140 chapter 5 the confrontation of the COVID-19 pandemic”; “describe the multiple ways you found to adapt to the national lockdown”). By reflecting on such past experiences, and especially by recalling personal examples of persistence, adaptability and transformability, participants may realise that they have shown the capacity to adapt and thrive in the face of past challenges, which in turn may enhance their transilience in the face of present and future challenges. This approach is consistent with research showing that information about one’s previous accomplishments (i.e., mastery experience; Bandura; 1989; 1997) can increase people’s perceived capacity to achieve specific tasks (i.e., their self-efficacy; Bandura, 1997). Another possible strategy to elicit experiences of transilience in the present moment could be the use of gamification techniques, such as smartphone apps and virtual reality. Participants could be exposed to a simulated adversity, and then guided through a process of finding ways to persist, adapt flexibly and positively transform by dealing with such an adversity; they could also receive feedback on their performance (e.g., scoring points related to transilience) as well as guidelines on how they can improve their levels of transilience. For instance, participants could be exposed to a situation where they own a house with a backyard, and encouraged to increase the greenery in it to help protect themselves and their community from flooding. Prompts and suggestions could be provided to the participant in order to find ways to replace tiles and concrete with bushes and trees, as well as feedback on the beneficial opportunities (e.g., “you just learned something new about gardening, well done!” or “you asked your neighbours to plant a tree together, improving your relationship with them, and increasing protection against flooding for yourself and your community!”). By undergoing such virtual experiences of transilience in the face of adversity, participants may be able to develop a sense of their capacity to persist, adapt flexibly and positively transform in the face of a specific adversity, thus fostering transilience in the face of real-life adversities (cf. Douglas & Brouer, 2021). To test the effectiveness of these interventions strategies in fostering transilience, future studies could employ experimental designs, where participants are randomly assigned to either an experimental group (where they undergo the intervention) or a control group. Comparisons between the levels of transilience across both groups would shed light into the extent to which the intervention succeeded in fostering transilience. Longitudinal designs could also be used to examine the pre- and postintervention levels of transilience in both experimental and control groups. Importantly, by focusing on whether transilience can be boosted, future research can provide valuable knowledge into the extent to which transilience is a stable (i.e., a trait) or malleable (i.e., a state) construct, and into how individuals and communities can actively cultivate and strengthen their transilience in the face of contemporary adversities.
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