Using an intraindividual intervention design to uncover hidden dynamics in the effects of a psychological intervention

24th January 2022 : 12:45 - 14:00

Category: Seminar

Research Group: Quantitative Methods Hub

Speaker: Dr. Jasmin Breitwieser

Location: Online presentation in seminar room D, also available online

Convener: Lars-Erik Malmberg

Audience: Public

Online presentation in seminar room D, also available online.

Register here to watch remotely.

Speaker

Dr. Jasmin Breitwieser,

Individualized Interventions Lab https://www.indilearn.de/indilab
DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education,

Department: Education and Human Development

Abstract:

Most psychological interventions have to be administered repeatedly to be effective, but what is the optimal frequency? The answer will depend on how quickly the effects build up and wear off between intervention prompts. We investigated these temporal dynamics in a popular self-regulation intervention: implementation intentions. We combined a novel intervention design with objective high-resolution data of students’ learning success during 40 days of preparation for an exam. Students (n = 223) received intervention prompts on half of the days, alternating between 2-3 consecutive days of prompting and no-prompting. These students outperformed a no-prompt control group (n = 116) in the final exam (d = .21). However, the beneficial effect of prompting on learning success increased over consecutive days of prompting and decreased when prompting was discontinued. These results suggest that the beneficial effects of self-regulation prompts on learning success are highly volatile and might benefit from regular repetitions.