Ch. 2 Skills for a Healthy Life

1. Ch. 2 Skills for a Healthy Life Section 3 Resisting Pressure from Others

2. Objectives State the people and groups that influence our behavior Identify three types of direct pressure Identify three types of indirect pressure State an example of each of the 12 types of refusal skills

3. Key Terms Peer pressure: a feeling that you should do something because that is what your friends want Direct pressure: the pressure that results from someone who tries to convince you to do something you normally wouldn’t do Indirect pressure: the pressure that results from being swayed to do something because people you look up to are doing it Refusal skill: a strategy to avoid doing something you don’t want to do

4. Who Influences You? What style clothes do you wear? What kind of hairstyle do you have? Your behaviors and decisions are often influenced by many people Friends influence you through peer pressure(feeling that you should do something because that is what your friends want) Family can influence your behaviors and decisions The Media Influences can be positive or negative

5. Positive Influences Positive Having positive role models and being influenced to improve yourself can be good Ex. You join the track team because your friends did which helps your physical health Negative Being pressured to do something that you don’t want to do is not healthy Serious consequences, even life threatening Smoking, drinking alcohol, using drugs Often come from your own friends

6. Direct Pressure The pressure that results from someone who tries to convince you to do something you normally wouldn’t do Examples: Teasing Persuasion Explanations Put-downs Threats Bribery

7. Indirect Pressure Pressure that results from being swayed to do something because people you look up to are doing it You are not directly told or asked to do something May still feel pushed to do it Examples: TV Radio Advertising Role models Popular people Famous people

8. Refusal Skills What happens if someone is directly pressuring you to do something that you do not want to do? Many different ways to refuse to do something A refusal skill is a strategy to avoid doing something you don’t want to do

9. Twelve Refusal Skills Blame someone else Give a reason Ignore the request or pressure Leave the situation Say, “no thanks” Say no, and mean it Keep saying no Make a joke out of it Make an excuse Suggest something else to do Change the subject Team up with someone

10. Practicing Refusal Skills Help you know what to do when you are in a “real life” situation If you are experienced in using refusal skills, you will probably make better decisions Refusal skills will be helpful your entire life, not just now

11. Saying No with Respect When using refusal skills, two points are important to remember Always respect others Don’t put anyone down Don’t want to seem disrespectful Deliver a fir no without being disrespectful Don’t insult someone when refusing to give in to their pressure Disagreeing with others or saying no does not mean that people will stop liking you

12. Persistent Pressure Some people might not stop bothering you In that case, you have to leave the situation If someone doesn’t respect your no, you don’t have to do what he or she is pressuring you to do Your values and rights are important If the problem persists, ask yourself if this person is a good person to be around Practicing refusal skills now will help you cope with difficult situations that you might face