Changing Health Behavior

Context: As difficult as it is to change your behavior, the factors that influences one’s interest in changing, and the factors that influence one’s likelihood of changing are well studied and well-understood by psychologists. If you know what these factors are, it can help you help yourself! Combine what you learned in both weeks 2 and 3

Intention: This activity is designed to give you the knowledge of the factors that influence behavior change by focusing on the Transtheoretical Model (also called the Stages of Change)

Write a three- to four-page paper in which you:

· (1 page): Explain the Transtheoretical model or stages of change. (1 page )

· (2 pages): Choose an example of a time in your own life where you tried to change a behavior (it could be a health behavior, but if you have not experienced this yet, you can pick another behavior like changing spending habits), and apply the model to your experience. For example, you might write, “In 2003 I tried to change how much money I spent on fast food, but I wasn’t successful. I think some of the reasons this did not work out included the fact that so many of my friends eat a lot of fast food. Be sure to use your experiences in context of this model.