ESPLAT 2025 conference: Scientific thinking in challenging times

Introduction
Students in applied psychology education often struggle with topics like motivation, learning mechanisms, or resilience and vulnerability. The suggested concept can be applied to various psychology courses and addresses this challenge by systematically integrating a dual-perspective approach into teaching. For instance, instead of focusing solely on effective learning mechanisms, students could also think about how learning or exam performance is reduced. Similarly, understanding motivation may be easier when also considering what causes demotivation. Contrasting constructs may help restructuring and reveal links between interconnected concepts (e.g., resilience and vulnerability). The suggested approach aligns with Gestalt psychology, emphasizing problem-solving through restructuring and redefining the "problem space." It may foster creative thinking through reverse brainstorming and may also allow for deeper understanding.

As a teaching approach, three strategies can be applied: (a) encouraging students to use reverse brainstorming, (b) highlighting contrasting constructs in lectures, and (c) integrating restructuring as a recurring theme and addressing it in a problem-solving session.

Methods
The concept serves as a flexible instructional framework. As a first test of its underlying assumptions, an experiment is planned: Students will generate ideas under single-perspective tasks (e.g., ideas for stress reduction) and dual-perspective tasks (e.g., ideas for stress reduction and for stress amplification), with counterbalanced materials. Idea quantity and quality will be assessed.

Results
It is expected that the dual-perspective approach leads to more ideas than the single-perspective condition and, possibly, higher quality of ideas.

Discussion
The dual-perspective approach is based on Gestalt psychology and reverse brainstorming. Encouraging students to "flip" perspectives may foster idea generation, strengthen concept connections, and can serve as a recurring instructional theme. Further, a dual-perspective approach may help to identify otherwise neglected relevant theories for applied contexts for students, instructors, and researchers.