Discussion social behavior

Discussion Posts Need to Be:   

• Substantive and thoughtful; that is, discussion posts must refer to a topic from the week's readings.  All discussion posts must be supported by current journal article(s) found in SFC Online Library Database system.  Discussion posts should draw from the information found in this week’s course materials, from personal experience, and from credible sources (peer-reviewed journal articles and sites provided by your professor).  


• All information gained, read, or acquired from any source that is not your personal information must be cited throughout the document otherwise it is plagiarism.  All information must be cited in the body of the document AND full-reference text at the end of the document using APA style & format criteria.  


• APA style & format criteria:  


• Peer-reviewed journal articles from SFC Online Library Database System  


• Current: January 2015 – Current month 2020  


• PDF available  


• Times New Roman font  


• 12-point font  


• Black ink  


• Single spaced work for DISC and RESP assignments only (to save space)  


• In-text citations appear throughout work  


• Full-text references appear at bottom of work  


• The discussion post should be three (3) well-developed paragraphs in length (about 7-9 fully developed sentences each; adhere to APA style & format including in-text and full-text reference citations).    


• If your professor and/or fellow classmate(s) asked you a question, to follow up, or further explain a point, you are required to do so in addition to your two main responses.  Failure to timely respond by Sunday of each week (to follow up questions) will result in reduction of points; 1 point for each entry not addressed.    

The main discussion post is due by Day 3 (Wednesday of each week).  Please click on “REPLY” from the main discussion post instructions to submit your assignment.  

Credible sources relevant to this course are (this is only a PARTIAL list): 

Santa Fe College Library Database system (https://sfcollege.libguides.com/az.php (Links to an external site.)) 

American Psychological Association (www.apa.org (Links to an external site.)) 

Society for Personality and Social Psychology (https://www.apa.org/about/division/div8 (Links to an external site.)) 

American Psychiatric Association (www.psychiatry.org (Links to an external site.) or www.psychiatryonline.org (Links to an external site.)) 

National Institutes of Health (www.nih.org (Links to an external site.)) 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.org (Links to an external site.)) 

World Health Organization: WHO (www.who.int (Links to an external site.)) 

REMEMBER: YouTube, Social Media, Wikipedia, etc. are NOT credible sources. 

Examples of topics to write about

(Choose only one topic from the examples below OR choose a topic of your interest that pertains to this week's material): 

Planned Behavior 

The theory of planned behavior suggests that behavioral attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influence intention, which consequently influences behavior. However, many behaviors are spontaneous and are not nicely captured by this theory. Discuss the difference between planned behavior and spontaneous behavior and the link between attitudes and behavior.  What examples can you think of that pertain to college students and the concepts of planned behavior, intent, and motivation (procrastination)? 

Attitude Inoculation 

Like with vaccines, persuasive messages can be inoculated. Discuss how exposing people to weaker arguments can help with resistance to stronger arguments they encounter later.  Be sure to define the term argument in the social psychological sense in your discussion.  What current events can we apply this concept? 

Balance Theory 

Balance theory suggests that we want consistency between our thoughts. So, for example, if you have a positive association between one person (person X), and this person has a positive association with something else (item Y), you too will want to have a positive association with this other thing (item Y). Discuss how this relates to advertisers who try to get you to like a product by associating it with someone or something else that you already like. 

Is Persuasion Bad? 

Discuss how persuasion often has negative connotations—for example, advertising trying to sell products or leaders trying to convince people to follow them against their best interests. However, persuasion can also be good. For example, psychotherapists try to convince their clients of a healthier way of perceiving the world, and parents try to persuade their children of living a life they think is right. Discuss the good and bad of persuasion.