Journal #2

Each journal entry must contain three sections:


1) A brief description of the service learning activities you completed the week before.

2) A section describing course concepts that you observed or were able to apply during those service learning activities.

3) A guided topic, as directed for each entry.

Hint: There are several questions involved in this journal prompt. Although I grade the first entry leniently, just to give you some time to get used to the assignment, your grade this week will be determined in part by the completeness of your response. You might wish to print this page out and highlight each individual instruction to ensure that you have thoroughly addressed the prompt.

Guided topic for journal entry # 2: Think back to your impressions of the population your organization serves that you discussed in last week’s entry. In considering those impressions, do you become aware of any attitudes that you hold toward that population, your organization, or yourself? Explain.

Most community service organizations have a mission statement. What is yours? Usually you can find the mission statement on the organization’s website and/or printed material. If you are unsure, ask your site supervisor.

What (and whose) attitudes might need to change in order for your organization to accomplish its mission? In what ways does your organization go about changing those attitudes? Do they use the central route of persuasion, the peripheral route, or both? Do you think your organization is/will be effective in changing those attitudes? Why or why not? What advice could you, as a student of social psychology, offer to your organization to help them become more effective in changing attitudes?

For example, part of Montgomery College’s mission statement is to enrich the community. One way in which I strive to achieve that mission is to involve students in community service. In order to do that, I often need to persuade students that it is in their best interest to serve the community. In my developmental psychology courses, I use the central route to do this, pointing out to students the ways in which the development of today’s children will impact students’ own well-being in the future. (Note: This is just a quick example to get you started. Your answer should be more detailed and reflective than this paragraph alone.)