Overview

The issue of vaccination for Covid-19 has been and continues to be a politically and interpersonally divisive topic. Rather than imposing my personal opinions about vaccination on you, this assignment applies what we are learning about human decision making and cognitive processes to the issue of vaccine hesitancy, with the hopes that it will help you engage in respectful and productive conversations about vaccination.

Instructions

1. This article is a useful starting point for thinking about this assignment. I recommend reading it before you start writing your response: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/psychological-trauma-coping-and-resilience/202109/the-psychology-behind-covid-19-vaccineLinks to an external site.
2. You will also need to review information from various content pages in this module.
3. Choose one of the options below. For the option that you choose, make sure that you have completely answered the prompt. Make sure that you check the rubric and include all the elements mentioned in the rubric. As a rule of thumb, you should have two or three sentences at minimum for each part of the rubric.
4. Your answer needs to be in your own words. If you include information from sources other than the class materials or the assigned article you need to clearly state the source of the information.
5. Submit your assignment either by typing your response into the text box, or by submitting a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.

Option 1: Define fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias. Give examples of how these apply to how we explain the behavior of people whose vaccine choices differ from our own. How can you use this information to have more respectful and productive conversations about vaccination?

OR

Option 2: Heuristics/Cognitive Biases: Choose two of the heuristics described in the article. Explain the heuristic in your own words and give a specific example of how this heuristic applies with regards to your decision making about vaccination. How can you use this information to have more respectful and productive conversations about vaccination?

OR

Option 3: Social Influence: Define normative social influence and informational social influence and give examples of how each might affect a person’s decision regarding vaccination. How can you use this information to have more respectful and productive conversations about vaccination?

Grading policies

• Your assignment will be graded using the criteria listed in the rubric (see below) for this assignment. I will assign points and make comments in the rubric. Make sure to check the rubric for comments if you are planning to revise and resubmit.
• If you submit your assignment by the due date, it will be graded in 2-3 days. If there are corrections or additions that you wish to make you may do so as long as you resubmit by the day of the Unit test.
• Making a submission that is substantially copied from an outside source without acknowledging the source is plagiarism. This is a violation of the student code of conduct. You will receive a zero for the assignment and may face other consequences, depending on the severity of the violation. The syllabus describes in detail the consequences for plagiarism.
• If you are not able to submit the assignment by the due date, please include an explanation and documentation of your excuse in the comments section when you submit. If your reason for being late is valid, you will get full credit for the assignment as long as it is submitted by the day of the Unit test.
• Any submissions after the date of the Unit test will not be accepted for credit.