attitude: I want to feel good and live well behavior: engage in healthy behaviors
make a list of three actions that you can take to be successful in your new behavior
e.g., 1. Go to the gym, 2. Park car far away and walk in parking lots, 3. Cut out soda and processed food.
engage in the new behavior for 24 hours (I have had students who use this technique to completely cut out undesirable behaviors such as stopping smoking, losing weight, and stopping procrastinating for the whole semester and even longer!)
Type a one page (12 point font, 1 inch margins, double spaced) summary of your experience, including a definition of cognitive dissonance, how the process applied to your behavior change, whether you were successful or not and how this helped you understand cognitive dissonance. Consider how this assignment has changed you or how you think about the world.
Discussion Application Assignments 20 points each
All original posts, due the Friday of
the week due, need to be one page in length and required responses, due Sunday of the week due,
to a classmate need to be about 100 words in length. (I would encourage you to type out your
response in a word document before posting in the Discussion Board). Please bold your social
psychological terms throughout all of your discussion post, so I can easily see what terms you
are using.
