Applying Social Psychology: From Problems to Solutions (SAGE Social Psychology Program) by Abraham P Buunk & Mark van Vugt

Author:Abraham P Buunk & Mark van Vugt [Buunk, Abraham P]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781446292877
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2013-09-18T04:00:00+00:00

The Convergent Phase: Reducing the Number of Explanations

The aim of the divergent phase is to produce as many explanations as possible. In contrast, in the convergent phase the number of explanations is drastically reduced so that only the most plausible explanations remain. There are three different stages in the convergent phase. First, the number of explanations is reduced by getting rid of irrelevant and redundant explanations. Second, the theoretical validity of each of the remaining explanations is tested. Third, the remaining explanations are checked for their plausibility to account for the problem. This results in a smaller set of explanations that can be used in the next two phases of the PATH model – developing and testing a process model (Chapter 4) and setting up a help programme (Chapter 5). It is important to end up with a set of explanations that describe the social psychological processes leading to a problem in sufficient detail. One should avoid ending up with a set of ‘dead-end’ explanations like ‘teenagers who fail to use contraceptives are less intelligent’.

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