Behavior Change Project
Assignment Instructions: Choose a behavior to change over the duration of this course. Examples of health behavior change could include (but are not limited to): – Starting to exercise (or significantly changing your exercise program) – Drinking no caffeine (if you currently drink caffeine daily) – Quitting or reducing cigarette or smokeless tobacco use – Monitoring your food intake (or a specific food group, such as fruit and vegetables), and tracking adherence to a specific diet plan or caloric goal
The required components of this assessment are listed below and should all be turned in together at the end of the course: 1) Goals and Plan for your Behavior Change: Identify your behavior change and set one outcome goal and three process goals. Please type this component and include it at the beginning of your final project. 2) Weekly Journal Entries: Each week you will write a journal entry about your behavior change experience. Please type the journal entry in a Microsoft Word file. 3) Final Paper: Your final paper should include a commentary on the successes and struggles of your behavior change process. Discuss your success and struggles related to the course content on behavior change and adherence. In this paper, you are required to discuss one or more of the behavior change theories as it relates to your situation.
At the end, address your future intentions over the following 6 months to a year to engage in this behavior, and include any modifications to your plan. Organize your paper as follows:
Introduction – (1 page) Overview your attitude, motivation, and specific goals when you started your behavior change two weeks ago. Were you optimistic, excited, organized, etc? Theory Integration – (5-7 pages) A. Pick 1 of the theoretical models of behavior change and discuss its relevance to your attempts to change. Use specific examples of thoughts or situations to illustrate how this model can be applied to your efforts. B. Please also highlight any barriers that came up and how successful you were at handling them. If you did well, discuss the coping skills that contributed to your success. If you relapsed at certain times, discuss why that happened, and what you could have done differently to overcome them. Summary & Future Plans – (1-2 page)
Evaluate yourself on how successful/unsuccessful you were and highlight the key factors that contributed either way. Then, discuss briefly your intentions for continuing to engage in this behavior in the future.
