User-centered R&D with A/B tests and rapid prototyping to tailor interventions to a target population¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article describes a multi-phase R&D process used to prepare the National Study of Learning Mindsets intervention for entering 9th graders, involving several years and thousands of pilot participants. The authors "adapted procedures from user-centered design: A/B tests (in which small variants on a message are tested against each other in multifactor randomized studies) and rapid prototyping (in which early-stage materials are shared with user groups who point out areas that could be improved)". Phase 2 immersed researchers in the psychological world of 9th graders; Phase 3 showed the revised intervention better increased challenge seeking at posttest than the base version, and the final version showed positive effects at a national scale.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Several years of development and thousands of pilot participants; interventions are highly dependent on subtle features of materials and procedures matched to the target population.

Constraints¶

• It is not clear the revised treatment could be easily transported to other contexts such as colleges or the workplace; successful replication there may require new rounds of R&D.

Target Learners¶

• entering 9th-grade high school students in a nationally representative sample

Target Learning Goals¶

• growth mindset adoption
• challenge seeking
• academic achievement (GPA, on-track status)

Related Strategies¶

• Six-step design methodology: elicit values, minimal intervention, multi-level multi-outcome evaluation, iterate, simulate scale, sunset
• Design Thinking

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Dweck, C. S., & Yeager, D. S. (2019). Mindsets: A View From Two Eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618804166