The new science of wise psychological interventions
Abstract
Citizens complete a survey the day before a major election; a change in the survey items’ grammatical structure increases turnout by 11 percentage points. People answer a single question; their romantic relationships improve over several weeks. At-risk students complete a 1-hour reading-and-writing exercise; their grades rise and their health improves for the next 3 years. Each statement may sound outlandish—more science fiction than science. Yet each represents the results of a recent study in psychological science (respectively, Bryan, Walton, Rogers, & Dweck, 2011; Marigold, Holmes, & Ross, 2007, 2010; Walton & Cohen, 2011). These studies have shown, more than one might have thought, that specific psychological processes contribute to major social problems. These processes act as levers in complex systems that give rise to social problems. Precise interventions that alter them—what I call “wise interventions”—can produce significant benefits and do so over time. What are wise interventions? How do they work? And how can they help solve social problems?
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Wise interventions can effectively change behavior recursively over time.
“In doing so, these interventions can effectively change behavior recursively over time (Walton, 2014).”
From Effects of a Brief Preventive Intervention in Cyberbullying and Grooming in Adolescents (2021) · cites this paper as Walton, 2014
Wise interventions are expected to exert long-term effects by interacting with individuals' experiences after the intervention.
“given their recursive nature, wise interventions are expected to exert long-term effects by interacting with individuals' experiences after the intervention.”
From Effects of a Brief Preventive Intervention in Cyberbullying and Grooming in Adolescents (2021) · cites this paper as Walton (2014)
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“In doing so, these interventions can effectively change behavior recursively over time (Walton, 2014).”
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“These interventions aim to “alter a specific way in which people think or feel in the normal course of their lives to help them flourish” (Walton, 2014, p. 73) and they are furthermore characterized by lasting effects over time.”
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Walton, G. M.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Walton, Gregory M.
- ORCID
- Walton, Gregory M.
- Venue
- Current Directions in Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2014-02
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 73-82
- ISSN
- 0963-7214 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8721
- OpenAlex
- W2153146691
- Cited by
- 655
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 73 · 2020: 105 · 2019: 58 · 2018: 61 · 2017: 60 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 73.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2014-04-01)
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Current Directions in Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Keywords
- wise interventions, psychological intervention, social problems, intervention design, complex systems, social change, long-term effects
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