1. What is the problem? Articulate the problem both in a general sense and by framing it within the psychological literature. For instance, your problem might be that coworkers in your organization don’t challenge each other enough. In this example, you may frame this as conformity or groupthink or another theory discussed in class?
2. What solutions are offered by the literature? You should extend the first part to discuss what research has been done to address this problem. It’s perfectly fine to have an issue where you can’t find an article that has investigated that problem. In that case, you should find sources which are studying adjacent problems. For example, maybe you are examining a problem in higher education, but there are no articles investigating that problem. However, you find one which investigated that problem in a middle school or in a government workplace. You could use those articles and build on them.
3. What is your solution and why? You should build your solution using the literature as justification. This is written to persuade a classmate or academic that what you say will work. The elevator pitch assignment is for your boss; this should persuade me as the instructor of the course and a Ph.D. in social psychology. That means you will have to ground your arguments in theory and in research. If there are articles that we discussed in class which address your problem, I expect them to be mentioned.
I expect your solutions to be feasible. You should not propose solutions that are never going to happen due to financial or political constraints. However, I’m not going to judge your paper on that requirement because I do not know what is feasible within your context.
this is my idea, the intervention you are gonna write is about this: A problem I would like to address is food insecurity among college freshmen, which has significant implications for student well-being, academic performance, and overall health. Coming to college is scary and facing new challenges can lead to food insecurities. These challenges include limited financial resources, lack of access to healthy and affordable food options, and the stress of adapting to a new environment. The transition to college can lead to changes in diet that may not always be healthy. For example, freshmen might rely more on fast food or processed snacks due to convenience, affordability, or lack of cooking skills. I think this problem is important because nutrition is critical for cognitive function, energy levels, and overall health. Food insecurity can lead to negative outcomes, such as difficulty concentrating in class, lower academic performance, and increased vulnerability to mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Also, the stress of food insecurity and adapting to new dietary habits can contribute to unhealthy weight changes like the known “freshman 15”, eating disorders, and a poor relationship with food. Addressing this issue could include increasing awareness of the issue, improving access to affordable and nutritious food options on and near campuses, and providing educational programs on budgeting, nutrition, and cooking skills.
