Your greatest adversary is not that change is hard to make; your greatest adversary is common sense (Cross, 2013). Many times we assume that common sense should contribute to people changing their behavior or being a particular way, but unfortunately, it does not. Common sense indicates that information alone causes change, yet this ignores the complexities of human behavior, as well as the need for motivation and skill development. Second, it promotes the notion that changes in attitude inevitably result in changes in behavior, neglecting the fact that habits and contextual circumstances frequently have a greater impact. Finally, common sense frequently underestimates the impact of social and structural factors on behavior, resulting in an overemphasis on individual willpower and personal responsibility. These beliefs can impede successful tactics for promoting long-term behavioral changes.
Dr. Cross's recommendations for behavior change align well with the Influencer's Model of Six Sources of Influence. A few ways in which they align are personal motivation and ability, social motivation and ability, and structural motivation and ability.
Personal Motivation: Dr. Cross suggests the importance of intrinsic motivation and individual commitment the desired behavior must be personally relevant and appealing while the influencer model suggests people find personal value in the behavior and feel competent in performing the behavior.
Social Motivation: Dr. Cross highlights the role of social norms and how they affect behavior because people are influenced by the actions and expectations of those they are surrounded by. The influencer model creates supportive social environments by leveraging social networks to drive change.
Structural Motivation: Dr. Cross and the influencer model point out the impact of how your environment and structural factors such as incentives and physical barriers can alter the result of the desired behavior making it more or less attainable.
Based on the influencer model, the desired results that I wish to achieve in my innovation proposal are personal motivation and ability as well as social motivation and ability. I believe that project-based learning will allow students' confidence levels to increase because they will have full ownership over their learning experience. When students enjoy what they are learning and have a choice in how they present the information we are more likely to see increased levels of motivation and ability in those areas.
References:
Patterson, K., & Grenny, J. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change, Second Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
TEDx, T. (2011). Three Myths of Behavior Change - What You Think You Know That You Do not: Jeni Cross at TEDxCSU. Youtube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5d8GW6GdR0
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