Abstract
This book chapter will first introduce theories in social and cognitive psychology to describe the process of change. The social intuitionist model (Haidt, 2001) is applied to illustrate how communication operates in human function. When confronted by the need to change, individuals respond first from intuition, and only after our response do, we acquire rational justification. Additionally, this chapter provides explanations of traumatic brain functions from the neuroscience perspective. Practitioners have to recognize both the intuitive and deliberative process when working with individuals who experience trauma with physiological reactivity. This chapter also discusses strategies to reduce traumatic stress and restore the proper balance between the rational and emotional brain.
TopBackground
Many theories have illustrated the process of change in individuals. The consensus is that change requires intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from individuals and external support from others in the social environment. In particular, intrinsic or self-determined motivation turns out to play a significant role in that it not only creates more lasting results in communication patterns and behavior change but also can minimize environmental obstacles in social changes as it creates a greater sense of ownership of the new behavior (Osbaldiston et al., 2003).
In defining changes, the chapter will include the following terms of changes: behavioral change, motivation change, attitude change, and conceptual change. It will also explore how these changes relate to one another and why change is hard in general. Conceptual change refers to the process of replacing one’s personal theories and beliefs with more adaptive ones. Despite the name “conceptual”, it actually refers to changes in a set of interconnected ideas. Research suggests that conceptual change is stubbornly hard to accomplish, for individuals of all ages tend to hold on to misconceptions and false beliefs (Dole & Sinatra, 1998; Nadelson et al., 2018). A good example of conceptual change is global warming. Many people refuse to believe it is true despite the accumulating scientific evidence and believe that the climate is always changing and has changed over time and recent climate change is caused by the sun, instead of human activities. It is challenging to change people’s misconceptions. This challenge can be explained by the models of constructive theory, social cognitive theory, motivation theories, and social intuitionist theory. For conceptual change to occur, there must be dissatisfaction with existing conceptions. Individuals will only make major changes in their concepts if they believe that less radical changes do not.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Shape the Path: the phrase, described in Chip and Dan Heath in their 2010 book Switch, is used to represent our environment. To make a sustained change, individuals need to address the environment, in addition to the rational brain (rider) and emotional brain (elephant).
Stages of Change: also known as the Transtheoretical Model, first introduced by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente in 1979, seeks to understand how people go through a behavior change. There are five stages of change: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
Theory of Planned Behavior: was proposed by Icek Ajzen in 1985 to predict an individual's intention to engage in a behavior at a specific time and place. The theory indicates that six constructs that collectively represent a person's actual control over the behavior: attitudes, behavioral intention, subjective norms, social norms, perceived power, perceived behavioral control.
Rider: this metaphor, along with the elephant, first described by Jonathan Haidt in 2006 and later expanded by Chip and Dan Heath in their 2010 book Switch, describes our rational brain’s tendency to be analytical and logical.
Trauma Responsive Care: is a comprehensive and systematic approach to help individuals create a sustainable, pragmatic, trauma-responsive environment. Practitioners anticipate and adequately address the potential that individuals have experienced trauma. They seek to mitigate the effect of that trauma by making carefully considered adjustments throughout the entire organization.
Elaboration Likelihood Model: a theory, developed by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo in 1980, explains two paths to persuasion and change of attitudes: the central and peripheral paths. The central path is most appropriately used when the receiver is motivated to think about the message and has the ability to think about the message.
Trauma-Informed Care: understands and considers the pervasive nature of trauma and promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatize.
Social Learning Theory: a theory conducted by Albert Bandura in the 1960s and 1970s, suggests that individuals learn social behavior by observing others and imitating them. The following factors of the model and the learner will determine if a change is successful: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation:
Elephant: this metaphor, along with the rider, first described by Jonathan Haidt in 2006 and later expanded by Chip and Dan Heath in their 2010 book Switch, describes our emotional brain’s tendency to seek instant gratification and avoid pain. It needs reassurance is rapidly overwhelmed with changes.