Describe how you will go about changing your behavior.

1. Introduce, identify, and operationally define the behavior you will be targeting. Be sure
that it can be both measured and observed. The purpose of this definition is to ensure that
you are producing accurate measurement of the behavior, so be specific enough so that
when you observe and record your behavior in the behavior chart, you do not have any
doubts as to what qualifies as “one behavior.”
2. How has this behavior negatively affected your life?
3. Describe how you will go about changing your behavior. This description needs to be
concrete and measurable. That is, simply stating that you are going to drink more water
or exercise more is not sufficient. How will you ensure that you drink more water or
exercise more? Maybe you will buy or create a water bottle that tracks your water intake
and set goals throughout the day? Perhaps you will block out time in your schedule for
exercise each week? Think of this step as explaining your behavior change with enough
detail to someone else so that they would be able to implement your exact plan. Tip:
methods for changing your behavior can include routine, structuring, rewards,
gamification, journaling, social support, and countless other options.
4. Indicate one short-term goal (daily), one mid-term goal (weekly), and one longer term
goal (beyond this project) for your behavior change.
5. Include one empirical peer reviewed journal article that is related to your health behavior.
You could consider (1) the impacts of that behavior on one’s health, (2) the importance of
changing that behavior, (3) steps to change that behavior or adhere to the change, or (4)
information that supports or aligns with your opinion regarding the importance of the
presence of the behavior. That is, any peer-reviewed empirical article that relates to your
topic in some way is acceptable. If you find more than one applicable article and want to
include multiple articles, feel free to do so! You should incorporate the information from
the article(s) within this step of the project and must cite the article(s) in-text and on a
references page. Your peer reviewed journal article(s) cannot be one that is a required
reading. Instead, you must find the sources on your own. DO NOT use direct quotes;
instead, paraphrase the information into your own words, but be sure to cite still.
6. Relate one model of health behavior change that we learned about in class to your
behavior change (health beliefs model, theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy theory,
transtheoretical model). That is, what model best conceptualizes your health behavior
change? Write one paragraph (5-7 sentences) where you describe the model and relate it
to your own behavior change. No need to cite the information about the model as long as
the information comes from lecture. If you use an outside source, you must cite it (in-text
and on a references page).
7. Add a concluding sentence or two to wrap up this portion of the project.
8. Document your baseline behavior. This portion of the assignment will require you to
observe the behavior you chose to change for a total of seven consecutive days (The
latest possible start date is Jan 26-Feb2, but I would recommend starting this earlier).
Throughout these seven days, you should document your behavioral observation as this
will serve as the baseline data for part 2 of your project. Complete sentences are not
required here, chose something graphic! (See “Sample Behavior Change document” for
more details on what this might look like) Be sure to include the following information:
a. The day of the week and the date for each daily observation.
b. The number of behaviors that occurred that day and a description if needed.
9. You should also include a title page and reference page to align with APA format.

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