Objective:

To show students that you may convince someone on your perspective, but that doesn't mean that you can change their behavior. There is much more to changing behavior then convincing them in your point. This lesson will give students an understanding in how their own attitudes and behaviors are developed

Preset Activity:

Have students make 3 different lists. The first list should be of things that they think everyone would agree on. These would be things that they don't think anyone would argue against (i.e. The sun sets in the west). The second would be a list of what could be considered family values or beliefs. These could be things that their friends might disagree with them on, but they both agree to put the disagree aside (i.e. it is important to go to college, lying is wrong). The third list is thing they think to be true, but if shown differently they would change their minds (i.e. you can catch more fish with worms).

Lesson:

Milton Rokeach (a Social Psychologist) is a researcher of attitudes. Rokeach's theory assumes a hierarchy consisting of beliefs at the bottom with stronger and more complex attitudes coming next, and values which are even stronger and more complex at the top. Each person has countless beliefs, far fewer attitudes, and a rather limited number of values.

Beliefs can be general or specific, significant or insignificant. Beliefs are statements that we make about ourselves and how we perceive the world around us.

Values are a specific set of beliefs and attitudes.
There are two types of values:
Terminal Values are ultimate life goals (i.e. I want to be a success).
Instrumental Values are the tools with which one hopes to achieve one's terminal values (i.e. I will get a college degree).

Rokeach's Belief Hierarchy -There are five levels of belief; the core bbeliefs are the most impossible to break.

1. Primitive beliefs ( unanimous consensus) - These come from direct experience, and aree ones that everyone around us agree upon. (The sun sets in the west.) These are hardest to change.

2. Primitive beliefs (zero consensus) - These are learned from our experience, but we don't get outside approval of these beliefs. (Most people like me.) These rarely change.

3. Authority beliefs - These depend on our interchange with others. (It is best to tell the truth.) These could be changes with lots of experience or persuasion.

4. Derived beliefs - These are beliefs we get from second hand sources like books or newspapers. These beliefs are easier to change.

5. Inconsequential beliefs - These have to do with individual preferences and tastes. These are the most easily changed. (I prefer living in warm weather.)

Reflective Activity: (This activity is to give students a more in-depth look at derived needs. I choose these needs because they are the ones focused on throughout education. They will be required to form "scholarly" essays in college where they get their information from credible sources. This will teach them how to begin using scholarly information.)

Research Activity: Students are to look through popular magazines for an article on a topic that interests them, and one that could be supported by research. The idea is to get students looking for derived beliefs in popular magazines. Once they have chosen a topic from a popular magazine, they must research that topic in other avenues. Since in high school there isn't much access to journals, students could look the information up on the internet. The idea is for students to learn how well the ideas in popular magazines are supported.

Written Response: The students will have to write a paper on their topic describing what the popular magazine wrote and if it was backed up in other sources or not. They should also report how they see the topic. Did their views change, remain the same, strengthen, or weaken?

Oral Report: The students are to give a quick overview of what they researched and what their results are. Their oral report should only be a couple of minutes that gives us a glimpse of what they discovered.