Background
As an applied social psychologist/ consultant you are often asked to design an intervention to change a specific behavior. The first step in this process is doing a proper and comprehensive problem analysis for the client. This entails:
Clearly describing the problem at hand, what is the undesired behaviour causing the problems.
Selecting a relevant theory that will help you to understand which factors promote or inhibit the problem behaviour.
Applying the theory: describe the main determinants of the behavior causing the problem.
For the assignment you will sit in the seat of the behavioural consultant and execute such an analysis. The theory-driven problem analysis is the foundation for designing interventions, a (consultancy) skill that you will practice.
In short
You will create an analysis in which you present the behavior you want to change, the theory you want to use to understand this behaviour, and based on this theory a clear analysis of the main determinants of the problem-behavior. Next, you will review the problem-analysis of others on a set of characteristics, as explained below.
The length of the paper should be between 700 and 1000 words including every section, following APA guidelines.
A. Create a theory-driven-problem-analysis
– Your problem analysis should be based on the following several steps:
First decide which societal problem/ problem behavior you will analyse. You may pick a problem linked to one of the fields of applications discussed in the book, and it can be anything, such as polluting due to littering, people not recycling enough, or people not adhering to Corona-policies. Some notes:
Make sure you clearly specify the behavior you are trying to change to solve the problem. E.g. “Stopping the spread of Corona” is not a behavior “people not adhering to Corona-policies” is.
Try to be specific about the behavior you are analyzing, that will make your analysis more concrete. E.g. “people not wearing seatbelts is more specific than people not acting save. The behavior definition needs to be specific, at individual level, and measurable.
-Decide on the theory or theories you want to use to understand factors influencing the behaviour. Needless to say, you can select a relevant theory from the course book and videos. You could probably take any, but as discussed some theories may be more relevant and applicable in the given situation. Understand and formulate the various components and relations that make up the theory.
-Apply the theory/ theories to the problem/ problem behavior. According to the theory, what are the determinants causing or increasing the problem behavior or inhibiting the desired behaviour? For example, if the theory suggests subjective norms are determining behavior, what then is the specific subjective norm causing the problem behavior in the situation at hand?
The assignment
The assignment describing the problem analysis is 700 to 1000 words (no exceptions)
It must include the following elements:
Description of the societal problem
Introduction to the behavior causing the problem: why is this behaviour important when it comes to the societal problem just described (be clear, but brief).
Clearly, and correctly present the theory/ theories you will use to understand the behaviour, the various components and their relationships.
Present the problem analysis in which you clearly link the theory and its components to the problem at hand. Be as detailed as possible, this is the main part. However, focus on the meaningful details. For example, going on about the shade of green of a trash can or its non-transparent garbage bag is only a meaningful detail when it is linked to the theory you apply (e.g. strengthening a certain identity, or making the descriptive norm salient).
Your goal is to make a convincing theory driven problem analysis that a client will understand and appreciate. Be creative, the document can include a photo, diagram or drawing, to communicate your message more clearly.
—
I want the writer to focus on the societal problem of industrial farming; the behaviour causing the problem is meat eating behaviour and use the Cognitive Dissonance Theory.
Example; (How can someone claim to be against animal cruelty and still continue to eat meat? This can be explained by cognitive dissonance a term coined by Leon Festinger. Cognitive dissonance refers to a psychological discomfort an individual individual experiences when having two conflicting thoughts at the same time, or from engaging in a behaviour that conflicts with ones beliefs or attitudes. For instance, an individual has two inconsistent cognitive states being that he loves and cares about animals but also realises the inhumane treatment animals endure in factory farming. With these conflicting thoughts the individual is also engaging in meat eating behaviour. Cognitive dissonance occurs within the individual because he recognises that there is an inconsistency)
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