The community intervention event, “7 Days of Play” was designed to encourage others to be active for the recommended daily amount of 20-60 minutes per day (Lox et al., 2010 p. 87). This design of the project was chosen because according to the CDC, the absence of physical activity in the lives of people in the United States causes more than 365,000 deaths each year, all preventable (Lox et al., 2010 p. 21). This number of yearly deaths makes up about 16 percent of all deaths in the United States (Lox et al., 2010 p. 21). The World Health Organization has also deemed the absence of physical activity to be partially responsible for the presence of so many chronic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes (Lox et al., 2010 p. 21). By implementing “7 Days …show more content…
First, “7 Days of Play” relates to the self-efficacy theory. Self-efficacy is “the extent to which the individual feels she will be successful in performing the desired behavior, given the abilities she possesses and the unique situation in which she finds herself” (Lox et al., 2010 p. 50). There are four sources of self-efficacy: past performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and the physiological and affective states (Lox et al., 2010 p. 50-52). “7 Days of Play” most relates to the third source of self-efficacy, social persuasion. Social persuasion increases self-efficacy through “verbal and non-verbal tactics” (Lox et al., 2010 p. 51, 52). The project relates to this source of self-efficacy because the Facebook posts reached out to and encouraged the community through use of verbal tactics to exercise each day. A second theory which “7 Days of Play” relates to is the theory of reasoned action which focuses on the intentions of an individual to exercise, as well as his/her attitude toward exercise (Lox et al., 2010 p. 56, 57). The project relates to this theory because as stated in The Psychology of Exercise: Integrating Theory and Practice, interventions which relate to the theory of reasoned action are designed to drive an individual toward positive attitudes regarding exercise and to place pressure on an individual to exercise (Lox et al., 2010 p. 58). “7 Days of Play” met these criteria by providing fun yet challenging activities for those who liked the page to incorporate into their daily lives. First, these activities were different than just running around the block or walking on the treadmill. They provided new and more exciting ways of exercising, which may have improved some of the individuals’ attitudes towards exercise. Second, these activities were designed to be