Behavioral Processes in Long-Lag Intervention Studies

Exploring the benefits and costs of a growth mindset in a digital app weight management program

We explored the potential benefits and costs of believing one can change their weight (i.e. growth mindset) in the context of a digital weight management program. We investigated mechanisms by which growth mindsets relate to weight loss achievement and body shame. Among participants seeking to lose weight (N = 1626; 74.7% female; 77.9% White; Mage = 45.7), stronger growth mindsets indirectly predicted greater weight loss achievement through positive offset expectations and subsequent increased program engagement. Additionally, stronger growth mindsets predicted less body shame through positive offset expectations but predicted more body shame through increased onset responsibility, replicating the double-edged sword model of growth mindsets. We conclude with applications that leverage growth mindsets for optimal behavior change while mitigating costs such as body shame.

The Catalyst Model of Change: Gratitude Interventions with Positive Long-Term Effects

How can gratitude interventions be designed to produce meaningful and enduring effects on people's well-being? To address this question, the author proposes the Catalyst Model of Change-this novel, practical, and empirically testable model posits five socially oriented behavioral pathways that channel the long-term effects of gratitude interventions as well as how to augment gratitude experiences in interventions to boost treatment effects and catalyze these behavioral pathways. Specifically, interventions that enhance the frequency, skills, intensity, temporal span, and variety of gratitude experiences are likely to catalyze the following post-intervention socially oriented behaviors: (a) social support-seeking behaviors, (b) prosocial behaviors, (c) relationship initiation and enhancement behaviors, (d) participation in mastery-oriented social activities, and (e) reduced maladaptive interpersonal behaviors, which, in turn, produce long-term psychological well-being. A unique feature of the Catalyst Model of Change is that gratitude experiences are broadly conceptualized to include not just gratitude emotions, cognitions, and disclosures, but also expressing, receiving, witnessing, and responding to interpersonal gratitude. To this end, gratitude interventions that provide multiple opportunities for social experiences of gratitude (e.g., members expressing gratitude to each other in a group) might offer the greatest promise for fostering durable, positive effects on people's psychological well-being.

Interventions to Modify Psychological Well-Being: Progress, Promises, and an Agenda for Future Research

Psychological well-being, characterized by feelings, cognitions, and strategies that are associated with positive functioning (including hedonic and eudaimonic well-being), has been linked with better physical health and greater longevity. Importantly, psychological well-being can be strengthened with interventions, providing a strategy for improving population health. But are the effects of well-being interventions meaningful, durable, and scalable enough to improve health at a population-level? To assess this possibility, a cross-disciplinary group of scholars convened to review current knowledge and develop a research agenda. Here we summarize and build on the key insights from this convening, which were: (1) existing interventions should continue to be adapted to achieve a large-enough effect to result in downstream improvements in psychological functioning and health, (2) research should determine the durability of interventions needed to drive population-level and lasting changes, (3) a shift from individual-level care and treatment to a public-health model of population-level prevention is needed and will require new infrastructure that can deliver interventions at scale, (4) interventions should be accessible and effective in racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse samples. A discussion examining the key future research questions follows.

Toward a New Science of Psychedelic Social Psychology: The Effects of MDMA (Ecstasy) on Social Connection

Psychedelic science has generated hundreds of compelling published studies yet with relatively little impact on mainstream psychology. I propose that social psychologists have much to gain by incorporating psychoactive substances into their research programs. Here I use (±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as an example because of its documented ability in experiments and clinical trials to promote bonding, love, and warmth. Social connection is a fundamental human need, yet researchers still possess few tools to effectively and durably boost it. MDMA allows investigators to isolate the psychological mechanisms-as well as brain pathways-underlying felt social connection and thus reveal what should be targeted in future (nondrug) studies. Accordingly, I introduce a conceptual model that presents the proximal psychological mechanisms stimulated by MDMA (lowered fear, increased sociability, more chemistry), as well as its potential long-term impacts (improved relationships, reduced loneliness, stronger therapeutic alliances). Finally, I discuss further questions (e.g., whether using MDMA for enhancing connection can backfire) and promising research areas for building a new science of psychedelic social psychology. In sum, psychopharmacological methods can be a useful approach to illuminate commonly studied social-psychological processes, such as connectedness, prejudice, or self, as well as inform interventions to directly improve people's lives.

Behavioural science is unlikely to change the world without a heterogeneity revolution

In the past decade, behavioural science has gained influence in policymaking but suffered a crisis of confidence in the replicability of its findings. Here, we describe a nascent heterogeneity revolution that we believe these twin historical trends have triggered. This revolution will be defined by the recognition that most treatment effects are heterogeneous, so the variation in effect estimates across studies that defines the replication crisis is to be expected as long as heterogeneous effects are studied without a systematic approach to sampling and moderation. When studied systematically, heterogeneity can be leveraged to build more complete theories of causal mechanism that could inform nuanced and dependable guidance to policymakers. We recommend investment in shared research infrastructure to make it feasible to study behavioural interventions in heterogeneous and generalizable samples, and suggest low-cost steps researchers can take immediately to avoid being misled by heterogeneity and begin to learn from it instead.

On the Relation between Green Entrepreneurship Intention and Behavior

This study investigated the relationship between green entrepreneurship intention (GEI) and green entrepreneurship behavior (GEB). The study explored how university education support and green consumption commitment (GCC) moderate the relationship between green entrepreneurship intention and the GEB of university students in Ghana. The researcher used a quantitative approach. A total of 420 responses from the university campuses in Ghana were acquired through a purposive sampling method. A structural equation model was established with the help of AMOS 18. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the goodness of fit of the hypothesized model, the construct validity was evaluated, and the model had an acceptable fit. The results indicated that GEI positively influenced GEB. High university education support yielded a more substantial effect. This finding supports the notion that UES and GCC moderate the relationship between GEI and GEB. The research was limited to a survey questionnaire. The researcher acknowledges that the research was carried out in Ghana, and for generalization purposes it is recommended that the pool of university students surveyed should be extended to cover more countries in Africa, or a comparative study should be conducted that includes Ghana and some European countries.

Harnessing Wise Interventions to Advance the Potency and Reach of Youth Mental Health Services

Despite progress in research on evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for youth psychopathology, many youths with mental health needs do not receive services, and EBTs are not always effective for those who access them. Wise interventions (WIs) may help address needs for more disseminable, potent youth mental health interventions. WIs are single-component, social-psychological interventions designed to foster adaptive meaning-making. They have improved health-related and interpersonal youth outcomes, yet their potential to reduce youth psychopathology has not been systematically explored. Accordingly, we conducted a systematic, descriptive review characterizing WIs' potential to reduce youth mental health problems. Across 25 RCTs (N = 9219 youths, ages 11-19) testing 13 intervention types, 7 WIs qualified as "Well-Established," "Probably Efficacious," or "Possibly Efficacious" for reducing one or more types of youth psychopathology, relative to controls. Among these, 5 WIs significantly reduced youth depressive symptoms; 3, general psychological distress; and 1 each, eating problems, anxiety, and substance use. Three of these 7 WIs were self-administered by youths, and four by trained interventionists; collectively, they were 30-168 min in length and targeted clinic-referred and non-referred samples in clinical, school, and laboratory settings. Overall, certain WIs show promise in reducing mild-to-severe youth psychopathology. Given their brevity and low cost relative to traditional (i.e., therapist-delivered, 12- to 16-week, clinic-based) EBTs, WIs may represent beneficial additions to the youth mental healthcare ecosystem. Priorities for future research are proposed, including testing WIs for parents, younger children, and externalizing problems; as EBT adjuncts; and in schools and primary care clinics to increase access to brief, effective supports.

Be Aware Not Reactive: Testing a Mediated-Moderation Model of Dark Triad and Perceived Victimization via Self-Regulatory Approach

Generally, it is difficult to work efficiently in a toxic environment. Surprisingly, leaders are found to be liable for such toxic atmosphere because they possess certain traits that employees perceive as victimization. This research assesses the relationship between the dark triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) and perceived victimization with a focus on the mediating effect of abusive supervision and the moderating effect of mindfulness. For this purpose, we surveyed 274 employees in the healthcare sector of Pakistan by using random sampling technique in three waves. To analyze the data, the structural equation model with partial least squares and PROCESS were used. The findings suggest that abusive supervision plays a mediating role in the association between the dark triad and perceived victimization. The results did not support the mediating role of abusive supervision in the association between narcissism and perceived victimization, however, the mediated moderation model was supported. Further, the findings suggest that mindfulness weakens the effect of abusive supervision on perceived victimization. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of the results are also discussed.

Psychological affordances help explain where a self-transcendent purpose intervention improves performance

Lay theory interventions instill situation-general ways of thinking, often using short reading and writing exercises, and they have led to lasting changes in behavior and performance in a wide variety of policy domains. Do they work in all contexts? We suggest that lay theory intervention effects depend on psychological affordances, which are defined as cues that allow individuals to view a lay theory as legitimate and adaptive in that context. The present research directly and experimentally tested this hypothesis using the example of a "purpose for learning" lay theory intervention, which taught the lay theory that school is a place to develop skills that allow one to make progress toward self-transcendent aims. A double-blind 2 (student purpose intervention) × 2 (purpose-affording note) field experiment was conducted in a relatively low-performing public middle school in the United States. Students first received a web-based purpose for learning lay theory intervention (or a control activity), and 2 weeks later attended a class in which an assignment was accompanied by a purpose-affording note that was hand-written by a teacher (or a control note). Results showed that the purpose lay theory intervention increased performance on an English class writing assignment, but only when it was accompanied by a purpose-affording note. Exploratory analyses revealed that the effects of the manipulations were apparent among students who were at greater risk for poor performance in the class: nonnative English-speaking students. Thus short, online lay theory interventions may reduce performance gaps, provided that the contexts afford the opportunity for the proffered lay theory to seem legitimate and adaptive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Preventing Smoking Progression in Young Adults: the Concept of Prevescalation

As adolescents cross the threshold to young adulthood, they encounter more opportunities to engage in or accelerate previously discouraged or prohibited behaviors. Young adults, therefore, are more apt to initiate cigarette smoking and, more importantly, to accelerate their use if they tried and experimented as an adolescent. Preventing the escalation and entrenchment of smoking in the young adult years is critically important to reducing tobacco's long-term health toll. However, traditional interventions for youth have focused on preventing smoking initiation, and interventions for adults have focused on smoking cessation; both have failed to address the needs of young adults. We introduce the concept of "prevescalation" to capture the need and opportunity to prevent the escalation of risk behaviors that typically occur during young adulthood, with a focus on the example of cigarette smoking. Prevescalation negates the notion that prevention has failed if tobacco experimentation occurs during adolescence and focuses on understanding and interrupting transitions between experimentation with tobacco products and established tobacco use that largely occur during young adulthood. However, since risk behaviors often co-occur in young people, the core concept of prevescalation may apply to other behaviors that co-occur and become harder to change in later adulthood. We present a new framework for conceptualizing, developing, and evaluating interventions that better fit the unique behavioral, psychosocial, and socio-environmental characteristics of the young adult years. We discuss the need to target this transitional phase, what we know about behavioral pathways and predictors of cigarette smoking, potential intervention considerations, and research challenges.

Feeling needed: Effects of a randomized generativity intervention on well-being and inflammation in older women

Generativity, or concern for and contribution to the well-being of younger generations, plays an important role in successful aging. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel, writing-based intervention to increase feelings of generativity and test the effect of this intervention on well-being and inflammation in a sample of older women. Participants in this study (n = 73; mean age = 70.9 years, range 60-86 years) were randomly assigned to a 6-week generativity writing condition (writing about life experiences and sharing advice with others) or a control writing condition (neutral, descriptive writing). Self-reported measures of social well-being, mental health, and physical health, as well as objective measures of systemic and cellular levels of inflammation (plasma pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α; genome-wide RNA transcriptional profiling), were assessed pre- and post-intervention. The generativity intervention led to significant improvements across multiple domains, including increases in participation in social activities, decreases in psychological distress, more positive expectations regarding aging in the physical health domain, and decreases in pro-inflammatory gene expression. Thus, this study provides preliminary evidence for the ability of a novel, low-cost, low-effort intervention to favorably impact inflammation and well-being in older women.

Replicator degrees of freedom allow publication of misleading failures to replicate

We show that commonly exercised flexibility at the experimental design and data analysis stages of replication testing makes it easy to publish false-negative replication results while maintaining the impression of methodological rigor. These findings have important implications for how the many ostensible nonreplications already in the literature should be interpreted and for how future replication tests should be conducted.

In recent years, the field of psychology has begun to conduct replication tests on a large scale. Here, we show that “replicator degrees of freedom” make it far too easy to obtain and publish false-negative replication results, even while appearing to adhere to strict methodological standards. Specifically, using data from an ongoing debate, we show that commonly exercised flexibility at the experimental design and data analysis stages of replication testing can make it appear that a finding was not replicated when, in fact, it was. The debate that we focus on is representative, on key dimensions, of a large number of other replication tests in psychology that have been published in recent years, suggesting that the lessons of this analysis may be far reaching. The problems with current practice in replication science that we uncover here are particularly worrisome because they are not adequately addressed by the field’s standard remedies, including preregistration. Implications for how the field could develop more effective methodological standards for replication are discussed.

A meta-analysis of procedures to change implicit measures

Using a novel technique known as network meta-analysis, we synthesized evidence from 492 studies (87,418 participants) to investigate the effectiveness of procedures in changing implicit measures, which we define as response biases on implicit tasks. We also evaluated these procedures' effects on explicit and behavioral measures. We found that implicit measures can be changed, but effects are often relatively weak (|ds| < .30). Most studies focused on producing short-term changes with brief, single-session manipulations. Procedures that associate sets of concepts, invoke goals or motivations, or tax mental resources changed implicit measures the most, whereas procedures that induced threat, affirmation, or specific moods/emotions changed implicit measures the least. Bias tests suggested that implicit effects could be inflated relative to their true population values. Procedures changed explicit measures less consistently and to a smaller degree than implicit measures and generally produced trivial changes in behavior. Finally, changes in implicit measures did not mediate changes in explicit measures or behavior. Our findings suggest that changes in implicit measures are possible, but those changes do not necessarily translate into changes in explicit measures or behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Difference Matters: Teaching Students a Contextual Theory of Difference Can Help Them Succeed

Today’s increasingly diverse and divided world requires the ability to understand and navigate across social-group differences. We propose that interventions that teach students about these differences can not only improve all students’ intergroup skills but also help disadvantaged students succeed in school. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, this article theorizes that teaching students a contextual understanding of difference can accomplish both of these important goals. Understanding difference as contextual means recognizing that social-group differences come from participating in and adapting to diverse sociocultural contexts. This article begins by reviewing research that highlights two distinct understandings of social-group differences—as contextual or essential—and demonstrates their consequences for intergroup outcomes. We then review research on multicultural and social justice education that highlights the potential benefits of educating students about social-group differences. We propose that these educational approaches are associated with intergroup and academic benefits for one key reason: They teach students a contextual theory of difference. Finally, to illustrate and provide causal evidence for our theory of how a contextual understanding of difference affords these benefits, this article provides an overview of the first social psychological intervention to teach students a contextual understanding of difference: difference-education.

Why Interventions to Influence Adolescent Behavior Often Fail but Could Succeed

We provide a developmental perspective on two related issues: (a) why traditional preventative school-based interventions work reasonably well for children but less so for middle adolescents and (b) why some alternative approaches to interventions show promise for middle adolescents. We propose the hypothesis that traditional interventions fail when they do not align with adolescents' enhanced desire to feel respected and be accorded status; however, interventions that do align with this desire can motivate internalized, positive behavior change. We review examples of promising interventions that (a) directly harness the desire for status and respect, (b) provide adolescents with more respectful treatment from adults, or (c) lessen the negative influence of threats to status and respect. These examples are in the domains of unhealthy snacking, middle school discipline, and high school aggression. Discussion centers on implications for basic developmental science and for improvements to youth policy and practice.

An online growth mindset intervention in a sample of rural adolescent girls

BACKGROUND

Students living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational attainment than their suburban counterparts. Innovative interventions are needed to close this educational achievement gap.

AIMS

We investigated whether an online growth mindset intervention could be leveraged to promote academic outcomes.

SAMPLE

We tested the mindset intervention in a sample of 222 10th-grade adolescent girls (M age = 15.2; 38% White, 25% Black, 29% Hispanic) from four rural, low-income high schools in the Southeastern United States.

METHODS

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the growth mindset intervention, relative to a sexual health programme. We used random sampling and allocation procedures to assign girls to either the mindset intervention (n = 115) or an attention-matched control programme (n = 107). We assessed participants at pre-test, immediate post-test, and 4-month follow-up.

RESULTS

Relative to the control condition, students assigned to the mindset intervention reported stronger growth mindsets at immediate post-test and 4-month follow-up. Although the intervention did not have a total effect on academic attitudes or grades, it indirectly increased motivation to learn, learning efficacy and grades via the shifts in growth mindsets.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicate that this intervention is a promising method to encourage growth mindsets in rural adolescent girls.

Breaking the prejudice habit: Mechanisms, timecourse, and longevity

The prejudice habit-breaking intervention (Devine et al., 2012) and its offshoots (e.g., Carnes et al., 2012) have shown promise in effecting long-term change in key outcomes related to intergroup bias, including increases in awareness, concern about discrimination, and, in one study, long-term decreases in implicit bias. This intervention is based on the premise that unintentional bias is like a habit that can be broken with sufficient motivation, awareness, and effort. We conducted replication of the original habit-breaking intervention experiment in a sample more than three times the size of the original (N = 292). We also measured all outcomes every other day for 14 days and measured potential mechanisms for the intervention's effects. Consistent with previous results, the habit-breaking intervention produced a change in concern that endured two weeks post-intervention. These effects were associated with increased sensitivity to the biases of others and an increased tendency to label biases as wrong. Contrasting with the original work, both control and intervention participants decreased in implicit bias, and the effects of the habit-breaking intervention on awareness declined in the second week of the study. In a subsample recruited two years later, intervention participants were more likely than control participants to object on a public online forum to an essay endorsing racial stereotyping. Our results suggest that the habit-breaking intervention produces enduring changes in peoples' knowledge of and beliefs about race-related issues, and we argue that these changes are even more important for promoting long-term behavioral change than are changes in implicit bias.