Knowledge clips
Clip 1 Problem phase
The key aspect for the problem phase is formulating a problem definition
as a starting point for your intervention development.
When you work in intervention development people will come to you with
a problem and will ask you for your help. Start with a brief checklist to
what extend you can actually be of help.
- Is the problem (social) psychological in nature? No problem is
merely social psychological, but for a psychological consultant to
work on it, psychological contributors should be meaningful and
important in the problem and solution: ARE THERE SUBSTANTIAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTORS?
- Is the problem phrased in an applied? Does is go beyond
‘finding causes’? The problem should call for a solution, not merely
an explanation. This takes means that we are talking about applied,
and not basic or fundamental research: ARE WE FOCUSED ON
FINDING A SOLUTION, NOT MERELY AN EXPLANATION?
- Is the problem phrased in concrete terms? Can we formulate
the problem in sufficiently concrete terms? This allows for
appropriate operationalization of the different aspects of the
problem. Specificity is important: IS THE PROBLEM PHRASED IN
SUFFICIENTLY CONCRETE TERMS?
- Can you have a meaningful contribution to solving the
problem? Do we estimate that the problem can be resolved or
substantially relieved by one of our interventions? Considering scale,
scope, resources, ethics, etc: IS THIS A PROBLEM THAT CAN BE
(PARTIALLY) RESOLVED WITH OUR EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES?
Once you have established the problem is suitable for you to work with -
once you have finalised the checklist and you think the problem is
something you can contribute to – you can start to work on the problem
definition.
The problem definition is a brief paragraph of text that states what exactly
the problem is you will be working on. These are the key aspects that are
included in the problem definition:
- What is the problem?
- Why is this a problem?
- For whom is this a problem?
- Potential causes
- Specify the target group
, Before you finalize your problem definition, you first want to do some
research to get more background about the problem. Research facts and
figures about the problem, considering the source of information. Briefly
review (or scan) the scientific literature for information about the problem.
If you have the time and the resources to do so, also do some interviews
and observation. Talking to the different parties involved (client, target
group, experts in the field) can be helpful. Observing your target group
and the problem context is also useful.
Example of a problem definition: TIKTOKING, NOT SLEEPING
Many teenagers tend to wake up during the night to check their social
media, disrupting their sleep (what?). This can pose a problem to these
young people and the people around them, like their parents and
schoolteachers (who?), because it can result in feeling tired at school,
resulting in decreased academic performance and decreased health and
wellbeing (why?). Potential causes could be the fear of missing out and
peer pressure (causes). An intervention could target teenagers on social
media (target group?).
Summarizing the Problem Phase:
A societal problem is first checked against a set of criteria (psychological
in nature, applied rather than purely explanatory, concrete, and feasible to
address) to determine whether a psychological intervention is suitable. If it
passes this check, background research (literature, interviews,
observation) is used to inform a problem definition that specifies what the
problem is, why it is a problem, for whom, its potential causes, and the
target group. This problem definition forms the starting point for the
Analysis phase.
Some learning objects about the Problem Phase:
- Are you able to assess whether a problem is suitable for a
psychological intervention?
- Are you able to ask the right set of questions to gather information
about the problem?
- Are you able to do background research on your problem?
- Are you able to formulate a problem definition?
Clip 2 Analysis phase
The key aspect for the analysis phase is finding explanations for the
problem that you defined in the problem phase. Move away from defining
Clip 1 Problem phase
The key aspect for the problem phase is formulating a problem definition
as a starting point for your intervention development.
When you work in intervention development people will come to you with
a problem and will ask you for your help. Start with a brief checklist to
what extend you can actually be of help.
- Is the problem (social) psychological in nature? No problem is
merely social psychological, but for a psychological consultant to
work on it, psychological contributors should be meaningful and
important in the problem and solution: ARE THERE SUBSTANTIAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTORS?
- Is the problem phrased in an applied? Does is go beyond
‘finding causes’? The problem should call for a solution, not merely
an explanation. This takes means that we are talking about applied,
and not basic or fundamental research: ARE WE FOCUSED ON
FINDING A SOLUTION, NOT MERELY AN EXPLANATION?
- Is the problem phrased in concrete terms? Can we formulate
the problem in sufficiently concrete terms? This allows for
appropriate operationalization of the different aspects of the
problem. Specificity is important: IS THE PROBLEM PHRASED IN
SUFFICIENTLY CONCRETE TERMS?
- Can you have a meaningful contribution to solving the
problem? Do we estimate that the problem can be resolved or
substantially relieved by one of our interventions? Considering scale,
scope, resources, ethics, etc: IS THIS A PROBLEM THAT CAN BE
(PARTIALLY) RESOLVED WITH OUR EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES?
Once you have established the problem is suitable for you to work with -
once you have finalised the checklist and you think the problem is
something you can contribute to – you can start to work on the problem
definition.
The problem definition is a brief paragraph of text that states what exactly
the problem is you will be working on. These are the key aspects that are
included in the problem definition:
- What is the problem?
- Why is this a problem?
- For whom is this a problem?
- Potential causes
- Specify the target group
, Before you finalize your problem definition, you first want to do some
research to get more background about the problem. Research facts and
figures about the problem, considering the source of information. Briefly
review (or scan) the scientific literature for information about the problem.
If you have the time and the resources to do so, also do some interviews
and observation. Talking to the different parties involved (client, target
group, experts in the field) can be helpful. Observing your target group
and the problem context is also useful.
Example of a problem definition: TIKTOKING, NOT SLEEPING
Many teenagers tend to wake up during the night to check their social
media, disrupting their sleep (what?). This can pose a problem to these
young people and the people around them, like their parents and
schoolteachers (who?), because it can result in feeling tired at school,
resulting in decreased academic performance and decreased health and
wellbeing (why?). Potential causes could be the fear of missing out and
peer pressure (causes). An intervention could target teenagers on social
media (target group?).
Summarizing the Problem Phase:
A societal problem is first checked against a set of criteria (psychological
in nature, applied rather than purely explanatory, concrete, and feasible to
address) to determine whether a psychological intervention is suitable. If it
passes this check, background research (literature, interviews,
observation) is used to inform a problem definition that specifies what the
problem is, why it is a problem, for whom, its potential causes, and the
target group. This problem definition forms the starting point for the
Analysis phase.
Some learning objects about the Problem Phase:
- Are you able to assess whether a problem is suitable for a
psychological intervention?
- Are you able to ask the right set of questions to gather information
about the problem?
- Are you able to do background research on your problem?
- Are you able to formulate a problem definition?
Clip 2 Analysis phase
The key aspect for the analysis phase is finding explanations for the
problem that you defined in the problem phase. Move away from defining
