Theory of your choice: (1) explanation: explain the theory by defining and explaining its key concepts and related propositions (statements about how concepts relate to one another); and (2) application: apply the theory to a real, specific health-related situation, demonstrating how the theory can be utilized to frame the problem, understand what’s going on, and suggest what to do about it.
Choose a theory and explain it (About 1.5-2 pages)
Choose one of the following theories discussed in the textbook for this paper (key concepts of the theory are listed):
The Health Belief Model (Perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, self-efficacy)
Integrative Behavioral Model (attitude, perceived norm, personal agency, intention to perform the behavior, and behavior)
Stages of Change/Transtheoretical model (6 stages of change and characteristics of each stage)
Elaboration Likelihood Model (motivation and ability, central and peripheral routes)
Cognitive Dissonance Theory (psychological dissonance, three ways to reduce dissonance)
Choose a theory that interests you, that you understand reasonably well, or that you are curious about and want to learn more about. Another way is to first think about a real health communication problem that concerns you, and then think about a theory that will help your analysis of the problem. Explain the theory by giving an overview, defining and explaining key concepts and related propositions (statements about relations among concepts), and connecting the concepts.
Apply the theory (About 2-3 pages)
In this section, you should describe a health issue of your own or someone you know (such as smoking) or an episode from Intervention or Addicted available on Youtube or other websites (do not use Latisha and Eddie’s stories as we have discussed them in class), and then analyze the situation by using the concepts and principles of the theory of your choice. In your analysis, demonstrate how the theory can be utilized to frame the problem, understand what’s going on, suggest what to do about it, and offer practical intervention suggestions based on the theory. Make sure that all fundamental concepts are illustrated in the examples (if there is not an example from the real case, then give a hypothetical example in relation to the situation), and directly point out the concepts illustrated by the examples.
For example, if you choose COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, you can use the theory of your choice (e.g., health belief model, integrative behavioral model) to explain why a certain group of people are hesitant to get the vaccine and what to do about it from the theoretical perspective, or use a theory (e.g., transtheoretical model) to describe the stages of change a person goes through from hesitancy to action and identify key communication strategies that move a person from hesitancy to action. If you choose Elaboration Likelihood Model, then you can explain how a person would process information regarding the vaccine and make a decision about vaccination and what kinds of messages will be effective in persuading people to get vaccinated. If you choose Cognitive Dissonance Theory, identify a vaccine-related dissonance/inconsistency experienced by a person and how this person uses one or more strategies to reduce the dissonance and achieve peace of mind, and how health communication practitioners can use this theory to persuade people to get vaccinated.
Other Requirements:
Sources: You must use at least 5 sources, such as academic articles in refereed journals (either print or online), books, non-refereed websites and the like. You can find refereed articles by searching academic databases such as Academic Search Premier. Each of the sources should be both cited in text and listed in a bibliography (APA, MLA, or other styles).
Organization: Your paper should include a/an introduction, body, and conclusion, and each paragraph should have a clear thesis. Avoid long paragraphs (such as a one-page paragraph).
Format: The paper should be typed (12-point Times New Roman), double-spaced,
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