| Course | PAC 230 Families and Health Psychology |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | Behavior change plan |
| Length | About 1,071 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 230 Module 3
From "I Should" to "On Tuesdays I Will": A Behavior Change Plan for a Caregiver With Prediabetes
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 230: Families and Health Psychology
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
From "I Should" to "On Tuesdays I Will": A Behavior Change Plan for a Caregiver With Prediabetes
When Carla Dawson visited Maumee Valley Family Health, the invented clinic that serves her family, about headaches and poor sleep, her physician also ordered routine blood work. Her fasting glucose and her A1C, a measure of average blood sugar over several months, were both in the prediabetes range. Carla is forty-nine and somewhat overweight, and her mother had type 2 diabetes. She told the clinic's health coach that she knew she should eat better and exercise, but that between driving a school bus, caring for her father and supporting her son in recovery, she had no time. This paper builds a behavior change plan for Carla. She and the clinic are invented for teaching, and every study cited is real.
Why Behavior Change Matters
In prediabetes, blood sugar sits above the healthy range without yet reaching the level used to diagnose diabetes. Without change, many people with prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes. A large federal trial run by the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group (2002) asked whether that progression could be stopped. More than three thousand adults with elevated blood sugar were randomly assigned to an intensive lifestyle program, to the medication metformin or to a placebo. The lifestyle program aimed for a weight loss of at least seven percent of body weight and a weekly total of at least one hundred fifty minutes of activity at roughly the effort of a brisk walk, supported by a curriculum of individual sessions. After an average of nearly three years, new diabetes was 58 percent less common in the lifestyle group than among those on placebo; for the metformin group the reduction was 31 percent. The lifestyle program worked across age, sex and racial and ethnic groups.
For Carla, the trial shows that modest, specific changes can substantially reduce her risk. Seven percent of her weight is about fourteen pounds, and one hundred fifty minutes is about twenty minutes a day.
Self-Efficacy
Bandura (1977) proposed that people's confidence in their ability to carry out a behavior, which he called self-efficacy, is a central determinant of whether they attempt it, how much effort they invest and how long they persist when it gets hard. He described four sources of self-efficacy: performance accomplishments, or success in doing the behavior; vicarious experience, watching someone like oneself manage it; verbal persuasion, hearing from others that one can do it; and emotional arousal, since anxiety and fatigue can lower confidence. Performance accomplishments were the most powerful source, which suggests that behavior change should begin with small steps likely to succeed.
Carla's confidence is low. She has tried diets before and stopped within weeks, and she feels she has no time. A plan built on self-efficacy theory would start small, let her succeed and build from there.
The Gap Between Intention and Action
Carla already intends to change. Webb and Sheeran (2006) examined whether changing people's intentions actually changes their behavior, using experimental studies in which interventions changed intentions and behavior was measured afterward. Interventions that moved intentions by a medium-to-large amount moved behavior by a noticeably smaller, small-to-medium amount. Intentions matter, but much of the time they do not translate into action, especially for behaviors that must be repeated and that compete with habits. The authors noted that intentions were less effective for behaviors that people had less control over and for behaviors in social contexts. One strategy with strong research support is implementation intentions, if-then plans that specify when, where and how a person will act, so that the situation itself cues the behavior.
The Plan
| Intention | If-then plan | Self-efficacy source | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise more | If it is a weekday, then after my morning bus route I will walk for twenty minutes at the park by the depot | Performance: start with a doable dose | Minutes walked per week, from a phone step counter |
| Eat better | If I pack lunch the night before, then I will include vegetables and skip the vending machine | Performance; less reliance on willpower at noon | Days with packed lunch |
| Drink less soda | If I feel tired in the afternoon, then I will drink water or unsweetened tea first | Emotional state: fatigue triggers soda | Sodas per day |
| Lose weight gradually | If it is Monday morning, then I will weigh myself and record it | Performance: seeing progress | Weekly weight |
| Keep going after a bad week | If I miss three walks, then I will text the health coach and restart with ten minutes | Verbal persuasion; planning for lapses | Restarts recorded |
Family Supports
Carla's health is tied to her family, and the plan uses that connection. Her son Mike, nine months into recovery, has started walking as part of his own recovery and offered to walk with her twice a week, which adds vicarious experience and companionship. Sunday dinner, the family's central ritual, could include one vegetable dish and smaller portions of dessert without losing its meaning. Her father, Walt, who has heart disease, would benefit from the same changes, so Carla's plan can help him too. Asking her sister to cover two evenings with Walt, as proposed in the stress plan, would free time for walking.
Fitting the Plan to Carla's Life
The plan avoids asking for changes Carla cannot sustain. It does not require a gym, early mornings before her route or special foods. It uses times already in her day, such as the gap after her morning route, and builds on what she already does. If a week goes badly, the plan includes a way back.
Tracking and Review
Carla will record her walking minutes, packed lunches, sodas and weekly weight in a simple notebook or phone app and review them with the health coach monthly. At three months, her A1C will be rechecked. Success will be judged not only by weight but by steady progress toward one hundred fifty minutes a week and fewer sodas, behaviors that the Diabetes Prevention Program linked to lower risk.
Conclusion
Carla's prediabetes is a warning she can act on. The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group shows that lifestyle change can cut diabetes risk by more than half, Bandura explains why small successes build the confidence to continue and Webb and Sheeran explain why good intentions need specific if-then plans. Built around her routines and her family, the plan turns "I should" into steps Carla can take on Tuesday.
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. (2002). Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. New England Journal of Medicine, 346(6), 393-403. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa012512
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Does changing behavioral intentions engender behavior change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 132(2), 249-268. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.2.249
PAC 230 Module 3 instructions, in plain terms
Behavior change plans are a standard health psychology assignment, and PAC 230's third module commonly asks you to design one grounded in theory and evidence for a real or realistic person. Work from the Module 3 prompt as your Aspen course states it; the person here is invented. Describe the health problem and the behaviors involved. Present evidence that the behavior change improves outcomes. Use at least one behavior change theory to explain what will make change more likely. Address the gap between intention and action. Make the plan specific, measurable and suited to the person's life. Include supports from family or community, cite every source in APA 7 and explain how progress will be tracked.
Inside the PAC 230 Module 3 example
Carla's fasting glucose and A1C place her in the prediabetes range, and she says she should eat better and exercise. The Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group's New England Journal of Medicine trial shows lifestyle change cutting diabetes incidence by more than half, with goals of about seven percent weight loss and one hundred fifty minutes of activity a week. Bandura's Psychological Review article supplies self-efficacy and its four sources. Webb and Sheeran's Psychological Bulletin meta-analysis shows the intention and behavior gap. A five-row table converts intentions into if-then plans. Family supports include walking with her son and changing Sunday dinner. Tracking and a three-month review close the plan.
Where the marks sit in the PAC 230 Module 3 rubric
Behavior change plans earn credit for evidence that the change matters, accurate use of theory and specificity. This example grounds its goals in the Diabetes Prevention Program's actual targets rather than vague advice. Self-efficacy is applied through its four sources, each tied to a step in the plan. Webb and Sheeran's finding explains why the plan uses if-then statements instead of resolutions. The table makes every step measurable. Family supports reflect the course's focus on families, and the plan respects Carla's caregiving limits rather than asking for changes she cannot sustain. The tracking section gives a concrete way to judge whether the plan is working at three months.
Common PAC 230 Module 3 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Weak plans stop at slogans like eating better and moving more. Make every step specific: what, when, where and how much. Another weakness is assuming that motivation is enough; research shows intentions translate into behavior only partly, so build plans that act automatically, such as if-then statements. Use theory to explain the plan, not just to decorate it. Ground goals in evidence, such as trial targets. Fit the plan to the person's real schedule and stressors. Include family or social support. Track progress and plan for setbacks, since lapses are normal. Avoid moralizing about weight; focus on behaviors and health, and state the evidence for each target you set.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More PAC 230 and Psychology and Addiction Studies sample papers
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- PAC 230 Module 2: Stress and Coping
- PAC 230 Module 4: Pain and Its Management
- PAC 230 Module 5: Weight, Eating and Exercise
- PAC 230 Module 6: Substance Use as a Health Behavior
- PAC 230 Module 7: Family History and Beliefs About Destiny
- PAC 230 Module 8: Reducing Adverse Health Outcomes in Families
- SBS 200 Module 7: Late Adulthood
- PAC 102 Module 3: Prevention in High Schools
- PAC 110 Module 4: Cognitive and Psychodynamic Approaches
- PAC 115 Module 8: Plain-Language Interpretation
PAC 230 Module 3 questions, answered
What does PAC 230 Module 3 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 230 covers health behavior and behavior change in this module, so a theory-based, evidence-grounded behavior change plan is typical. See your Module 3 prompt.
Can lifestyle change prevent type 2 diabetes?
Yes. The Diabetes Prevention Program trial found a lifestyle program reduced new diabetes cases by more than half compared with placebo.
What is self-efficacy?
Bandura's term for confidence in one's ability to carry out a behavior; it predicts whether people attempt change and persist through setbacks.
Where can I find a free PAC 230 Module 3 sample paper?
Find it above in full: a behavior change plan for a caregiver with prediabetes, with if-then steps and family supports.
Why don't good intentions lead to behavior change?
Webb and Sheeran found that behavior shifted far less than intentions did, so plans work better when they tie each action to a specific time and place.