Motivation Strategies=Changing Attitudes and Behaviors Scenario

Motivation Strategies=Changing Attitudes and Behaviors Scenario

One of the common findings, according to social psychologists, is the failure of individuals to realize the role of social situations in influencing one’s behaviors. Individuals sometimes believe that they have personal reasons for engaging in given behaviors, even when external situational factors have influenced such behaviors. Individuals also exhibit inconsistencies in behaviors, resulting in cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance refers to the discomfort that occurs when an individual exhibits inconsistent beliefs, thoughts, and attitudes, making such an individual fail to live up to one’s expectations. The individual alters the behaviors, beliefs, or thoughts associated with discomfort to reduce the pain and restore balance (Perloff, 2021). In this scenario, the primary goal is to present a situation that will make “The Board” experience cognitive dissonance about their perception of Mandarin Chinese.

The Situation

Mandarin Fanatics is a local group that brings together people interested in learning Mandarin Chinese and China’s culture. The group organizes occasional Mandarin classes where interested persons get a chance to learn the basics of Mandarin Chinese. It will be a lifetime opportunity for Mandarin, as certified tutors will be available. The group plans to hold weekend Mandarin classes for the next three months, and the worry has been the venue for the language classes. My favorite venue is a room in St. Jude Community Center. However, The Board that manages the center is notorious for disregarding requests from minority groups. The group has scheduled a meeting with The Board to request the use of the community’s facilities for the period. It will not be easy to convince them to allow the group to use a room within the center for the Mandarin classes because of the community center’s tendency to overlook small and minority groups.

The Cognitive Dissonance Experience

In this situation, I will use the case of a teacher who punishes kids that he dislikes because he has the power to do so despite knowing that it is wrong. The role of the teacher is to show all children love and reprimand them accordingly and fairly, irrespective of their social, racial, or cultural background. However, this teacher working in a multiracial school has developed a dislike for African American children, making him sideline them and even going to the extent of punishing them unfairly. I will ask them if the teacher is justified to do that in a diverse society that should accommodate everyone. The goal is to make The Board feel cognitive dissonance, prompting them to alter their attitudes and beliefs to allow the Mandarin Fanatics group to use the community’s facilities for the Mandarin classes. I will choose this activity because children are helpless in the hands of a teacher who is supposed to protect them. The same case applies to the Mandarin Fanatic group. St. Jude Community Center is expected to accommodate such minority groups by appreciating their presence in society. However, The Board has been at the forefront of denying minority groups an opportunity to flourish.

Technique to Relieve Dissonance

The activity will leave The Board Members feeling guilty and uncomfortable for promoting social stratification contrary to the expectations. I will devise an activity during the meeting to help The Board relieve dissonance. One way to do this is by encouraging a change of behaviors by explaining the essence of learning a foreign language. Besides, I will suggest that the members present consider enrolling in the Mandarin classes once they start. The meeting may turn into an avenue for each member to learn at least one funny-sounding Mandarin language vocabulary. The members will change their actions and perceptions not only towards Mandarin Chinese but also the place of minority groups within the community (Perloff, 2021). The main intention of resolving The Board’s dissonance is to create a favorable environment for them to allow the Mandarin Fanatics to use their premises for the upcoming Chinese Classes. This meeting also aims to encourage The Board to get past the inconsistencies towards other minority groups that might need to use the community premises in the future. Resolving the dissonance will result in a favorable permanent change of behavior, making the community center friendly to everyone as The Board will be more conscious of their future decisions.

Ethics of Compliance

Ethical compliance is a vital element of this meeting. The Mandarin Fanatic group will present written standards of the group’s ethical conduct and commitment to maintaining their facility premises in their best condition throughout the period of the classes (NASW, n.d). The group respects the privacy of every individual and the right to ask questions or air views freely. We will focus on displaying the highest levels of integrity throughout the meeting by holding discussions on the essence of ethics (Feldman et al., 2019). Besides, the group will request the community center’s code of ethics and the expected conduct if granted an opportunity to use the premises. The parties will also sign a commitment to re-evaluate the code of ethics to ensure that there is compliance until the group concludes its classes.

References

Feldman, Y., & Kaplan, Y. (2019). Behavioral ethics as compliance. Forthcoming, Cambridge Handbook of Compliance (Van Rooij & Sokol Eds.), Bar Ilan University Faculty of Law Research Paper, (19-18).

National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (n.d.). NASW – National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved 14 May 2022, from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English.

Perloff, R. M. (2021). The dynamics of persuasion: Communication and attitudes in the 21st century (7th ed.). Routledge.

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People who join the helping professions, such as teaching, counseling, and crisis work, often speak about their passion for serving others. If you have ever been in a class or a work environment where you stood for others without a voice or for a cause you believed was right, you can be considered a social advocate. Social advocacy is one way, as a Walden student, and beyond that, you can forward social change and fulfill the Walden University outcome to facilitate positive social change.

Motivation Strategies=Changing Attitudes and Behaviors Scenario

The persuasion theories and strategies that you are studying this week can add to your bank of knowledge and research to support you in taking action as an advocate. This Assignment is an opportunity for you to practice using motivation and compliance strategies in your efforts to bring groups together to change minds and hearts.

For this Assignment, you will respond to the following scenario:

You are a social advocate for a group of individuals in your community who feel disconnected from the community because of their distinguishing characteristic(s) (e.g., language, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, beliefs) and have experienced discrimination. Members of this group want to use a room at the local community center for a much-needed program (e.g., language classes, an after-school program, a support group, etc). However, the individuals who run the community center, known as The Board, have a reputation of denying proposals from minority groups. As this group’s advocate, you believe that if you can get the two groups together, understanding and an agreement might be reached.

To prepare:

Review the Week 5 Learning Resources.
Fill in the details of this scenario. Choose a group that you would advocate for based on your experience or interests, and identify a focus of their proposal based on a realistic need.
Consider that The Board’s funding contract has a clause about serving the whole community.
Consider how to use cognitive-dissonance theory to persuade a change in view by The Board in your scenario.
By Day 7
Submit a 3- to 5-page paper that includes the following:

You, your group and The Board are now at the meeting your group is going to present their proposal. Your goal is to get the board to feel cognitive dissonance. Explain why you want the Board to experience dissonance. Next, based on your readings, justify the specific activity that you believe will induce these feelings and why you chose this activity.
Based on the techniques to relieve dissonance discussed in Chapter 13, explain an activity you will provide at the meeting to help The Board relieve their feelings of dissonance, discuss why your activity will be effective in helping them to relieve their dissonance. Why will relieving the Board’s dissonance be an important part of your meeting with them?
Evaluate the ethics of using these compliance strategies and explain your reasoning based on specific ethical guidelines.
Note: Support the responses within your Assignment with evidence from the assigned Learning Resources, including in-text citations. Provide a reference list for resources you used for this Assignment.

references
Perloff, R. M. (2021). The dynamics of persuasion: Communication and attitudes in the 21st century (7th ed.). Routledge.

Chapter 12, “Emotional Message Appeals: Fear and Guilt”
Chapter 13, “Cognitive Dissonance Theory”
These chapters of your text cover the key themes for the week. Complete the reading in Chapter 12 to prepare for your Week 5 Discussion post and Chapter 13 to prepare for your Assignment.

Note: Review the codes of ethics from the Week 1 Learning Resources. You will use one or more codes of ethics that are most relevant to the content of your Discussion post and to your Assignment this week