People who join the helping professions, such as teaching, counseling, and crisis work, often speak about their passion to serve 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.
The persuasion theories and strategies that you are studying this week can add to your bank of knowledge and research to support you taking action as an advocate. This Assignment is an opportunity for you to practice use 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 which strategy you learned about this week – either the “foot-in-the-door” strategy or the “door-in-the-face” compliance strategy – would be more effective in working with The Board; the goal is to get The Board to the meeting to hear your group’s proposal.
- 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:
- Using either the foot-in-the-door strategy or the door-in-the-face strategy, explain how you will get The Board to attend an information meeting about the group’s proposal.
- Explain in enough detail to demonstrate that you understand the strategy, and why you believe the strategy you chose will work to motivate The Board to come to the meeting.
- Assume your strategy worked and The Board is now at the meeting where your group is going to present their proposal. Your next goal is to get the board to feel dissonance. Explain why you want the Board to experience dissonance. Next, based on your readings, discuss the specific activity that will believe will induce these feelings and why you chose this activity.
- Based on the techniques to relieve dissonance discussed in Chapter 11, describe an activity you will provide at the meeting to help The Board relieve their feelings of dissonance, and explain 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.