Intuition is not evidence: Prescriptions for behavioral ­interventions from social psychology

by Timothy D. Wilson & Lindsay P. Juarez
February 15, 2017

Author Note

The writing of this article was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant SES-0951779.

Author Affiliation

Wilson and Juarez, Department of Psychology, ­University of Virginia. Corresponding author’s e-mail: [email protected]

References

1.Upset dad. (2013, January 5). Does anyone know if there’s a scared straight program in Eagle Pass? [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://www.topix.com/forum/city/eagle-pass-tx/T6U00R1BNDTRB746V

2.Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C., & Finckenauer, J. O. (2000). Well-meaning programs can have harmful effects! Lessons from experiments of programs such as scared straight. Crime & Delinquency, 46, 354–379. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011128700046003006

3.Dishion, T. J., McCord, J., & Poulin, F. (1999). When interventions harm: Peer groups and problem behavior. American Psychologist, 54, 755–764. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.9.755

4.Wilson, T. D. (2011). Redirect: The surprising new science of psychological change. New York, NY: Little, Brown.

5.Lilienfeld, S. O. (2007). Psychological treatments that cause harm. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2, 53–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00029.x

6.McCord, J. (2003). Cures that harm: Unanticipated outcomes of crime prevention programs. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 587, 16–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002716202250781

7.Bem, D. J. (1972). Self-perception theory. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 6, pp. 1–62). New York, NY: Academic Press.

8.Jones, E. E., & Davis, K. E. (1965). From acts to dispositions: The attribution process in social psychology. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 219–266). New York, NY: Academic Press.

9.Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York, NY: Wiley.

10. Kelley, H. H. (1967). Attribution theory in social psychology. In D. Levine (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 15, pp. 192–238). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

11. Ross, L. (1977). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 173–220). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

12. Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House.

13. Walton, G. M. (2014). The new science of wise interventions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 73–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0963721413512856

14. Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M. (2011). Social-psychological interventions in education: They’re not magic. Review of Educational Research, 81, 267–301. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0034654311405999

15. Deaton, A. (2010). Instruments, randomization, and learning about development. Journal of Economic Literature, 48, 424–455. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/jel.48.2.424

16. Wilson, T. D., & Linville, P. W. (1982). Improving the academic performance of college freshmen: Attribution therapy revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 367–376.

17. Wilson, T. D., Damiani, M., & Shelton, N. (2002). Improving the academic performance of college students with brief attributional interventions. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Improving academic achievement: Impact of psychological factors on education (pp. 88–108). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

18. Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78, 246–263.

19. Yeager, D. S., Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2013). How can we instill productive mindsets at scale? A review of the evidence and an initial R&D agenda. Unpublished manuscript, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

20. Cohen, G. L., Garcia, J., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Apfel, N., & Brzustoski, P. (2009, April 17). Recursive processes in self-affirmation: Intervening to close the achievement gap. Science, 324, 400–403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1170769

21. Hulleman, C. S., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2009, December 4). Promoting interest and performance in high school science classes. Science, 326, 1410–1412. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1177067

22. Ramirez, G., & Beilock, S. L. (2011, January 14). Writing about testing worries boosts exam performance in the classroom. Science, 331, 211–213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1199427

23. Bugental, D. B., Beaulieu, D. A., & Silbert-Geiger, A. (2010). Increases in parental investment and child health as a result of an early intervention. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 106, 30–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2009.10.004

24. Finkel, E. J., Slotter, E. B., Luchies, L. B., Walton, G. M., & Gross, J. J. (2013). A brief intervention to promote conflict reappraisal preserves marital quality over time. Psychological Science, 24, 1595–1601.

25. Bryan, C. J., Walton, G. M, Rogers, T., & Dweck, C. S. (2011). Motivating voter turnout by invoking the self. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 108, 12653–12656. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1103343108

26. Cialdini, R. B. (2012). The focus theory of normative conduct. In P. van Lange, A. Kruglanski, & T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology (pp. 295–312). London, United Kingdom: Sage.

27. DeJong, W., Schneider, S. K., Towvim, L. G., Murphy, M. J., Doerr, E. E., Simonsen, N. R., . . . Scribner, R. (2006). A multisite randomized trial of social norms marketing campaigns to reduce college student drinking. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 67, 868–879.

28. Button, K. S., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Mokrysz, C., Nosek, B. A., Flint, J., Robinson, E. S. J., & Munafò, M. R. (2013). Power failure: Why small sample size undermines the reliability of neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14, 365–376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrn3475

29. Jager, L. R., & Leek, J. T. (2014). An estimate of the science-wise false discovery rate and application to the top medical literature. Biostatistics, 15, 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biostatistics/kxt007

30. Cohen, G. L. (2011, October 14). Social psychology and social change. Science, 334, 178–179. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1212887

31. Evans, S. H., & Clarke, P. (2011). Disseminating orphan innovations. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 9(1), 42–47.

32. Reivich, K. J., Seligman, M. E. P., & McBride, S. (2011). Master resilience training in the U.S. Army. American Psychologist, 66, 25–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0021897

33. Eidelson, R., Pilisuk, M., & Soldz, S. (2011). The dark side of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness. American Psychologist, 66, 643–644. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0025272

34. Smith, S. L. (2013). Could Comprehensive Soldier Fitness have iatrogenic consequences? A commentary. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 40, 242–246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11414-012-9302-2

35. Steenkamp, M. M., Nash, W. P., & Litz, B. T. (2013). Post-traumatic stress disorder: Review of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 44, 507–512. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.01.013

36. Schreier, H. M. C., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Chen, E. (2013). Effect of volunteering on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adolescents: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA: Pediatrics, 167, 327–332. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.1100

37. Dobbie, W., & Fryer, R. G., Jr. (2010). Are high-quality schools enough to increase achievement among the poor? Evidence from the Harlem Children’s Zone. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/hcz_nov_2010.pdf

38. Tuttle, C. C., Gill, B., Gleason, P., Knechtel, V., Nichols-Barrer, I., & Resch, A. (2013). KIPP middle schools: Impacts on achievement and other outcomes (Mathematica Policy Research No. 06441.910). Retrieved February 17, 2014, from KIPP Foundation website: http://www.kipp.org/files/dmfile/KIPP_Middle_Schools_Impact_on_Achievement_and_Other_Outcomes1.pdf

39. Paluck, E. L. (2009). Reducing intergroup prejudice and conflict using the media: A field experiment in Rwanda. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 574–587. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0011989

40. Paluck, E. L. (2010). Is it better not to talk? Group polarization, extended contact, and perspective-taking in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 1170–1185.