In today’s society, a lot of people feel pressured by those around them to do things that they don’t want to do. Usually, these people end up falling in with the crowd around them because they want to fit in with their friends. In the video that we made, we decided to bring up the topic of drinking, specifically in the college environment. The theory that we used to get our point across was the Theory of Planned Behavior. The theory says that “an individuals intention to perform a given behavior is a function of their attitude toward performing the behavior, their beliefs about what relevant others think they should do, and their perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the behavior”(Cottrell). In the video, Brad and Chad were talking about the upcoming Halloween weekend. Chad wanted Brad to go to a party with him and drink. But Brad did not want to go because he didn’t want to drink, due to the fact that his dad is an alcoholic. Chad keeps telling him that he should go because he will miss out on everything and the rest of their friends, including himself, would think that he is lame for not hanging out and drinking with everyone. Brad uses the Theory of Planned Behavior to explain to Chad what is Chad is doing to him.
Brad explains to Chad what Behavioral Intention is, which is the likelihood of performing the behavior. He says that the likelihood of him going out and drinking is slim to none, since he does not want to follow in his fathers footsteps regarding alcohol. His attitude towards the behavior is that it is bad, since he has seen firsthand what excessive drinking can do to a person. Brad also explains to Chad that Chad falls into the the Subjective Norm, since the actions of those around him are basically his motivation for drinking because he wants their approval. Chad thinks that all of their friends will think that Brad is a loser for not drinking with everyone during the Halloween weekend. Brad expresses his Perceived Behavioral Control, saying that he is choosing not to drink because he doesn’t want to, and that the actions of those around him will not influence him to do otherwise.
Cottrell, Randall R., Girvan, James T., McKenzie, James F., Seabert, Denise M., Spear, Caile (2012). Health Promotion and Education (7th ed.). Glenview, IL: Pearson Education, Inc.
Youtube video link:
Taking Care of YOU 