D2.Psy.22.9-12: Using Psychological Knowledge to Promote Healthy Lifestyle Choices
In plain English: D2.Psy.22.9-12 is the C3 Framework psychology indicator for grades 9-12 that asks students to use psychological knowledge to promote healthy lifestyle choices. Students learn how habits form and change, why willpower alone often fails, and how changing a setting, replacing a routine and enlisting support can make a healthy choice easier, then design an ethical promotion for peers.
Use psychological knowledge to promote healthy lifestyle choices.
C3 Framework for Social Studies (NCSS) · Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools · Discipline: Psychology · Applications of Psychological Knowledge · Official standard
D2.Psy.22.9-12 asks students to use psychological knowledge to promote healthy lifestyle choices. The psychology here is the psychology of habits: how routines form through repetition, why they are tied to places and situations, and why an old habit can return after a new one forms. From that knowledge come practical tools: change the setting, replace a routine, prepare in advance, ask for support and reward small steps.
Students read John Dewey's 1922 argument that willpower alone cannot change a habit, a January 2012 NIH News in Health article on the science of habits, and CDC's current physical activity guidance for ages 6 to 17. An invented cafeteria study with invented data lets them test a change to the setting, and an invented case lets them coach a student's plan. The lesson ends with each group designing an ethical promotion for peers, on paper only. The page avoids weight, appearance and dieting; healthy choices here mean activity, drinks, sleep routines and screen breaks.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain how habits form and why willpower alone often fails to change them, citing a historical and a current source
Name five psychology-based tools for changing a habit and match each to a situation
Analyze an invented before-and-after study of a change to a setting, and name what it cannot show
Design, on paper, an accurate and respectful promotion of a healthy choice for peers
Recognize outdated or shaming language about habits and replace it
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
The behavioral perspective: behavior shaped by repetition and consequences D2.Psy.2.9-12
Applying psychological knowledge to daily life D2.Psy.18.9-12
"Name one thing you do every day without deciding to do it. How did it become automatic, and what usually sets it off?"
Students write for 2 minutes, then share one example with a partner. Collect a few on the board, and circle the words that name a place, a time or another person ("when I get home," "after practice," "when my friend texts"). Those words return in Direct Instruction.
Direct Instruction20 minutes
Key terms. A habit is a behavior that has become automatic through repetition. A lifestyle choice is a repeated decision about daily life, such as how active to be, what to drink or when to put a phone away. To promote a choice is to make it easier, more attractive or more likely, without forcing or shaming anyone. A cue is a place, time, person or feeling that sets off a habit.
Five tools for changing a habit, with the source of each
Tool
What it does
Source
Change the setting
Removes or moves the cue that sets off the old habit
Source 1, paragraph 2; Source 2, paragraph 3
Replace the routine
Puts a new behavior in the old one's place
Source 1, paragraph 3; Source 2, paragraph 5
Prepare in advance
Plans and rehearses what to do in a tempting moment
Source 2, paragraph 6
Enlist support
Brings in friends or family
Source 2, paragraph 7
Reward small steps
Marks progress toward a goal before the goal is reached
Source 2, paragraph 8
Read Source 1. John Dewey published Human Nature and Conduct, subtitled An Introduction to Social Psychology, in 1922. In paragraph 1 he reports a friend's view; his footnote, left out here, names the friend as Alexander, author of Man's Supreme Inheritance, a book on posture. Outdated language: Dewey compares a belief to "primitive magic," a phrase that looks down on other cultures; he calls a person "a slave of whiskey-drinking" and "the hard-drinker," labels that define people by a behavior (today we would say a person who drinks heavily or who has an alcohol use disorder); and he writes "a man" for everyone. His argument is reasoning from examples, not a study.
1Recently a friend remarked to me that there was one superstition current among even cultivated persons. They suppose that if one is told what to do, if the right end is pointed to them, all that is required in order to bring about the right act is will or wish on the part of the one who is to act. He used as an illustration the matter of physical posture; the assumption is that if a man is told to stand up straight, all that is further needed is wish and effort on his part, and the deed is done. He pointed out that this belief is on a par with primitive magic in its neglect of attention to the means which are involved in reaching an end. And he went on to say that the prevalence of this belief, starting with false notions about the control of the body and extending to control of mind and character, is the greatest bar to intelligent social progress. It bars the way because it makes us neglect intelligent inquiry to discover the means which will produce a desired result, and intelligent invention to procure the means. In short, it leaves out the importance of intelligently controlled habit.
[...]
2Now in fact a man who can stand properly does so, and only a man who can, does. In the former case, fiats of will are unnecessary, and in the latter useless. A man who does not stand properly forms a habit of standing improperly, a positive, forceful habit. The common implication that his mistake is merely negative, that he is simply failing to do the right thing, and that the failure can be made good by an order of will is absurd. One might as well suppose that the man who is a slave of whiskey-drinking is merely one who fails to drink water. Conditions have been formed for producing a bad result, and the bad result will occur as long as those conditions exist. They can no more be dismissed by a direct effort of will than the conditions which create drought can be dispelled by whistling for wind. It is as reasonable to expect a fire to go out when it is ordered to stop burning as to suppose that a man can stand straight in consequence of a direct action of thought and desire. The fire can be put out only by changing objective conditions; it is the same with rectification of bad posture.
[...]
3[...] The hard-drinker who keeps thinking of not drinking is doing what he can to initiate the acts which lead to drinking. He is starting with the stimulus to his habit. To succeed he must find some positive interest or line of action which will inhibit the drinking series and which by instituting another course of action will bring him to his desired end. In short, the man's true aim is to discover some course of action, having nothing to do with the habit of drink or standing erect, which will take him where he wants to go. The discovery of this other series is at once his means and his end. Until one takes intermediate acts seriously enough to treat them as ends, one wastes one's time in any effort at change of habits. Of the intermediate acts, the most important is the next one. The first or earliest means is the most important end to discover.
John Dewey, Source 1: John Dewey on habit and will (1922) (1922). Public domain (published 1922). Source text.
Then read Source 2, an NIH News in Health article from January 2012. It reports the views of NIH-funded scientists; newer research may refine some details.
1Habits can arise through repetition. They are a normal part of life, and are often helpful. “We wake up every morning, shower, comb our hair or brush our teeth without being aware of it,” Volkow says. We can drive along familiar routes on mental auto-pilot without really thinking about the directions. “When behaviors become automatic, it gives us an advantage, because the brain does not have to use conscious thought to perform the activity,” Volkow says. This frees up our brains to focus on different things.
[...]
2Volkow notes that there’s no single effective way to break bad habits. “It’s not one size fits all,” she says.
3One approach is to focus on becoming more aware of your unhealthy habits. Then develop strategies to counteract them. For example, habits can be linked in our minds to certain places and activities. You could develop a plan, say, to avoid walking down the hall where there’s a candy machine. Resolve to avoid going places where you’ve usually smoked. Stay away from friends and situations linked to problem drinking or drug use.
[...]
4Another thing that makes habits especially hard to break is that replacing a first-learned habit with a new one doesn’t erase the original behavior. Rather, both remain in your brain. But you can take steps to strengthen the new one and suppress the original one. In ongoing research, Poldrack and his colleagues are using brain imaging to study the differences between first-learned and later-learned behaviors. “We’d like to find a way to train people to improve their ability to maintain these behavioral changes,” Poldrack says.
[...]
5Replace unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones. Try exercise, a favorite hobby or spending time with family.
6Prepare mentally. If you can’t avoid a tempting situation, prepare yourself in advance. Think about how you want to handle it and mentally practice what you plan.
7Enlist support. Ask friends, family and co-workers to support your efforts to change.
8Reward yourself for small steps. Give yourself a healthy treat when you’ve achieved a small goal or milestone.
NIH News in Health, National Institutes of Health, Source 2: NIH News in Health, Breaking Bad Habits (January 2012) (2012). US government work (17 U.S.C. 105). Source text.
What willpower leaves out: Source 1
Dewey reports his friend's view that a common belief about changing behavior does real harm. What, according to paragraph 1, does the belief make us neglect?
Result: It makes us neglect the search for means: "it makes us neglect intelligent inquiry to discover the means which will produce a desired result" (paragraph 1). Wanting a result is not a method for reaching it; promoting a healthy choice starts with finding the steps that produce it.
Changing conditions: Source 1
Explain Dewey's comparison of a habit with a fire in paragraph 2.
Result: He writes, "The fire can be put out only by changing objective conditions; it is the same with rectification of bad posture." A fire does not go out because it is ordered to; it goes out when its fuel or air is removed. In the same way, a habit is held in place by conditions, so the useful question is which conditions to change.
Setbacks are expected: Source 2
Source 2, paragraph 4 says that replacing a habit "doesn’t erase the original behavior." What does this mean for someone who slips back into an old habit after two good weeks?
Result: The slip is what the science predicts, not proof of a weak character: the old routine is still stored. The same paragraph adds that "you can take steps to strengthen the new one and suppress the original one", so the person keeps practicing the new routine rather than starting over.
Classifying a tool
Eli wants to stretch every morning, so he leaves his stretching mat unrolled beside his bed. Which tool from the table is this, and which source sentence supports it?
Result: Change the setting: the mat becomes a cue in the place where the morning starts. Source 2, paragraph 3 says "habits can be linked in our minds to certain places and activities", so a cue placed in the right spot can link the new habit to the bedroom.
Reading invented data: Source 4
In Source 4 (Guided Practice), what was the mean number of water bottles sold per week before the move?
Result: 212 + 198 + 225 + 207 = 842 bottles over 4 weeks, and 842 / 4 = 210.5 bottles per week.
Close the segment: Dewey wrote in 1922 and NIH published in 2012. Where do they agree? Both say that wanting to change is not enough by itself and that the setting and the replacement routine matter. They differ in kind of evidence: Dewey reasons from examples, while Source 2 reports what NIH-funded scientists have studied.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Read Source 4 together. It is an invented study with invented data, written for this page to show how a school could test one tool from the table: changing the setting.
1Invented study, written for this page. The school and every number are invented. A high school of about 900 students wanted students to choose water more often at lunch. For four weeks in April, the cafeteria counted the drinks it sold. Then, without changing any prices, staff moved bottled water to the front cooler at eye level, next to the registers, and moved sweetened drinks to a lower shelf at the back. The cafeteria counted sales for four more weeks, in May.
2Weeks 1-4 (April, before the move): water 212, 198, 225 and 207 bottles; sweetened drinks 341, 356, 330 and 348.
3Weeks 5-8 (May, after the move): water 268, 281, 259 and 290 bottles; sweetened drinks 296, 287, 305 and 279.
4May was warmer than April. No other school compared its sales over the same weeks, and the cafeteria did not record which students bought each drink.
SVHS (invented scenario), Source 4: Moving the water bottles (invented study with invented data) (2026). Original passage written for this page.
Tool. Which tool from the table did the cafeteria use, and which sentence of Source 1 or 2 predicts that it could work?
Variables. Name the change the cafeteria made and the two things it counted.
Totals. Add all drinks sold, water and sweetened together, before and after the move. (Before: 2,217 drinks. After: 2,265.) Total sales rose slightly while sweetened drink sales fell; say what that pattern suggests.
Ethics. Students could still buy any drink at the same price. Why does that matter for a promotion?
Diagram 1 plots the weekly counts. Students keep their answers about the weaknesses of the design for the quiz and homework.
Independent Practice15 minutes
Students read Sources 3 and 5 on their own. Source 3 is CDC's current guidance on physical activity for children and adolescents; Source 5 is an invented case. The quiz and homework use all five sources.
1This group needs 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity each day, including:
2Aerobic activity: Most of the daily 60 minutes or more should include activities such as walking, running, or anything that makes their hearts beat faster. At least 3 days a week should include vigorous-intensity activities.
3Muscle-strengthening: Includes activities like climbing or doing push-ups, at least 3 days a week.
4Bone-strengthening: Includes activities such as jumping or running, at least 3 days a week.
[...]
5On a scale of 0 to 10, where sitting is a 0 and the highest level of physical activity is 10, moderate-intensity activity is 5 or 6. Vigorous-intensity activity is 7 or 8.
6When children engage in moderate-intensity activity, their hearts beat faster and they breathe much harder than when they are at rest or sitting. When children walk to school with friends each morning, they're probably doing moderate-intensity aerobic activity. But when children run or chase others while playing tag during recess, they're probably doing vigorous-intensity activity.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Source 3: CDC, Child Activity: An Overview (2025). US government work (17 U.S.C. 105). Source text.
1Invented case, written for this page. Jordan, 15, wants to be more active but usually spends the hour after school scrolling on the couch. Jordan writes this plan on a sticky note:
2"1. Be more active. 2. Stop scrolling after school. 3. Use willpower."
3After four days Jordan has kept the plan once and says, "I guess I just have no self-control." Jordan's older cousin suggests walking together to the park on Mondays and Thursdays, right after school, and leaving the phone charging in the kitchen until dinner.
SVHS (invented scenario), Source 5: Jordan's sticky note (invented case) (2026). Original passage written for this page.
Task: (1) Name the tool, from the five in the table, behind each of the cousin's two suggestions in Source 5, and quote the source sentence that supports each. (2) Explain in two sentences why the cousin's suggestions may work better than item 3 on Jordan's note. (3) Use Source 3, paragraph 5 to say whether a brisk walk to the park would probably count as moderate or vigorous activity, and how Jordan could check.
Closure5-10 minutes
Exit ticket: "Go back to the automatic habit you wrote in the Warm-Up. If you wanted to change it, which tool would you try first, and what is the first small act?"
Teacher notes: Source 1's outdated labels are flagged in Direct Instruction; keep Dewey's words as printed and discuss them as language of 1922. Keep the class away from weight, body size and dieting, and never ask students to share personal health information. Students who want help with a habit that worries them, or with how they feel, can talk with a trusted adult, a school counselor or a doctor.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give the five-tools table with the Source column blank, and have students find each supporting sentence
Pre-highlight the fire sentence in Source 1 and the places-and-activities sentence in Source 2
Offer the frame: "To promote ___, change ___ so that ___ becomes easier, because Source __ says ___."
For Advanced Students
Ask whether moving the water in Source 4 respects students' freedom of choice, and where the line falls between promoting a choice and pressuring people
Have students redesign Source 4, on paper only, so that it could separate the effect of the move from the effect of the weather
Compare Dewey's "next" act (Source 1, paragraph 3) with Source 2's advice to reward small steps: are they the same idea?
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Strong answers name a specific psychological mechanism (a cue in a place, a stored old routine, a reward for a small step), quote the source with a paragraph number, connect the mechanism to a concrete change, and keep the promotion accurate and respectful. Watch for answers that fall back on "just try harder," that treat the invented before-and-after study as proof, or that repeat Dewey's labels without flagging them.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Strategy Match: Six Habits, Five Tools
15 minGroups of 3
Each group gets 6 Situation Cards (invented cases written for this page) and the five-tools table from Direct Instruction. For each card, the group names the cue that keeps the habit going, picks the tool it would try first, and writes the first small act. Each choice must cite a sentence from Source 1 or Source 2.
The 6 Situation Cards
Sam plays video games until 1 a.m. on school nights; the console is in his bedroom.
Tess wants to walk to school, but all her friends get rides and she does not want to walk alone.
Omar wants to cut back on energy drinks; he buys one at the corner store on his way home every day.
Lina wants to read before bed, but as soon as she lies down she picks up her phone without thinking.
Marcus is going to a sleepover where the group usually stays up all night, and he has a game the next morning.
Ivy started jogging two weeks ago and wants to keep going after the first excitement fades.
Debrief Questions
Which cards had a cue tied to a place? Which had a cue tied to other people?
Which card needed more than one tool, and why?
For which card would "just use willpower" be the weakest advice, and what does Source 1 say instead?
Teacher Note
Suggested first tools, with other answers accepted when the reasoning fits: card 1, change the setting (the console's place is the cue); card 2, enlist support (a neighbor or sibling to walk with); card 3, change the setting (a different route) or replace the routine (a drink from home); card 4, replace the routine (a book where the phone used to be, with the phone charging across the room); card 5, prepare in advance (decide on a time to sleep and rehearse what to say); card 6, reward small steps. Every first small act should be something the person could do today.
2
Promotion Planner: A Healthy Choice for Peers
20 minGroups of 4
Each group chooses one healthy choice (being active, choosing water, a regular bedtime routine or screen breaks) and designs, on paper only, a promotion for students at an invented school: a poster, a 30-second announcement script or a change to a school setting. The plan is not posted, recorded or shared outside the class.
Promotion Planner
The choice, and the students it is for
The habit it competes with, and that habit's cue
At least two tools from the table, each with a quotation and paragraph number
One accurate fact from Source 3 or another federal source, with its source named
The message or the change to the setting
Ethics check: accurate, no shaming, no talk of weight or appearance, fits students with different abilities and health needs, and leaves the choice free
How the school could find out whether the promotion worked
Teacher Note
Expect groups to start with slogans. Push them toward settings and routines: where will the cue be, and what is the first small act? A plan that relies only on telling people to try harder repeats the belief Dewey criticizes in Source 1, paragraph 1.
3
Message Check: Four Invented Promotions
15 minPairs
Pairs rate four invented messages, written for this page, on three questions: Is it accurate? Which tool, if any, does it use? Is it respectful? Each rating needs one sentence of evidence from Sources 1-3.
The Four Messages
"No excuses. Lazy people never change."
"Science says you will be healthy as soon as you decide to be."
"Walk Club meets at the flagpole on Tuesdays and Thursdays after the last bell. Bring a friend."
"Your phone can charge in the hallway lockers during study hall. Pick it up when the bell rings."
Variation
Pairs rewrite the weakest message so that it uses one tool and passes the ethics check, then trade with another pair for feedback.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: The Invented Cafeteria Study, Week by Week
Invented data from Source 4: bottles of water (solid line) and sweetened drinks (dashed line) sold in each of 8 weeks. The dashed vertical line marks the move of the water to the front cooler between weeks 4 and 5. Points are plotted to scale.
Diagram 2: Two Ways to Pursue the Same Goal
An invented example. The top path relies on a promise while the cue (the soda machine on the way out) stays in place, the pattern Dewey criticizes in Source 1. The bottom path uses three tools from the table: change the setting, replace the routine and reward small steps (Source 2, paragraphs 3, 5 and 8).
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
Homework: Promoting a Healthy Choice
Directions: Part 1 uses Sources 1-4. Quote every source you use with its paragraph number. Part 2 asks you to write and plan on paper only: do not post messages, survey anyone or track anyone's behavior.
Part 1: Reading the Evidence (Problems 1-3)
Source 1, paragraph 3 says that "the most important is the next" act. Explain what Dewey means, and write the next small act Jordan in Source 5 could take this afternoon.
Source 2, paragraph 7 advises, "Enlist support." Explain how a school promotion of being active could use this tool without pressuring or embarrassing anyone.
In Source 4, find the total number of sweetened drinks sold before and after the move, the drop, and the percent drop to the nearest tenth. Show your work. Then explain why a before-and-after drop is not enough to prove the move caused it.
Part 2: Applying and Planning (Problems 4-6)
Source 3 gives examples of moderate and vigorous activity and of bone-strengthening activity. Classify each of these invented activities and explain your reasoning with a quotation: a 20-minute bike ride on flat streets at an easy pace; a pickup basketball game with constant running and jumping; a dance class with many jumps.
Invented message: "Get off the couch, couch potatoes!" Explain two problems with this message, then rewrite it so that it uses one of the five tools and passes the ethics check from Activity 2.
Plan, on paper only, a fair test of a promotion that offers students a free after-school walking group. Name what changes, what is measured, the comparison, and one ethical safeguard.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Psychological knowledge
Each answer names a specific mechanism (cue, stored routine, support, reward)
Mechanisms named but not explained
No mechanism, or "try harder" only
Evidence
Quotations with source and paragraph numbers support each claim
Quotations without paragraph numbers, or one claim unsupported
No quotations
Respect and ethics
Messages and plans are accurate, free of shaming and leave the choice free
One message or plan with a lapse
Shaming or inaccurate messages
Accuracy and design
Problem 3 correct with work shown; the test in Problem 6 has a comparison and a safeguard
One error, or a test missing a comparison
Several errors or no test
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Sources 1 and 2 are printed in Direct Instruction, Source 4 in Guided Practice, and Sources 3 and 5 in Independent Practice. Source 1 is used in Questions 1-3, 13 and 20; Source 2 in Questions 4-7, 13, 15, 18 and 20; Source 3 in Questions 8-10 and 17; Source 4 in Questions 11, 12, 15, 16 and 19; and Source 5 in Question 13. Question 14 needs no printed source. Questions 1-14 are multiple choice; 15-20 are short answer.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 1, paragraph 1, what does Dewey's friend call the belief in will and wish "the greatest bar to"?
Answer: A
Paragraph 1 says "the prevalence of this belief [...] is the greatest bar to intelligent social progress." B is tempting because the example is posture, but the friend's claim is about society. C and D are not in the source.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 1, paragraph 2, what does Dewey mean when he calls a bad habit of standing "a positive, forceful habit"?
Answer: C
Dewey rejects "The common implication that his mistake is merely negative, that he is simply failing to do the right thing." "Positive" here means present and active, not good. A and B read "positive" in its everyday sense of helpful or pleasant; D is the very idea Dewey argues against.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Source 1, paragraph 3, why does a person who "keeps thinking of not drinking" make the habit more likely?
Answer: A
Dewey writes, "He is starting with the stimulus to his habit": thinking about the drink sets off the chain that leads to drinking, so he must find "some positive interest or line of action" instead. B is the willpower view Dewey rejects. C and D are not in the paragraph.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Source 2, paragraph 1, what advantage do automatic behaviors give us?
Answer: D
Paragraph 1 quotes Volkow: "the brain does not have to use conscious thought to perform the activity," which "frees up our brains to focus on different things." A and B overstate; paragraph 4 says habits are hard to break. C contradicts the idea that habits can be replaced.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which plan applies the advice in Source 2, paragraph 3 most directly?
Answer: B
Paragraph 3 says habits "can be linked in our minds to certain places and activities" and suggests a plan "to avoid walking down the hall where there’s a candy machine." B changes the place. A and C rely on reminders and promises while the cue stays; D builds general knowledge, but paragraph 3's own example is a plan that changes where you go.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Source 2, paragraph 6 advises, "Prepare mentally." Which student is following that advice?
Answer: D
Paragraph 6 says, "If you can’t avoid a tempting situation, prepare yourself in advance. Think about how you want to handle it and mentally practice what you plan." Dee plans and rehearses. A avoids the situation, a different tool. B waits until the tempting moment, and C makes a vague promise after the fact.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which reward fits Source 2, paragraph 8 best?
Answer: B
Paragraph 8 says, "Reward yourself for small steps. Give yourself a healthy treat when you’ve achieved a small goal or milestone." B rewards a small milestone. A waits for the final goal; C is a rule, not a reward; D rewards skipping, which strengthens the wrong behavior.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Source 3, how much physical activity do children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 need?
Answer: C
Paragraph 1 says this group "needs 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity each day." B confuses the daily total with a separate weekly rule in the same section of the page. A and D are not in the source.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
On the 0-10 scale in Source 3, paragraph 5, a student rates a fast bike ride up a long hill at 7. How does Source 3 classify that effort?
Answer: C
Paragraph 5 says, "moderate-intensity activity is 5 or 6. Vigorous-intensity activity is 7 or 8." A rating of 7 is vigorous. B is the level just below; D is 10 on the scale; A is not given a number in the source.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Source 3, how often should children and adolescents do muscle-strengthening activity?
Answer: A
Paragraph 3 says, "Muscle-strengthening: Includes activities like climbing or doing push-ups, at least 3 days a week." D confuses this with the daily total in paragraph 1. B and C are not in the source.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 4, what was the mean number of water bottles sold per week after the move?
Answer: D
268 + 281 + 259 + 290 = 1,098 bottles over 4 weeks, and 1,098 / 4 = 274.5. A is the mean before the move; B is the change in the weekly mean, 274.5 - 210.5; C is the 4-week total, not divided by 4.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which change to the design of Source 4 would best show whether moving the water caused the change in sales?
Answer: A
Paragraph 4 says, "No other school compared its sales over the same weeks." A similar school without the move, counted over the same April and May weeks, would show what warmer weather and the time of year do by themselves. B and C add data but no comparison; D tests something, but the change in season would still be mixed with the move.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 5, Jordan says, "I guess I just have no self-control." Which reply uses the psychology in Sources 1 and 2 best?
Answer: B
Both sources tie habits to conditions: Dewey says a habit changes only by "changing objective conditions" (Source 1, paragraph 2), and Source 2, paragraph 3 links habits to places. B points to the cue. A and D repeat the willpower approach that failed; C labels Jordan instead of the habit and has no support in the sources.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A school wants to promote water over sweetened drinks. Which plan is the most ethical?
Answer: C
C makes the healthy choice easier, is honest about what it is doing, and leaves every option open. A shames individual students and breaks their privacy; B hides the reason from the people affected; D is inaccurate and uses fear in place of facts.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Suppose the cafeteria in Source 4 moves the water back to the lower back shelf in June. Use Source 2, paragraph 4 to predict what would happen to sales, and explain what this means for a school that wants a lasting change.
Model answer: Source 2 says that replacing a habit "doesn’t erase the original behavior. Rather, both remain in your brain" (paragraph 4). Students who switched to water still have the old routine of grabbing a sweetened drink, so if the cue changes back, many would likely return to it and sales would drift toward the April pattern. A lasting change therefore depends on keeping the new setting in place and strengthening the new routine over time, not on a one-time push. Rubric: 1 point for the prediction; 1 point for the quotation used correctly; 1 point for the lesson for a school.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Source 4 says, "May was warmer than April." Explain how warmer weather could affect the results, and why it makes the rise in water sales harder to interpret than the drop in sweetened drink sales.
Model answer: Warm weather can make people buy more drinks of every kind, and especially more water, so some of the rise in water sales could come from the weather, not the move. The drop in sweetened drinks is harder to explain by weather alone, because warm weather would not be expected to make people buy fewer drinks; total sales even rose a little. So the sweetened drink drop is the more telling result, though without a comparison school neither result is proof. These expectations about weather are assumptions, which a comparison school would test. Rubric: 1 point for the weather effect on water; 1 point for why the sweetened drink drop is more telling; 1 point for noting that a comparison is still needed.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Write a two-sentence message for students promoting physical activity. Use one accurate fact from Source 3 and one tool from the five-tools table, and explain why your message is respectful.
Model answer: "Teens need 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity each day (CDC), and it does not have to happen all at once. Join a friend for the walk home on Tuesdays and Thursdays and count those minutes toward the 60." The fact is from Source 3, paragraph 1, and the tool is enlisting support with a set time as the cue. The message is respectful because it names no one, makes no comment about bodies or weight, and offers an easy first step rather than blame. Rubric: 1 point for the accurate fact with its source; 1 point for a correctly used tool; 1 point for the explanation of respect.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Source 2, paragraph 2 quotes Volkow: "It’s not one size fits all." What does this mean for a school that wants to promote healthy choices for all its students?
Model answer: No single strategy works for everyone, so a school should offer several ways to make the same choice: for activity, a walking group, a dance club and open gym time; for drinks, water at the front of several places. Students differ in their cues, schedules, abilities and health needs, so a promotion that depends on one method will miss many of them, and the school should check which options students really use. Rubric: 1 point for explaining the quotation; 1 point for a concrete set of options; 1 point for a reason based on differences among students.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
Source 4 says the cafeteria "did not record which students bought each drink." Why is that a strength for privacy, and what can the cafeteria still learn without tracking individuals?
Model answer: Not recording buyers means no student's choices can be singled out, reported or used to embarrass anyone, which keeps a health promotion from becoming surveillance. The cafeteria can still learn a great deal from totals: weekly counts of each drink, the share of water among all drinks, and comparisons over time or with another school. The cost is that it cannot tell whether the same students switched or new students began buying water. Rubric: 1 point for the privacy reason; 1 point for what totals can show; 1 point for the limit.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
Choose one healthy lifestyle choice. Using two psychological ideas from two different sources, explain how a school could promote it, and name one limit of the evidence behind your plan.
Model answer: To promote screen breaks before bed, the school could hand out a simple bedtime plan that replaces late scrolling with a set routine, such as charging the phone outside the bedroom and reading for 15 minutes. Source 2 advises, "Replace unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones" (paragraph 5), and Dewey argues that a habit gives way only when its conditions change (Source 1, paragraph 2), so moving the phone removes the cue. A limit: Dewey's argument is reasoning from examples, and Source 2 summarizes research rather than testing this plan; the school would need to test it. Rubric: 1 point for each idea with its source; 1 point for a concrete plan; 1 point for the limit.
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Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does D2.Psy.22.9-12 mean?
D2.Psy.22.9-12 asks high school students to use psychological knowledge to promote healthy lifestyle choices. It is an indicator in the C3 Framework's psychology companion (Appendix B), in the group on applications of psychological knowledge. Students should be able to explain a psychological idea, such as how habits form, and turn it into a practical, respectful way to make a healthy choice easier.
Is D2.Psy.22.9-12 a health class standard?
No, it is a psychology indicator, though it overlaps with health education. The focus is the psychology behind choices (habits, cues, support and rewards), not medical advice. Health facts on this page come from federal sources such as the CDC and NIH, and each is named where it is used.
Why does the lesson focus on habits?
Because many lifestyle choices are repeated every day until they become automatic. Source 2 explains that habits form through repetition and are tied to places and activities, which is why changing a setting or a routine can work where good intentions alone do not.
Is willpower useless?
No, but on its own it is often not enough. Dewey's 1922 argument and the 2012 NIH article both point to conditions and routines: where the cue is, what replaces the old behavior and who helps. Wanting to change is the starting point, and the tools are the method.
Is the cafeteria study real?
No. The school, the drink counts and every other detail in Source 4 are invented for this page and labeled as invented. The study is a teaching tool: its before-and-after design and the warmer weather in May give students real weaknesses to find.
How do I keep this lesson from making students feel judged?
Keep the discussion on habits and settings, not on people. Avoid weight, body size and dieting entirely, never ask students to share personal health information, and model language that describes a behavior rather than labeling a person. Remind students that anyone who wants help can talk with a trusted adult, a school counselor or a doctor.
Why does a 1922 source use language we flag today?
Dewey wrote with the vocabulary of his time. Phrases such as "primitive magic" and "a slave of whiskey-drinking" look down on other cultures or define people by a behavior. The page keeps his words exactly, flags them, and shows how the same idea is put today.
What does promote mean in D2.Psy.22.9-12?
To make a healthy choice easier, more attractive or more likely, while leaving people free to choose. Shaming, fear tactics and hidden pressure fail the ethics check in Activity 2, even when the goal is healthy.
Do students run their promotions at school?
Not in this lesson. Every promotion and every test is planned on paper only. Students do not post messages, survey classmates or track anyone's behavior; a teacher who wants to take a plan further would need the school's approval.
How does this indicator connect to the others?
It builds on applying psychology to daily life (D2.Psy.18.9-12) and sits beside applying it to domestic and global issues (D2.Psy.21.9-12). Its focus on evidence connects to using existing evidence to reach conclusions (D2.Psy.15.9-12).
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Related Standards
5 standards
These standards connect to D2.Psy.22.9-12: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
D2.Psy.18.9-12Prerequisite
Apply psychological knowledge to their daily lives
Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.
