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How do implementation intentions promote goal attainment? A test of component processes
Abstract
Implementation intentions are plans that specify the when, where, and how of goal striving in advance, and have been shown to enhance rates of goal attainment compared to merely forming respective goal intentions. The present research investigated whether the accessibility of the specified situation (cue accessibility) and the strength of the association between the specified situation and the intended response (cue-response linkage) explain the impact of implementation intentions on goal achievement. Findings indicated that participants who planned to undertake a verbal task better attained their goal compared to participants who did not form a plan. Crucially, implementation intention effects were mediated by the accessibility of the specified cue and by the strength of cue-response links. These findings support the idea that implementation intentions benefit performance because control of behavior is delegated to specified situational cues that initiate action automatically.
... They typically have an if-then structure ("If situation X is encountered, then I will perform behavior Y!"), which allows people to create a mental link between a critical situational cue (expressed in the if-part) with a goal-directed response (expressed in the then-part). The activation of the mental representation of the critical situational cue and the formation of the cue-response mental link are supposed to change the response control from effortful and conscious to effortless and automated (Brandstätter et al., 2001;Gollwitzer & Schaal, 1998;Parks-Stamm et al., 2007;Webb et al., 2012a;Webb & Sheeran, 2007. Implementation intentions have been found to help different types of populations achieve their goals in numerous domains (e.g., Brewster et al., 2015;Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006;Hall et al., 2014;Stalbovs et al., 2015;Stern & West, 2014;Tanis et al., 2023), including emotion regulation goals (Webb et al. 2012a). ...
... Participants with a self-efficacy strengthening implementation intention outperformed participants who used a self-efficacy strengthening goal intention. The present study supports the idea, in line with theory (Brandstätter et al., 2001;Gollwitzer & Schaal, 1998;Parks-Stamm et al., 2007;Webb et al., 2012a;Webb & Sheeran, 2007, that providing a perspective taking emotion regulation strategy in combination with a situational cue in the form of an ifthen plan helps participants achieve their emotion regulation goal of decreasing disgust significantly better than providing a perspective taking emotion regulation strategy without linking it to a critical cue. ...
... The results illustrated in Figure 2 suggest that PT-II participants were equally successful in decreasing disgust, whether or not they consciously attempted to reappraise the disgusting content. This is in line with the idea that creating the mental link between a critical cue and a goal-directed behavior makes the enactment of the response automatic and unconscious (Brandstätter et al., 2001;Gollwitzer & Schaal, 1998;Parks-Stamm et al., 2007;Webb et al., 2012a;Webb & Sheeran, 2007. In contrast GI and GI-PT participants were as successful as PT-II participants only for high levels of conscious reappraisal of the disgusting contents. ...
Implementation intentions are if-then plans that create a mental link between a situational cue and a goal-directed response that people can form to help them achieve emotion regulation goals more effectively. The main goal of this study was to determine if forming the goal intention to not get disgusted together with a perspective taking implementation intention is more effective than forming the goal intention to not get disgusted that spells out the same perspective taking strategy but without linking it to the cue. Eighty-six female participants viewed disgusting, neutral, and pleasant pictures under four instructions: no emotion regulation instructions (CG), the goal intention to not get disgusted (GI), this goal intention furnished with the perspective taking regulation strategy (GI-PT), and this goal intention in tandem with the perspective taking implementation intention (PT-II). Compared with CG, GI, and GI-PT participants, PT-II participants showed a significantly larger decrease in disgust when seeing the disgusting pictures. This effect remained constant across repeated exposure to the critical contents and was larger among individuals who did not consciously try to reappraise the disgusting pictures than among individuals who consciously tried to reappraise them. Valence rating, arousal rating, and sympathetic activity did not significantly differ between conditions. We conclude that it is the if(situational cue)-then(goal-directed response) link created by forming the perspective taking implementation intention that accounts for the positive effect on disgust and not simply the information about the perspective taking behavior to adopt.
... Implementation intentions have been shown to have some favourable characteristics that make them effective and efficient (for a meta-analysis, see Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). In particular, they help people to act without effort in an automized manner, thereby providing action support even when only few cognitive resources are available, that is under conditions of high cognitive load (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). ...
... Performance improved after they had internalized corresponding implementation intentions, which was explained by improved recognition of the cue given in the if-part of the implementation intention. Second, implementation intentions create a firm association between the situational cue, that is the 'if '-part, and the intended action, that is the 'then'-part (Armitage, 2009;Bayer et al., 2009;Gilbert et al., 2009;Gollwitzer & Brandstätter, 1997;Webb & Sheeran, 2007Wieber et al., 2015). For instance, in an fMRI study, implementation intentions induced a pattern of neuronal activity similar to the neuronal activity of automatic behaviour (Gilbert et al., 2009). ...
... First, implementation intentions necessarily contain information about when to initiate effective processes in their 'if '-part; instructional prompts, on the contrary, can but do not have to contain this information. Second, in contrast to instructional prompts that might impose cognitive demands on learners, implementation intentions make the triggered conditions in the 'if '-part cognitively very accessible (Parks-Stamm et al., 2007;Webb & Sheeran, 2007, so that these opportune moments to act are less likely to be overlooked. Thus, implementation intentions should facilitate effective cognitive processing at just the right time, whereas with instructional prompts, it is much more difficult to time their presentation precisely. ...
There is ample evidence that multimedia learning is challenging, and learners often underutilize appropriate cognitive processes. Previous research has applied prompts to promote the use of helpful cognitive processing. However, prompts still require learners to regulate their learning, which may interfere with learning, especially in situations where cognitive demands are already high. As an alternative, implementation intentions (i.e. if‐then plans) are expected to help regulate behaviour automatically due to their specific wording, thereby offloading demands. Accordingly, this study aimed at investigating whether implementation intentions compared with prompts improve learning performance, especially under high cognitive load. Students (N = 120) learned either in a control condition without instructional support, with prompts, or with implementation intentions. Within each condition, half of the participants studied the multimedia instruction under conditions of either high or low cognitive load, which was experimentally manipulated by instructing them to perform one of two secondary tasks. In line with our hypotheses, the results showed that under low cognitive load, both prompts and implementation intentions led to better learning than the control condition. By contrast, under high cognitive load, only implementation intentions promoted learning. Thus, implementation intentions are an efficient means to promote learning even under challenging circumstances.
... The trait of conscientiousness includes habitually enacting planning behaviors, making lists, setting timelines, and using a calendar (BIC; [20])-cognitive habits that lead to self-regulatory success. Conscientiousness is inconsistently related to if-then action planning [21,22]. Some research indicates that if-then planning outcomes are independent of conscientiousness [21]. ...
... Some research indicates that if-then planning outcomes are independent of conscientiousness [21]. Other research suggests that people high in conscientiousness profit less from instructions to use if-then planning [22]. The latter could result from the difficulty in improving on the high level of self-regulation that highly conscientious people already show. ...
... Conscientiousness has been considered a relevant personality trait in self-regulation research [19] and if-then action planning [21,22]. The inclusion of situational cues in thoughts about intended future actions can be perceived as a more thorough kind of planning than merely attempting to remember the intention. ...
Successful everyday self-regulation often hinges on implementing intended responses at a later time–often in specific situations. We address this self-regulation challenge by examining the role of individuals’ thought about intended actions–and specifically whether it does or does not include situational cues. We hypothesized that including situational cues when thinking about intended actions enables stimulus-response learning, thereby increasing the likelihood of implementing the intended actions. Consequently, we pre-registered and found (N = 392, age range 18–94) a positive relationship between the self-reported habitual inclusion of situational cues in thought about intended actions and everyday self-regulation success (assessed by self-reported self-efficacy and self-control beliefs). In addition, we provide exploratory evidence that the inclusion of situational cues in thought about intended actions mediates the relationship between conscientiousness and self-regulation success. We discuss the results and the theoretical perspective in relation to how self-control outcomes can be explained by associative learning.
... The literature also indicates that the mechanisms underlying implementation intention effects involve increased accessibility of cues related to the opportunity to act and strong mental links between those cues and intended responses (Parks-Stamm, Webb & Sheeran, 2007 -processes that serve to delegate action control from the self to prespecified cues (e.g., Gilbert et al., 2009;Martiny-Huenger et al., 2017) and automatize action initiation (i.e., engender fast, effortless responding that is needless of conscious intent at the moment of acting; e.g., Brandstätter, Lengfelder, & Gollwitzer, 2001;Freydefont, Gollwitzer, & Oettingen, 2016;Schweiger-Gallo et al., 2009;Sheeran, Webb & Gollwitzer, 2005; reviews by Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006;Martiny-Huenger et al., 2016). ...
... This finding may suggest that rehearsal increases the accessibility of the specified cue and the strength of the link between the cue and planned response. Although there is direct evidence that cue accessibility and cue-response links mediate the impact of implementation intentions on outcomes (e.g., Webb & Sheeran, 2007, studies that directly test the influence of rehearsal on the accessibility of plan components are needed to corroborate this conclusion. ...
When and how should one plan? To address this question, we undertook a conceptual review and meta-analysis of research on implementation intentions. We estimated the scope of implementation intentions by computing effect sizes for different outcomes (thoughts, feelings, behaviours), samples (children, adolescents, adults), and study characteristics (e.g., setting, delivery mode) and tested the components of implementation intentions by analyzing the format, processes of formation, and contents of plans. The database comprised 642 independent tests. Forming implementation intentions proved effective for cognitive, affective, and behavioural outcomes (.27 ≤ d ≤ .66), for different samples, and for long-term follow-ups. Effect sizes were larger when plans had a contingent (if-then) format, participants were highly motivated to pursue the goal, and plans were rehearsed at least once. We developed a new taxonomy of the cues (e.g., time-and-place, an event or task juncture, a specific feeling or thought) and responses (e.g., approach or avoidance behaviors, cognitive procedures, ignore-or inner speech-responses) specified in implementation intentions and tested their efficacy in promoting outcomes. Our review underlines the utility of implementation intentions in helping people regulate their thoughts, feelings, and actions and offers a taxonomy of plan contents that could inspire further tests of implementation intentions.
... In fact, some studies indicate a positive link between entrepreneurial intention and subsequent activity directed toward starting a business (Kautonen et al., 2013a;Kolvereid & Isaksen, 2006;Rauch & Hulsink, 2015;van Gelderen et al., 2015). However, as found in a meta-analysis of entrepreneurship studies by Schlaegel and Koenig (2014), only 37% of the variance in actual entrepreneurial action can be explained by entrepreneurial goal intentions, leading to what several scholars refer to as an intention-action gap (e.g., Armitage & Conner, 2001;Hagger, 2010;Webb & Sheeran, 2006). Additionally, as Fitzsimmons and Douglas (2011) note, individuals lacking a strong entrepreneurial intention may still become entrepreneurs and start a venture, further placing in question the role of entrepreneurial intentions in predicting subsequent action. ...
... The effectiveness of implementation intentions for goal attainment is rooted in two underlying mechanisms. First, by specifying a critical cue (as defined in the "if"-component), the individual increases the detection of this cue by experiencing a heightened accessibility and alertness to it (Parks-Stamm et al., 2007;Webb & Sheeran, 2006). Second, the cue-response link, upon encountering the cue, initiates goal-directed action (according to the "then"-component) (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006;Webb & Sheeran, 2004. ...
Implementation intentions, as conceptualized in the Rubicon model of action phases, facilitate the initiation of intended action. As a self-regulatory strategy, implementation intentions avoid the shortcoming of intention models (i.e., theory of planned behavior), which are able only partially to explain the variance of action caused by entrepreneurial intention. While early studies have shown the efficacy of implementation intentions in complex settings such as entrepreneurship (inter alia), an understanding of how implementation intentions come into play is missing. We address this gap and build on a unique sample of 161 responses from entrepreneurs receiving a grant for venture creation between 2018 and 2022 to investigate the role of entrepreneurial imaginativeness in implementation intentions. We find support for a curvilinear relationship between creative and practical imaginativeness and implementation intentions. Our study contributes theoretically to all frameworks that guide it, theory of implementation intentions and the Rubicon model and mindset theory of action phases, and validates them in the entrepreneurial context. By establishing entrepreneurial imaginativeness as an antecedent of implementation intentions, we provide entrepreneurs with a recipe for implementation intentions and add to the extant research on consequents of entrepreneurial imaginativeness.
... This makes the encountered situation salient, increasing the likelihood that an opportunity to carry out the goal-intended behaviour is not missed. It also promotes a suitable strategy that helps ensure the goal-intended behaviour is performed (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). ...
... These results imply that the observed reductions in self-harm behaviour in specified critical situations (at high levels of goal intention and mental imagery) do not generalize to reductions in self-harm in unspecified situations. While this finding is consistent with some studies (Elliott et al., 2021;Webb & Sheeran, 2007), other studies have shown that implementation intentions generate behaviour-change in unspecified critical situations to the extent that those unspecified critical situations share enough salient features with the situations that are specified (Brewster et al., 2016). Future research could test the extent to which implementation intention interventions can produce reductions in self-harm in contextually similar critical situations to those specified by the participants. ...
Objectives
Implementation intentions are ‘IF‐THEN’ plans that encourage goal‐intended behaviour. This study was designed to test whether an intervention encouraging the formation of implementation intentions can reduce self‐harm in the community.
Design
A randomized controlled design was used.
Methods
At pre‐intervention, outcome variables (self‐harm in both specified and unspecified critical situations and suicidality) and potential moderators of implementation intentions (goal intention, mental imagery, and exposure to self‐harm) were measured using self‐report questionnaires. The participants ( N = 469, aged 18–66 years, 86.4% female, 6.8% male and 6.7% other) were then randomized to either an experimental (implementation intention) or control task. At three‐months post‐intervention, self‐report questionnaires were used again to measure the outcome variables.
Results
There were no overall differences between the conditions at post‐intervention. However, goal intention and mental imagery, but not exposure to self‐harm, moderated the effects of condition on self‐harm in specified critical situations. At high (mean + 1 SD ) levels of both goal intention and mental imagery, the experimental condition reported self‐harming less frequently in the situations specified in their implementation intentions.
Conclusions
Implementation intentions therefore represent a useful intervention for reducing self‐harm in specified critical situations for people in the community who wish to avoid self‐harm and those who frequently experience self‐harm and suicide related mental imagery.
... B. Cafeteria, Nachmittag) nun kognitiv besser zugänglich sind als neutrale Hinweise, die nicht im Plan spezifiziert wurden. In der Tat wurde nachgewiesen, dass Personen mit einer Durchführungsintention in einer lexikalischen Entscheidungsaufgabe schneller auf geplante als auf neutrale Hinweise reagieren (Aarts et al., 1999;Webb & Sheeran, 2007), was darauf hindeutet, dass die geplanten Situationen eine erhöhte Zugänglichkeit hatten. Darüber hinaus fällt es Menschen schwer, auf im Plan vorkommende Hinweise nicht zu achten, selbst wenn dies im Widerspruch zur erfolgreichen Durchführung der Aufgabe steht (Wieber & Sassenberg, 2006). ...
... Die Forschung zu den grundlegenden kognitiven Prozessen des Zielstrebens untersucht in der Regel vorgefertigte Pläne, die auf die Forschungshypothese zugeschnitten sind. Zum Beispiel könnte ein Wenn-Dann-Plan wie "Wenn ich einen Apfel sehe, dann werde ich sofort die linke Maustaste drü-Prozesse -die Zugänglichkeit der kritischen Situation und die automatische Auslösung der zielgerichteten Reaktion -tatsächlich die Aus-wirkungen von Durchführungsintentionen auf die Zielerreichung vermitteln(Parks-Stamm et al., 2007;Webb & Sheeran, 2007). Folglich wird angenommen, dass Durchführungsintentionen das Verhalten automatisieren, was es ermöglicht, die eigenen Ziele auch vor schwer zu kontrollierenden antagonistischen Einflüssen abzuschirmen. ...
... Evidence from laboratory-based experiments has accumulated over years, though it mostly stems from work focusing on implementation intention (Hagger & Luszczynska, 2014). Studies showed, for example, that formulating plans enhances the mental accessibility of the cues (e.g., Webb & Sheeran, 2007) and encourages a successful goal pursuit in critical situations through automatic decision-making processes (Bayer et al., 2009;Parks-Stamm et al., 2007). ...
... Crucially, our results lend support to the idea that automaticity largely explains the association between action planning and physical activity behaviors. Though the potential of formulating action plans in favoring behavioral automatization was robustly demonstrated in laboratory-based studies (e.g., Webb & Sheeran, 2007), its translation to real-life settings was remaining limited (Potthoff et al., 2017). To the best of our knowledge, our study was the first to reveal that automaticity mediates the association between action planning and physical activity, as measured by accelerometry in daily-life settings. ...
Objectives. Action planning promotes physical activity (PA). However, mechanisms underlying this association are poorly understood, as are the variables that moderate this link remain unexplored. To fill these gaps, we investigated whether automaticity mediated the association between action planning and PA, and whether autonomous motivation moderated this mediation.
Methods and Measures. PA was measured by accelerometry over seven days among a sample of 124 adults. Action planning, automaticity, and autonomous motivation were assessed by questionnaires.
Results. Structural equation models revealed that automaticity mediated the association between action planning and PA (total effect, B = .29, p < .001) – action planning was associated with automaticity (a path, B = .47, p < .001), which in turn related to PA (b path, B = .33, p = .003). Autonomous motivation moderated the a path (B = .16, p = .035) – action planning was more strongly associated with automaticity when autonomous motivation was high (+1 standard-deviation [SD]) (unstandardized b = 0.77, p < .001) versus low (-1 SD) (b = 0.35, p = .023).
Conclusion. These findings not only support that action planning favors an automatic behavioral regulation, but also highlight that a high autonomous motivation toward PA may reinforce this mechanism.
... If-then plans operate not by changing the favorability of people's intentions to act, but by increasing the accessibility of two targets [94]. First, the opportunity or obstacle specified in the if-part of the plan becomes highly activated [94,95] which means people can quickly and accurately detect their moment to act [96]. Second, the specified opportunity/obstacle activates the response spelled out in the then-part of the plan [94,95]. ...
... First, the opportunity or obstacle specified in the if-part of the plan becomes highly activated [94,95] which means people can quickly and accurately detect their moment to act [96]. Second, the specified opportunity/obstacle activates the response spelled out in the then-part of the plan [94,95]. The development of a strong association between the cue (in the if-part of the plan) and response (in the plan's thenpart) means that the response is initiated swiftly and effortlessly when the cue is encountered [43], and rates of performance of health behaviors are thereby enhanced [93]. ...
Background and Purpose
Interventions are effective in promoting health behavior change to the extent that (a) intervention strategies modify targets (i.e., mechanisms of action), and (b) modifying targets leads to changes in behavior. To complement taxonomies that characterize the variety of strategies used in behavioral interventions, we outline a new principle that specifies how strategies modify targets and thereby promote behavior change. We distinguish two dimensions of targets—value (positive vs. negative) and accessibility (activation level)—and show that intervention strategies operate either by altering the value of what people think, feel, or want (target change) or by heightening the accessibility of behavior-related thoughts, feelings, and goals (target activation).
Methods and Results
We review strategies designed to promote target activation and find that nudges, cue-reminders, goal priming, the question-behavior effect, and if-then planning are each effective in generating health behavior change, and that their effectiveness accrues from heightened accessibility of relevant targets. We also identify several other strategies that may operate, at least in part, via target activation (e.g., self-monitoring, message framing, anticipated regret inductions, and habits).
Conclusions
The Activation Vs. Change Principle (AVCP) offers a theoretically grounded and parsimonious means of distinguishing among intervention strategies. By focusing on how strategies modify targets, the AVCP can aid interventionists in deciding which intervention strategies to deploy and how to combine different strategies in behavioral trials. We outline a research agenda that could serve to further enhance the design and delivery of interventions to promote target activation.
... First, the mental representation of the critical situation specified in the if-part becomes a highly activated and easily accessible cue. As a consequence, the critical situation receives attentional and perceptual priority (Achtziger, Bayer, & Gollwitzer, 2012;Janczyk, Dambacher, Bieleke, & Gollwitzer, 2015) and is readily detected in the environment (Aarts, Dijksterhuis, & Midden, 1999;Webb & Sheeran, 2007). Second, a strong link is forged between the critical situation and the goal-directed response specified in the thenpart. ...
... Moreover, we added baseline and posttask goal commitment measures to rule out the possibility that behavioral findings between conditions are confounded by differences in how strongly participants are committed to their performance goals. Based on prior research, however, we did not expect differential goal commitment (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). ...
Forming implementation intentions (i.e., if-then planning) is a powerful self-regulation strategy that enhances goal attainment by facilitating the automatic initiation of goal-directed responses upon encountering critical situations. Yet, little is known about the consequences of forming implementation intentions for goal attainment in situations that were not specified in the if-then plan. In three experiments, we assessed goal attainment in terms of speed and accuracy in an object classification task, focusing on situations that were similar or dissimilar to critical situations and required planned or different responses. The results of Experiments 1 and 3 provide evidence for a facilitation of planned responses in critical and in sufficiently similar situations, enhancing goal attainment when the planned response was required and impairing it otherwise. In Experiment 3, additional unfavorable effects however emerged in situations that were dissimilar to the critical one but required the planned response as well. We discuss theoretical implications as well as potential benefits and pitfalls emerging from these non-planned effects of forming implementation intentions.
... As outlined in Figure 1, the intention to change behavior must first be translated into action when interacting with an IS. Although the transition from intention to use is a process that does not tend to be straightforward due to its manifold interpretations, intention remains in many contexts such as the IS context a significant precursor of new behavior initiation (Sharma et al. 2014;Webb and Sheeran 2007). Lally and Gardner (2013) argue that the discrepancy between intention and behavior can be attributed to an individual's lack of motivation. ...
... Reaching this last stage of habit formation, it becomes clear that ceasing to practice an undesired action stems from a change in intention. However, according to Webb and Sheeran (2007) a simple change in intention does not seamlessly determine changes in behavior. Although there is evidence that intention alone may overcome unwanted behaviors, experiments conducted by Wood et al. (2005) also reveal that intentions to change behavior alone are not significant for individuals to disrupt existing action sequences. ...
Voice assistants are a novel class of information systems that fundamentally change human-computer interaction. Although these assistants are widespread, the utilization of these information systems is oftentimes only considered on a surface level by individuals. In addition, prior research has focused predominantly on initial use instead of looking deeper into post-adoption and habit formation. In consequence, this paper reviews how the notion of habit has been conceptualized in relation to biographical utilization of voice assistants and presents findings based on a qualitative study approach. From a perspective of post-adoption users, the study suggests that existing habits persist, and new habits hardly ever form in the context of voice assistant utilization. This paper outlines four key factors that help explain voice assistant utilization behavior and furthermore provides practical implications that help to ensure continued voice assistant use in the future.
... All of these factors can make our attitudes more accessible and potentially direct our behavior (Miller & Morrison, 2009;Petrocelli et al., 2010;Visser et al., 2003;Petrocelli, Tormala & Rucker, 2007). Attitudes can influence behavior through two different mechanisms: according to the theory of justified behavior and the theory of planned behavior when we can practice careful thinking in our attitudes, the intentions derived from our attitudes strongly predict behavior and according to the behavior-orientation model, in situations in which our behavior is more spontaneity we do not practice such thoughtful thinking thus attitudes influence the behavior by shaping our perception and our interpretation of the situation (Frye & lord, 2009;Webb & Sheeran, 2007;Wood et al., 2002). Soloman (2007) pointed out that several functions may change the basic motivation that satisfies the needs of a specific issue. ...
The study aimed to reveal the relationship between the attitude towards Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and optimism and pessimism among a sample from Irbid city. It also aimed to identify the nature of the differences between the degree of optimism and pessimism and the attitudes (affective, behavioral, cognitive) between the participants according to demographic and personal variables (gender. age, marital status, educational level, economic status, number of children). The study sample consisted of (600) male and female residents in Irbid city, who were chosen randomly. The findings showed that: there is a positive statistically significant relationship between the behavioral and cognitive attitudes towards the Corona pandemic (Covid-19) and optimism. And there is a negative statistically significant relationship between the attitude (affective, behavioral) towards the Covid-19 and pessimism. The results also showed statistically significant differences in the degree of optimism and pessimism attributed to the age variable and the differences are in the degree of optimism for the age group "from 25-35 years" and the differences in the degree of pessimism came in favor of the age group "35-36 years". Also, there are no statistically significant differences in the degree of optimism and pessimism due to a variable (gender, marital status, educational level, economic level, number of children). The results showed that there are no differences in the attitude (affective, behavioral, cognitive) attributable to the variables (gender, age, educational level, economic status, number of children). The results also indicated that there are statistically significant differences in the social status at the cognitive attitude and the differences came in favor of the Married group.
... On the one hand, the selected situation (the if component) is better remembered (Achtziger et al., 2012, Study 1) and is more likely to be recognized (Faude Koivisto et al., 2009, Study 1). On the other hand, the strong link established between the two cognitive representations makes the triggering of the desired behavior automatic when the situation is encountered (Webb & Sheeran, 2007, 2008. According to Gollwitzer (2014), the formation of implementation intentions could create "instant habits." ...
... This is because implementation intentions facilitate encoding and recall of situational cues ( Janczyk et al., 2015) and thus increase awareness of these situational, or contextual, cues (Achtziger et al., 2012). In addition, implementation intentions strengthen the mental connection between a situation and a specific behaviour, so that this behaviour is automatically activated whenever encountering the previously defined situation (Keller et al., 2020;Webb & Sheeran, 2007). Consequently, implementation intentions increase the likelihood that a specific behaviour will be performed in a specific situation. ...
Habits facilitate automatic behaviours and are resource efficient. Habits at work may be beneficial because they conserve cognitive-attentional resources, thus fostering work engagement and goal progress. In a diary intervention study (2 daily assessments, 10 work days), we asked 72 employees to establish a new habit at work. Half of them additionally completed an intervention on the correct use of implementation intentions. All participants were given access to a follow-up survey. In multi-level analyses, automaticity of the new habitual behaviour predicted work engagement and goal progress at the day-level. Implementation intentions predicted frequency of the habitual behaviour and in turn increased automaticity of this behaviour. The effects of implementation intentions were still evident at follow-up. Contrary to expectations, the intervention did not increase participants' daily use of implementation intentions. The results indicate that implementation intentions might be used in everyday work to establish habits at work, thus increasing employees' efficiency and engagement.
... Gollwitzer (1999) proposed using implementation intention to explain behavioral variance, thus improving its explanatory power. Implementation intention, also known as "if-then," connects situational cues with goal-directed responses (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). When implementation intention connects situational cues with a specific goal-directed response, such behavior is automatically activated and matches specific action plans with situational cues to promote behavioral intention , thus improving behavioral prediction. ...
As an emerging information retrieval technology, mobile visual search (MVS) has considerable development potential and broad market application prospects. Although many studies have explored user behaviors with various information technology artifacts, few have specifically investigated consumers’ MVS intentions and behaviors. For filling the gap, this study is to integrate perceived contextual offer (PCO) and implementation intention into the theoretical model of UTAUT2, aiming to explore potential predictors of Chinese consumers’ MVS usage intention and behavior. The results showed that consumers’ perceptions of contextual offer, performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, and their using habit had significant effects on consumers’ MVS usage intention. Habit, usage intention, and facilitating conditions showed significant predictive power for consumers’ MVS implementation intention and their further usage behavior. Additionally, habit and usage intention indirectly influenced consumers’ MVS usage through the complementary mediation of implementation intention.
... This is achieved by making explicit the link between a specific outcome and a specific cue or cues Gollwitzer & Brandstätter, 1997;Bargh, 1992). Doing so also removes the need to deliberate over which response to pursue upon encountering the cue, making the execution of the intended behavioral response effortless and automatic (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). ...
The rise of misinformation on social media platforms is an extremely worrisome issue and calls for the development of interventions and strategies to combat fake news. This research investigates one potential mechanism that can help mitigate fake news: prompting users to form implementation intentions along with education. Previous research suggests that forming “if – then” plans, otherwise known as implementation intentions, is one of the best ways to facilitate behavior change. To evaluate the effectiveness of such plans, we used MTurk to conduct an experiment where we educated participants on fake news and then asked them to form implementation intentions about performing fact checking before sharing posts on social media. Participants who had received both the implementation intention intervention and the educational intervention significantly engaged more in fact checking behavior than those who did not receive any intervention as well as participants who had received only the educational intervention. This study contributes to the emerging literature on fake news by demonstrating that implementation intentions can be used in interventions to combat fake news.
... where individuals are informed about when, where, and how to perform a specific action (e.g., 18 "when Y occurs, I will do X"), they are more likely to carry out the intended actions (similar to 19 stage 3 of Bamberg's model) (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). In that sense, instead of providing massive 20 travel or emission information for all (Waygood & Avineri, 2013), attention should be paid to fine-21 tuning the information's format (emotional vs rational), style, sender, as well as social factors 22 ...
... This means that when the strength of sleep determination is constant, individuals with higher levels of anxiety exhibit increased bedtime procrastination compared to those with lower levels of anxiety. Implementation intentions like Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) can reduce bedtime procrastination caused by self-regulation failure [58], as they do not require significant cognitive resources [59,60]. However, this approach may not be effective in different contexts, such as in states of anxiety. ...
... Therefore, being high on a favourable worldview about environmental preservation may compensate for the effects of being low on EI and other related factors and strengthen the implementation-intentions. Moreover, individuals who are high on implementation-intentions tend to have better access to memory representations about a situation and carry out behaviour in an automated manner making the engagement less cognitively demanding (Bayer et al., 2009;Webb & Sheeran, 2007), which explains the final part of the model as to how implementationintentions could possibly lead to PEB. The other two models involving self-transcendental values, implementation-intentions, and PEB were also F I G U R E 4 Ecological intelligence predicting implementation-intentions with the new ecological paradigm (NEP) as a moderator of their relationship. ...
Even after adopting various measures, recent years have witnessed a surge in environment‐related issues such as pollution and climate change. These issues have been considered anthropogenic, and it is a well‐received notion that changing human behaviour is crucial for sustainable development. Promoting pro‐environmental behaviour (PEB) requires understanding of associations among relevant factors; the present study aimed to explore the same among a few less‐explored constructs, which, along with other factors, may significantly explain pro‐environmental behaviour. The study examined the direct relationship of PEB with ecological intelligence (EI) and self‐transcendent values. Also, it explored the mediating effects of implementation‐intentions and the moderating effect of the “new ecological paradigm” (NEP) on PEB. The data were obtained from 400 adult participants using a set of standardized questionnaires. The results showed significant direct and indirect associations among EI, self‐transcendent values, implementation‐intentions, the NEP and PEB. Implementation‐intentions significantly mediated the relationship of EI and values with PEB, and the mediation was moderated by the NEP. Individuals low on EI but endorsing the NEP showed implementation‐intentions similar to those with high EI. Knowledge of the interplay among these factors can be utilized to design interventions for promoting PEB.
... The crafting of such plans enables people to prepare by mentally assessing various action courses and determining the temporal limitation of the goals, such as when to start and when to end (Elliot & Fryer, 2008). Establishing a pre-defined plan implies that people will not need to waste time in decision-making or deciding on goal-incongruent alternatives since they have their decision created in advance, therefore having the probability of pursuing their goals (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). While the intention to implement a goal has been highlighted as an effective self-regulatory approach when pursuing a goal, studies report that individuals lack the knowledge to formulate effective plans (Milyavskaya & Nadolny, 2016). ...
... Action plans specify both behaviours and cues, and so may assist in the cue-behaviour association learning that underpins habit formation (de Bruijn et al., 2014;Fleig et al., 2013;Rhodes, 2017). Theoretically, action plans may help people maintain strong intentions and form habits because the planned context-behaviour pairings become well-learned and automatic through repetition of engagement of the behaviour in response to the context cues (Sheeran & Orbell, 1999;Webb & Sheeran, 2007). Indeed, action planning has been shown to lead to habit formation for behaviours including flossing, nutrition and physical activity (Fleig et al., 2013;Judah et al., 2013;Lally et al., 2010;Orbell & Verplanken, 2010). ...
Objective:
Action planning is a common approach used in physical activity interventions. The aim of this study was to assess the association of frequency, consistency and content of action planning with physical activity behaviour, intention strength and habit strength.
Methods and measures:
Within a 3-month web-based, computer-tailored physical activity intervention, participants (N = 115; 68.7% female, M age =43.9; range = 22-73 years) could create 6 rounds of action plans for 4 activities each (24 total).
Results:
Consistency of action planning during the intervention was associated with change in physical activity at 9-months, and intention and habit strength at 3-months and 9-months. Frequency of action planning was negatively associated with intention at 3-months and 9-months. The effect of action planning consistency on physical activity behaviour was no longer significant when accounting for change in intention and habit strength.
Conclusion:
Consistency of how, where, when and with whom people plan their physical activity may translate into stronger physical activity habits. Interventions should avoid encouraging making many distinct action plans, but rather encourage stable contexts through consistent action planning.
... A useful strategy to overcome difficulties with action initiation and facilitate automatized goal striving is by forming so-called 'implementation intentions' (IIs; [21]): if-then plans that specify a behavior to be performed in response to an anticipated cue ('If situation Y arises, then I will initiate behavior X'; [34,35]). Such plans are thought to operate by heightening the cognitive accessibility of a situation cue (or opportunity to act) and by forging a mental association with a desired behavior, such that this is automatically elicited when the situation is subsequently encountered [34][35][36][37]. For instance, after formulating the following plan: "If I enter my building, then I will take the stairs to my floor", entering the building becomes a trigger for walking up the stairs, and one does not have to deliberate about when or how to act. ...
Background
Successful aging is often linked to individual’s ability to demonstrate resilience: the maintenance or quick recovery of functional ability, well-being, and quality of life despite losses or adversity. A crucial element of resilience is behavioral adaptability, which refers to the adaptive changes in behavior in accordance with internal or external demands. Age-related degradation of executive functions can, however, lead to volition problems that compromise flexible adjustment of behavior. In contrast, the reliance on habitual control has been shown to remain relatively intact in later life and may therefore provide an expedient route to goal attainment among older adults. In the current study, we examine whether a metacognitive self-help intervention (MCSI), aimed at facilitating goal striving through the gradual automatization of efficient routines, could effectively support behavioral adaptability in favor of resilience among older adults with and without (sub-clinical) mental health problems.
Methods
This metacognitive strategy draws on principles from health and social psychology, as well as clinical psychology, and incorporates elements of established behavioral change and activation techniques from both fields. Additionally, the intervention will be tailored to personal needs and challenges, recognizing the significant diversity that exist among aging individuals.
Discussion
Despite some challenges that may limit the generalizability of the results, our MCSI program offers a promising means to empower older adults with tools and strategies to take control of their goals and challenges. This can promote autonomy and independent functioning, and thereby contribute to adaptability and resilience in later life.
Trial registration
Pre-registered, partly retrospectively. This study was pre-registered before the major part of the data was collected, created, and realized. Only a small part of the data of some participants (comprising the baseline and other pre-intervention measures), and the full dataset of the first few participants, was collected prior to registration, but it was not accessed yet. See: https://osf.io/5b9xz
... Participants will be provided with a colourful sheet where they can fill in each plan and a CoCo merchandise fridge magnet to hang up the sheet in their homes. If-then planning, also known as implementation intentions, reinforce the relationship between the expected situation and behaviour, so that when relevant cues appear, goal-relevant behaviour automatically occurs [86]. Thus, if-then plans reduce the gap between goal and action. ...
Background
Current preventive interventions for the children of parents with depression demonstrate modest effects on depression incidence. This may be because existing interventions tend to comprise general psychotherapeutic tools, rather than targeting the specific mechanisms underlying familial transmission. Improved theoretical models of familial transmission could enhance the development of targeted interventions. Although existing models assume that cognitive and biological vulnerability factors influence one another, the precise mechanisms are unknown. This project is the first to experimentally test whether negative interpretation bias has an impact on cortisol response in children of parents with depression. This study protocol reports a randomised controlled trial of an interpretation bias intervention which aims to shift participants’ interpretation bias in a more positive direction and thereby alter their stress response.
Methods
Children aged 10–14 years who have i) one parent with a current or previous depression diagnosis, with at least one episode occurring during the child’s lifetime and ii) do not have a current or previous psychiatric diagnosis themselves, will be assigned to one of two conditions: an interpretation bias intervention (n = 50) or a structurally similar placebo intervention (n = 50). The interpretation bias intervention consists of a short lab-based cognitive reappraisal of interpretations training, a four-week app-based Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations intervention and interpretation bias specific if–then plans. Interpretation bias will be assessed before and after the intervention using the Scrambled Sentences Task. The effect of the intervention on participants’ stress response will be assessed by salivary cortisol collected at five different time points: from immediately before until 45 min after administering the Trier Social Stressor Test for Children. Stress reactivity will be measured via baseline to peak cortisol and stress recovery will be measured via the 45 min cortisol marker. We hypothesise that children who participate in the interpretation bias intervention will display a positive shift in interpretation bias and this, in turn, will alter their stress response. Children who receive the placebo intervention are expected to show a smaller positive shift in interpretation bias and stress reactivity.
Discussion
The findings of the present study will contribute to models of familial depression transmission as well as informing preventive interventions. If training a more positive interpretation bias subsequently alters participants’ stress response, then incorporating such tools may increase the efficacy of existing preventive interventions.
Trial registration
Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien DRKS00028842. Registered August 19, 2022.
... 42 However, according to studies, although a person may intend to behave in a certain way, the intention does not always turn into actual behavior. 43,44 The vaccination program is currently considered to be the most effective strategy against the COVID-19 outbreak 45 and identifying the attitudes and beliefs of individuals in this regard, planning and designing interventions to reduce the non-acceptance or receipt of vaccines is one of the most important public health issues. 46 The implications of the health belief model in this study include perceived sensitivity and severity (a person's perception of the risk of a disease and a person's perception of the consequences of a disease), also known as a perceived threat, perceived benefits (as a person's awareness regarding the benefits of a recommended health protection behavior), perceived barriers (understanding the factors that prevent or make it difficult to perform such a health protection behavior), perceived self-efficacy (belief in one's ability to perform the recommended behavior), and Cues to action. ...
Acceptance of the SARS-CoV-2) COVID-19( vaccine is a very important factor to keep health workers safe. The study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine using a health belief model among health workers in Iran The study was a tools design study that was conducted in the period from February to March 2020, Iran Questionnaire items were designed using text review. The sampling method was multi-stage. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis at a 95% confidence level using SPSS software version 16. The designed questionnaire had an appropriate content validity and internal consistency. Also, the exploratory factor analysis showed that a 5-factor structure was extracted and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the conceptual five-factor structure of the measure had good fit indices. Reliability was evaluated using internal consistency. Cronbach Alpha coefficient was .82 and the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was .9. It can be concluded that the instrument designed in the preliminary stage of psychometrics properties had good validity and reliability indicators. Also, the constructs of the health belief model well explain the determinants of the intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the individual level.
... Although identifying these factors may provide potential areas for intervention, there are several points to consider. Firstly, most of the reviews included in this synthesis investigated prospective attitudes and behavioural intentions toward a COVID-19 vaccine, which does not always translate to actual behaviour [75,76]. For example, research exploring the relationship between HCWs intentions and future acceptance of an influenza vaccine found that 42% of HCWs who intended to accept the vaccine failed to act on those intentions [77]. ...
Background
Healthcare workers (HCWs) and healthcare students display high levels of vaccine hesitancy with impact on healthcare provision, patient safety, and health promotion. The factors related to vaccine hesitancy have been reported in several systematic reviews. However, this evidence needs to be synthesised, as interventions to reduce vaccination hesitancy in this population are needed.
Methods
This Umbrella Review aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators of vaccine hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine for HCWs and healthcare students. The review was performed and reported in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institutes guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A protocol was preregistered on PROSPERO (CRD42022327354). Eight databases were searched from November 2019 to 23rd May 2022 to identify any systematic reviews that explored factors associated with hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine for HCWs or healthcare students.
Results
A total of 31 studies were included in the review. The majority of studies (71%) were appraised as strong or moderate quality and there was a slight degree of overlap (<5%) of primary studies between the reviews. Vaccine hesitancy was more common among HCWs and healthcare students in specific occupational roles (e.g. nurses) than others (e.g. physicians). Frequent reasons for hesitancy were related to sociodemographic factors (gender, age, ethnicity), occupational factors (COVID-19 exposure, perceived risk, mandatory vaccination), health factors (vaccination history), vaccine-related factors (concerns about safety, efficacy, side-effects, rapid development, testing, approval and distribution of the vaccine), social factors (social pressure, altruism and collective responsibility), distrust factors (key social actors, pandemic management), information factors (inadequate information and sources, exposure to misinformation).
Conclusion
The results from this Umbrella Review have wide-reaching implications for the research area, healthcare systems and institutions and governments worldwide. Designing tailored strategies for specific occupational groups is pivotal to increasing vaccine uptake and securing a safe healthcare provision worldwide.
... As supported by experimental studies (Webb & Sheeran, 2007), action planning may underlie the association between intention and action by proactively building well-learned associations between critical situational cues (e.g., after school) and a goal-directed behaviour (e.g., playing football with my friends) (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006;Sheeran et al., 2013). After this learning phase, behaviour is assumed to be rather automatically elicited (Maltagliati et al., 2022), as a response to encountering the related cues (Bayer et al., 2009). ...
... The use of if-then plans ("If situation X arises, then I will perform response Y"), also known as implementation intentions, has been shown to promote this translation of intentions to actions (Gollwitzer, 2014;Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). The beneficial effect of these if-then plans may in part be mediated by the formation of a mental stimulus-response (S-R) link (e.g., if I come home from work [S], then I will go jogging (R)), which may allow for the automatic activation of the specified response (Bieleke et al., 2021;Webb & Sheeran, 2007). This notion that the deliberate act of forming implementation intentions may prepare automatic processes is known as "strategic automaticity" or "instant habits" (Gollwitzer, 1993(Gollwitzer, , 1999(Gollwitzer, , 2014. ...
Implementation intentions (strategic if-then plans) have been shown to support behaviour change. This may be achieved by mentally forming stimulus-response associations, thereby promoting habit formation. Does this deliberate attempt to install ‘strategic automaticity’ only offer advantages, or does it also come at the cost of reduced flexibility that characterizes learnt habits? To investigate this, we tested healthy, young participants on a computerized instrumental learning task. Critically, we introduced implementation intentions (‘if I see stimulus X, then I will respond’) versus goal intentions (‘for outcome Z, I will respond)’ during instrumental acquisition, and subsequently assessed behavioural flexibility in an outcome-revaluation test. In Experiment 1, we conducted a between-subjects manipulation of strategic planning, and in Experiment 2 a within-subject manipulation. We hypothesized that implementation intentions would lead to strong stimulus-response associations and consequently impair performance when the signalled outcome value changed and therefore required a different response, while benefitting performance when the outcome value (and required response) remained the same. We found that implementation intentions supported instrumental learning, but impaired test performance overall (most robustly in Experiment 2), irrespective of whether the signalled outcome value had changed. We argue that this general detrimental effect of implementation intentions on test performance is likely a consequence of their negative effect on stimulus-outcome learning. Our findings warranting caution in applying these to situations where the agent does not already possess perfect knowledge of behavioural contingencies. While implementation intentions may support efficient and fast behavioural execution, this may come at the expense of behavioural flexibility.
... Implementation intentions identify a situational cue and link it to an appropriate behavioural response using an if-then format; for example, if I am offered an alcoholic drink, then I will ask for a non-alcoholic drink [7]. Forming an implementation intention facilitates identification of the critical cue specified in the if component and helps to automate the response specified in the then component of the plan [8]. Forming an implementation intention is associated with an average effect size difference of d + = 0.59 for health-related behaviours [9] and recent meta-analyses show that forming implementation intentions increases physical activity [10], decreases dietary fat intake [11]andreducessmoking [12]. ...
Issues:
Meta-analysis was used to estimate the effect of forming implementation intentions (i.e., if-then plans) on weekly alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking (HED). Sample type, mode of delivery, intervention format and timeframe were tested as moderator variables.
Approach:
Cochrane, EThOS, Google Scholar, PsychArticles, PubMed and Web of Science were searched for relevant publications to 31 March 2021. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the effect size difference (d) between individuals forming versus not forming implementation intentions on weekly consumption and HED.
Key findings:
Sixteen studies were included in meta-analyses. The effect size difference for forming implementation intentions on weekly alcohol consumption was d+ = -0.14 confidence interval (CI) [-0.24; -0.03]. Moderator analyses highlighted stronger effects for: (i) community (d+ = -0.38, CI [-0.58; -0.18]) versus university (d+ = -0.04, CI [-0.13; 0.05]) samples; (ii) paper (d+ = -0.26, CI [-0.43; -0.09]) versus online (d+ = -0.04, CI [-0.14; 0.06]) mode of delivery; and (iii) volitional help sheet (d+ = -0.34, CI [-0.60; -0.07]) versus implementation intention format (d+ = -0.07, CI [-0.16; 0.02]). In addition, effects diminished over time (B = 0.02, SE = 0.01, CI [0.03; 0.01]). Forming implementation intentions had a null effect on HED, d+ = -0.01 CI [-0.10; 0.08].
Implications:
Forming implementation intentions reduces weekly consumption but has no effect on HED.
Conclusion:
This review identifies boundary conditions on the effectiveness of implementation intentions to reduce alcohol consumption. Future research should focus on increasing the effectiveness of online-delivered interventions and integrating implementation intention and motivational interventions.
... For instance, self-control strategies are often characterized as being based on either effortful or effortless processes (Gillebaart & de Ridder, 2015;Milyavskaya et al., 2019a). If-then planning, however, involves both effortful (e.g., thinking about when, where, and how to attain a goal) and effortless processes (e.g., automatically eliciting a goal-directed behavior; Webb & Sheeran, 2007) and might thus be considered a special case of a self-control strategy (e.g., Martiny-Huenger et al., 2016). Accordingly, future research should systematically investigate how effortful and effortless self-control strategies affect goal adjustment (e.g., Ainslie, 2021). ...
Disengaging from unattainable goals and reengaging in alternative goals is essential for effective goal pursuit; yet, surprisingly little is known about associated personality factors. Here, we focused on individual differences in self-control (domain-general self-control, if–then planning) and boredom (boredom proneness, boredom avoidance and escape tendencies). Concerning goal adjustment in everyday life (Study 1; N = 323 crowdworkers), if–then planning was associated with worse disengagement and better reengagement. While boredom proneness was associated with poorer reengagement, boredom avoidance and escape tendencies were associated with better reengagement. When goal striving was thwarted during the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2; N = 97 students), similar associations emerged along with links to anxiety and depression. However, disengagement was no longer associated with if–then planning but instead with better self-control and higher boredom proneness. These results show differential relationships of goal disengagement and reengagement with self-control and boredom, paving the way to a better understanding of who struggles or shines when effective goal adjustment is required.
... The VHS use 'ifthen' plans (e.g. 'If I'm inactive when I feel depressed then I will tell myself that being more active is part of my recovery') to help individuals meet their goals (Gollwitzer, 1999;Sheeran et al., 2005), by creating personalised plans (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). 'If-then' plans work by identifying a salient situation (e.g. ...
Objective
To understand the acceptability of (a) reducing sedentary-behaviour in people with psychosis using ‘if-then’ plans and (b) the proposed app content.
Design
Qualitative acceptability study.
Method
Three structured focus-groups and an interview were conducted with eight participants who had experience of a psychotic episode. They discussed sedentary-behaviour, being more active, critical situations in which they may be tempted to be sedentary and solutions to these (the if-then plans), and a mock-up of the mobile application. The Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA) was used to analyse qualitatively the transcripts.
Results
All TFA constructs were coded in each of the transcripts. The idea of reducing sedentary-behaviour was acceptable to people with psychosis, participants knew the importance of being more active, however it is not always their main priority. Likewise, the proposed content of the app was found to be acceptable, with participants already using some of the proposed solutions.
Conclusion
This was the first study to use the TFA framework to assess the acceptability of an app that uses critical situations and solutions (‘if-then plans’) to help reduce sedentary behaviour for people with psychosis. In this sample (male, English speaking mainly white people), participants understood the benefits of being more active. However, reducing sedentary-behaviour is not the main priority of this population and being sedentary has benefits when their mental-health is bad.
... The Tiny Habits Method is supported in the literature as follows. Implementation intentions have been shown to facilitate action and goal achievement (46) by enhancing the mental accessibility of cues (Anchor Moments) and strengthening the link between cues and planned responses (Tiny Behaviors) (48,49). Further, previous studies show that small, simple behaviors are performed more consistently and are more readily formed into habits (47,50), as are behaviors that are pleasurable and intrinsically motivated (43,51). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to diminished sleep and increased stress, anxiety, and burnout for many health professionals and health professions students. One simple approach that may be effective for bolstering personal well-being is consciously cultivating gratitude. Gratitude is positively associated with physical health, psychological health, hope, sleep, and health behavior engagement; and randomized studies indicate that gratitude interventions can improve psychological well-being and sleep. The primary aim of this study was to assess the impact of practicing Tiny Habits® on self-reported gratitude, as measured by the 6-Item Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6). In January 2021, 154 adult participants with GQ-6 <35/42 were randomized to one of 3 groups: Tiny Habits for Gratitude (n = 50), Tiny Habits Control (n = 52), and Inactive Control (n = 52). Both Tiny Habits groups chose 3 Tiny Habits Recipes to practice daily and participated in the free, email-based 5-Day Program with automated daily check-in emails and personalized feedback from a Certified Tiny Habits Coach. The Recipes for the Tiny Habits for Gratitude group focused on cultivating gratitude, while those for the Tiny Habits Control group did not. Post-intervention, the mean change in GQ-6 scores in the Tiny Habits for Gratitude (Δ = ↑6.9 ± 5.6; n = 37/50, 74%; p< 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.85) and Tiny Habits Control (Δ = ↑5.6 ± 4.1; n = 31/52, 60%; p = 0.009, Cohen's d = 0.71) groups were greater than that of the Inactive Control group (Δ = ↑2.5 ± 4.4; N = 42/52, 81%). At 1 month, the mean change in GQ-6 scores in the Tiny Habits for Gratitude group (Δ = ↑7.0 ± 5.3; N = 28/50, 56%) was greater than that of the Inactive Control group (Δ = ↑2.9 ± 5.4; N = 39/52, 72%; p = 0.002, Cohen's d = 0.78). These findings suggest that practicing Tiny Habits Recipes and participating in the 5-Day Program can significantly increase gratitude in the short term and focusing specifically on gratitude during this process can sustain the increase in gratitude for up to 1 month. Implementation is quick, simple, and free. This has significant implications for healthcare education stakeholders.
... Crucially, our results lend support to the idea that automaticity largely explains the association between action planning and physical activity behaviors. Thought the potential of action planning in favoring behavioral automatization was robustly demonstrated in laboratory-based studies (e.g., Webb & Sheeran, 2007), its translation to real-life settings was remaining limited (Potthoff et al., 2017). To the best of our knowledge, our study was the first to provide support for the mediating effect of automaticity on the association between action planning and physical activity, as measured by accelerometry in daily-life settings ...
Objectives. To examine whether automaticity mediated the association between action planning and physical activity and whether autonomous motivation moderated this mediation.
Methods and measures. Physical activity was measured by accelerometry during seven days among 124 adults. Action planning, automaticity and autonomous motivation were assessed by questionnaires.
Results. Automaticity mediated the association between action planning and physical activity (c path, B = .30, standard error [SE] = .09, p < .001) – action planning was associated with automaticity (a path, B = .48, SE = .08, p < .001), which in turn related to physical activity (b path, B = .31, SE = .10, p < .001). Autonomous motivation moderated the a path of this mediation (B = .22, SE = .10, p = .029) – action planning was associated with automaticity when autonomous motivation was high (+1 standard-deviation [SD]) (B = .49, SE = .11, p < .001), but not when it was low (-1 SD) (B = .05, SE = .15, p = .720).
Conclusion. These findings, not only support that action planning favors an automatic regulation of physical activity, but also highlight a boundary condition under which this mechanism operates: holding a high autonomous motivation toward physical activity.
... For instance, attitudes to affordability, reliability, and eco-friendliness of metro predict metro use much more effectively than do attitudes to environmentalism or social values in general (Joireman, Van Lange, & Van Vugt, 2004). Furthermore, if attitude specificity accompanies implementation specificity -a useful technique that informs the actor when, where, and how exactly they should perform (e.g., "when Y occurs, I will do X") -they are robustly observed to increase the performance of intended actions (Webb & Sheeran, 2007). This strategy is particularly beneficial for university programs which more naturally concentrate on complex concepts and themes than on specific ones such as those that can be achieved through problem-based learning methods (Arbuthnott, 2009;Barrows, 1986). ...
A scoping review of soft-pull measures for increasing public transport use.
... Budden & Sagarin, 2007), and healthy eating (e.g. Verplanken & Faes, 1999), as well as other issues that require behavioral changes, such as academic performance (Webb & Sheeran, 2007), or procrastination (Owens, Bowman, & Dill, 2008). Although its applications in the field of traffic and transportation psychology are not very common yet, issues such as obeying speed limits (Brewster et al., 2015;Elliott & Armitage, 2006) and habitual travel choices (Eriksson, Garvill, & Nordlund, 2008) have been studied and implementation intentions have been found to be effective. ...
Speeding is considered a major risk factor for road safety. In this study, implementation intention, which is a type of cognitive intervention, was designed to reduce speeding. Implementation intentions are self-regulatory ‘if-then’ plans, which are the subordinate concepts of goal intentions. Additionally, the type of goal was considered as a factor that could contribute to the subsequent behavior. An approach-type goal aims to achieve a behavior, whereas avoidance-type goals aim to avoid a negative, undesirable outcome. Following this idea, the present study has two aims: (i) to manipulate intentions towards speeding by using implementation intentions, and second (ii) to manipulate goal types (approaching vs. avoidance) of the intentions towards speeding. At the baseline level, participants in the experimental group were manipulated through implementation intentions by using a volitional help sheet, in which they matched critical items with the appropriate responses, whereas participants in the control group received an irrelevant filler task. After a two-week time interval, a follow-up study was conducted. In order to investigate the first aim, simulated driving behaviors of experimental and control groups were compared at the baseline and follow-up levels. For the second aim, the experimental group was divided into two subgroups, namely, approach-type and avoidance-type goals. The repeated measures mixed-model ANOVA results showed a significant difference between experimental and control conditions, yet the goal type (approaching vs. avoidance) did not differ significantly from one another. The results of the present study revealed that implementation intentions do not reduce speeding, however, they do prevent increased speeding. The results were discussed in the context of the related literature.
... It is particularly useful in contexts where attention, memory and self control may be low, such as in already high stressful life circumstances. This is because If-then planning facilitates recognizing opportunities for action which becomes more automatic and requires less conscious processing [19]. ...
Background
Up to 50% of women in areas of high socio-economic deprivation are at risk of developing depressive symptoms in pregnancy. Feeling well supported, can facilitate good mental health perinatally. A brief, innovative intervention to facilitate access to support and resources was developed and tested. This included one antenatal and one postnatal session, each with three evidence-based components: i) support from a non-professional peer to enable a woman to identify her needs; ii) information about local community services and signposting; and iii) development of a personalised If–Then plan to access that support. The aims were to evaluate the intervention and research methods for feasibility and acceptability for perinatal women, maternity care providers and peers, and provide preliminary effectiveness indications.
Methods
Pregnant women living in an area of high deprivation were recruited from community-based antenatal clinics and randomised to intervention or control condition (a booklet about local resources). Outcome measures included women’s use of community services by 34 + weeks gestation and 6 months postnatally; mental health and wellbeing measures, and plan implementation. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with women participants, providers, and peers. Data were analysed using framework analysis. Recruitment and retention of peers and participants, intervention fidelity, and acceptability of outcome measures were recorded.
Results
Peer facilitators could be recruited, trained, retained and provide the intervention with fidelity. One hundred twenty six women were recruited and randomised, 85% lived in the 1% most deprived UK areas. Recruitment constituted 39% of those eligible, improving to 54% after midwifery liaison. Sixty five percent were retained at 6 months postnatally. Women welcomed the intervention, and found it helpful to plan access to community services. Providers strongly supported the intervention philosophy and integrated this easily into services. The study was not powered to detect significant group differences but there were positive trends in community service use, particularly postnatally. No differences were evident in mental health and wellbeing.
Conclusions
This intervention was well received and easily integrated into existing services. Women living in highly deprived areas could be recruited, randomised and retained. Measures were acceptable. Peer facilitators were successfully trained and retained. Full effectiveness studies are warranted.
... One example is the concept of implementation intentions, which showed to be an important mediator between intentions and constructs that relate to personal efficacy like goal attainment (e.g. Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006, Koestner, Lekes, Powers, & Chicoine, 2002, Webb & Sheeran, 2007. Future studies could expand this model with more relevant psychological constructs. ...
Various studies identify self-regulation as being particularly challenging for
entrepreneurs, who often have to lead themselves independently. If they use
dysfunctional self-regulatory processes, they are exposed and rather unprotected to
the high working demands of new venture creation. Not only does it imply negative
consequences on the individual level, but also on the collective level, as entrepreneurs
are recognized as engines for economic growth and ecologically sustainable
development. Despite their need for guidance on healthy and effective self-regulation,
relevant research is sparse and fragmented.
This dissertation is intended to address the need for guidance on healthy and effective
self-regulation for entrepreneurs. In the first two studies, a causal model of healthy
and effective self-regulation that can be applied in the context of entrepreneurship
has been empirically developed and tested. The work is based on a meta-theory of
human motivation, called self-determination theory (SDT), which focuses on selfregulation.
Structural equation modeling has been applied based on cross-sectional
quantitative data (N=1,024). The results indicate that mindfulness, clarity about
personal values, intrinsic values orientation, and autonomy of goals are potential
psychological constructs to foster, in case healthy and effective self-regulation of
individuals is intended. In the second study, a causal model as a knowledge base has
been applied to empirically develop and test two interventions that foster the four
psychological constructs in aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs. Both interventions
are conducted as non-controlled field experiments with post-measurement in the
form of two iterations (N1 = 55; N2 = 13) of the design science research approach. The
first intervention is a self-assessment and action plan, called the Values Finder. The
second intervention is a four-hour workshop block on personality development called
Core Values Workshop. It is empirically validated that both interventions can be
described as functional, efficient, and usable in the scope of the ISO evaluation
standard 9126. Thus, they can be used as cutting-edge interventions to leverage
entrepreneurs’ self-regulation, triggering positive individual and collective effects.
... Intention to do behavior is one of the important predictors of real behavior (22). However, according to studies, although a person may intend to behave in a certain way, the intention does not always turn into actual behavior (23,24). The vaccination program is currently considered to be the most effective strategy against the Covid-19 outbreak (25) and identifying the attitudes and beliefs of individuals in this regard, planning and designing interventions to reduce the nonacceptance or receipt of vaccines is one of the most important public health issues (26). ...
Background
The study was aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine using a health belief model.
Method
The study was a test and tools design study that was conducted in the period from February to March 2020. Questionnaire items were designed using text review. The sampling method was multi-stage. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis at 95% confidence level using SPSS software version 16.
Results
The questionnaire had an appropriate content validity and internal consistency. The 5-factor was extracted and the conceptual model had good fit indices. Cronbach Alpha coefficient was 0.82 and the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.9.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the designed instrument had good validity and reliability indicators. The constructs of the health belief model well explain the determinants of the intention to receive the Covid-19 vaccine at the individual level.
... For instance, someone who has the habit of checking the smartphone while a slow webpage is loading, may decide that it would be better to just take a deep breath and to relax for 1 or 2 s, might formulate an implementation such as "If a website takes some time to load, then I shall take a deep breath and relax my muscles." Implementation intentions are helpful in showing a specific desired behavior because they make the situation in which the undesired behavior usually occurs cognitively more accessible (Achtziger et al., 2012;Webb & Sheeran, 2004) and because they create an association between the situation and the desired behavior (Webb & Sheeran, 2007. There is strong empirical evidence that implementation intentions are an effective volitional strategy within a broad range of life domains (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006), such as healthy eating (Adriaanse, Vinkers, et al., 2011), physical exercise (Bélanger-Gravel et al., 2013), and job-stress reduction (Gollwitzer et al., 2018). ...
Although habits are a well-researched topic within psychology, habits enacted at the workplace received limited attention in the organizational literature. In this article we examine habits that employees show at the workplace. Because workplace habits are not always functional for performance or affective outcomes, and because employees themselves may regard specific habits as undesirable, it is important to identify ways of how employees can abandon such unwanted habits. We report findings from a daily-survey study (N = 145 persons) in which we examined if self-regulatory processes predict disengagement from undesirable habits and engagement in more desirable alternative behaviors. Multilevel path analysis showed that day-specific implementation intentions and day-specific vigilant monitoring were negatively related to day-specific habitual behavior and positively related to day-specific alternative behaviors, both in the morning and in the afternoon. Analysis of follow-up data (N = 126 persons) showed that change in habit strength was stable over a 2-month period, suggesting that implementation intentions, vigilant monitoring, and the associated enactment of alternative behavior indeed may help to disengage from unwanted habits, particularly with respect to task-related habits and when consistency in vigilant monitoring is high. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Civil interaction is a core practice of democratic participation. However, this condition is undermined by a contemporary landscape of online political discourse rife with incivility. Given the seemingly dismal state of American politics, a remedy to this problem is needed. We test the effects of a self-regulation intervention, mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII), on the expression of political incivility in a social media discussion setting. Data from two online experiments show that participants in the MCII condition expressed more civility and selected civil responses in response to uncivil communication cues. Implications are discussed.
Background
Current preventive interventions for the children of parents with depression demonstrate modest effects on depression incidence. This may be because existing interventions tend to comprise general psychotherapeutic tools, rather than targeting the specific mechanisms underlying familial transmission. Improved theoretical models of familial transmission could enhance the development of targeted interventions. Although existing models assume that cognitive and biological vulnerability factors influence one another, the precise mechanisms are unknown. This project is the first to experimentally test whether negative interpretation bias has an impact on cortisol response in children of parents with depression. This study protocol reports a randomised controlled trial of an interpretation bias intervention which aims to shift participants’ interpretation bias in a more positive direction and thereby alter their stress response.
Methods
Children aged 10–14 years who have i) one parent with a current or previous depression diagnosis, with at least one episode occurring during the child’s lifetime and ii) do not have a current or previous psychiatric diagnosis themselves, will be assigned to one of two conditions: an interpretation bias intervention (n = 50) or a structurally similar placebo intervention (n = 50). The interpretation bias intervention consists of a short lab-based cognitive reappraisal of interpretations training, a four-week app-based Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations intervention and interpretation bias specific if-then plans. Interpretation bias will be assessed before and after the intervention using the Scrambled Sentences Task. The effect of the intervention on participants’ stress response will be assessed by salivary cortisol collected at five different time points: from immediately before until 45 minutes after administering the Trier Social Stressor Test for Children. Stress reactivity will be measured via baseline to peak cortisol and stress recovery will be measured via the 45 minute cortisol marker. We hypothesise that children who participate in the interpretation bias intervention will display a positive shift in interpretation bias and this, in turn, will alter their stress response. Children who receive the placebo intervention are expected to show a smaller positive shift in interpretation bias and stress reactivity.
Discussion
The findings of the present study will contribute to models of familial depression transmission as well as informing preventive interventions. If training a more positive interpretation bias subsequently alters participants’ stress response, then incorporating such tools may increase the efficacy of existing preventive interventions.
Trial Registration:
Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien DRKS00028842. Registered August 19, 2022.
We examine how Person-to-Person (P2P) payment methods affect consumers’ participative pricing decisions. Participative pricing is when people choose how much to pay for a good, or how much they will sell it for. This pricing mechanism is increasingly common, for example on platforms like Craigslist, eBay or Etsy. A successful transaction requires that consumers converge on a mutually acceptable price, yet decades of research on the endowment effect show that sellers often demand more for a good than buyers are willing to pay. We propose that compared to traditional payment methods, when consumers use P2P payments they make somewhat more cooperative pricing decisions - buyers are willing to pay a bit more and sellers are willing to accept a bit less. This attenuates the endowment effect and increases the odds of a successful trade. This occurs because even when trading with a stranger, P2P can subtly activate a social transaction context, cuing the social transaction pricing norm of making more cooperative pricing offers. Eight studies test these proposals using consequential and hypothetical choices, moderation and mediated moderation. A simulation indicates that compared to traditional payment methods, use of P2P can increase successful transactions in a marketplace by nearly 10%.
Objective: The efficacy of effort appraisal exercise action plans was tested among underactive and inactive university students (N = 221). Methods: Students were randomized across three conditions (information, action planning, or realistic effort action planning (REAP)) and participated in psychoeducational small-group sessions. Students returned after a three-week pedometer tracking period and at two and six months to assess self-reported exercise. Results: Greater three-week step averages were observed for the action planning and REAP conditions compared to the information condition. The information condition showed small-sized exercise increases at two and six months (d = .26, d = .35, ps < .05); the action planning condition showed a small-sized increase at six months (d = . 36, p < 05); and the REAP condition showed medium-sized increases at two and six months (d = .40, d = . 46, ps < .05). Conclusions: The findings provide initial evidence showing exercise action plans for college students might be improved with explicit appraisals of prior effort and persistence.
The last chapter proposes to go not only beyond the epistemic dimension to improve it, but also beyond the lesson content. The German's lesson shows how easily we can exceed students' expectations and arouse their curiosity, enthusiasm, and learning investment. If we aspire to decrease school violence, bullying, and delinquency, a new educational mission would be to surpass teaching without necessarily being demanding or time-consuming. Indeed, making use of the relational dimension—using the multiple intelligence and STEAM approaches to include students through competence—seemss to refer to the new school mission as an aspiration builder rather than a selection referee and inducer of discouragement.
Online peer victimized adolescents are at an increased risk of several behavioral and emotional problems. Most cyberbullying interventions have focused on reducing the frequency of online peer aggressions. Meanwhile, less attention has been given to building resilience in victims to reduce the impact of victimization on their mental health. This study tested the effects of an online growth mindset intervention aimed at building resilience in victims. Eight hundred and fifty-six adolescents (47.10% female) were randomly assigned to the resilience vs. educational control intervention. The adolescents completed measures of online peer victimization, behavioral and emotional problems (online peer aggressions, depression, social anxiety, eating problems, and non-suicidal self-injury), entity theory of personality beliefs, and attitudes toward defending the victims of online peer aggressions at pretest and at three and six months. The resilience intervention reduced the predictive association between online peer victimization and online peer aggression and social anxiety, and it increased the association between online peer victimization and attitude towards defending the victims. The resilience intervention also reduced the entity theory of personality beliefs in all adolescents. These results are promising given that the intervention lasted only approximately 40–45 min.
Se former une intention d’implémentation (« si je rencontre la situation X, alors je réaliserai la réponse Y dirigée vers le but Z ») favorise le passage d’une intention de but (« je veux Z ») à des actions concrètes. Cet article dresse une revue des processus de contrôle de l’action générés par cette technique. Nous analysons les processus impliqués dans l’initiation des actions puis ceux responsables de leur maintien. Nous verrons en particulier 1) comment l’intention d’implémentation peut modifier les habitudes passées, qui sont résistantes au changement ; 2) le caractère flexible et tenace de la poursuite effective d’un but lorsque cette technique a été formée ; 3) à la lumière du concept de simulations sensori-motrices, comment le simple fait de créer un lien verbal « si-alors » entre situation et réponse peut conduire à la production réelle de cette réponse.
This paper examines China’s planning and implementation of leveraging, using the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, to achieve the winter sport participation legacy of 300 million people involved in winter sport. Drawing upon interviews and documentary data, the authors findings reveal that the planning of the leveraging programme, which was politically motivated, was a centralised and government-led bid to stimulate participation and consumption within China’s winter sport industry. The leveraging programme also served broader economic, social, and political state agendas. The main implementation pathway relied heavily on the existing structures for the provision of sport and education, and, due to a lack of state resources (or facilities), support was sought from the private sector. This study further suggests that state interference to steer the direction and development of leveraging might have served as a double-edged sword: On the one hand, it provided much government-led impetus for goal setting across sectors and departments, directing extensive cooperative efforts and resources towards leveraging. On the other hand, it might not have been the most sustainable approach for increasing participation, due to the overreliance on top-down implementation and short-term policy interventions.
This chapter finalizes the qualitative description of the complex present and two main issues are the focus of attention. First, our approach to describing intentional, goal-oriented actions is elucidated. The proposed multi-component time formalism of human actions contains two constituent components:
the human temporality with complex temporal structure and
physical environment: physical objects affected by human actions and other physical objects able to influence the former objects.
On the one hand, the two components possess independent degrees of freedom and are characterized by individual dynamics. On the other hand, these components affect each other. Second, confining the analysis to the complex present, we have developed our account of conscious-unconscious components of intentional, goal-oriented actions on scales about 10–20 s. The given account actually reconciles the reactive (reflexive) approach to describing human actions and the teleological concept of human goal-oriented behavior.
The present article includes separate meta-analyses showing that self-concordance and implementation intentions are significantly positively associated with goal progress. Study 1 confirmed the positive relations of both self-concordance and implementation intentions to weekend goal progress. Study 2 confirmed the positive relation of self-concordance with monthly progress on New Year's resolutions but failed to find a direct benefit for implementation intentions. Both studies, however, obtained a significant interaction effect indicating that goal self-concordance and implementation intentions combined synergistically to facilitate goal progress. The article also reports a meta-analysis and results from the 2 studies that demonstrated that goal progress was associated with improved affect over time.
Presents an integrative theoretical framework to explain and to predict psychological changes achieved by different modes of treatment. This theory states that psychological procedures, whatever their form, alter the level and strength of self-efficacy. It is hypothesized that expectations of personal efficacy determine whether coping behavior will be initiated, how much effort will be expended, and how long it will be sustained in the face of obstacles and aversive experiences. Persistence in activities that are subjectively threatening but in fact relatively safe produces, through experiences of mastery, further enhancement of self-efficacy and corresponding reductions in defensive behavior. In the proposed model, expectations of personal efficacy are derived from 4 principal sources of information: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states. Factors influencing the cognitive processing of efficacy information arise from enactive, vicarious, exhortative, and emotive sources. The differential power of diverse therapeutic procedures is analyzed in terms of the postulated cognitive mechanism of operation. Findings are reported from microanalyses of enactive, vicarious, and emotive modes of treatment that support the hypothesized relationship between perceived self-efficacy and behavioral changes. (21/2 p ref)
Research dealing with various aspects of* the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985,
1987) is reviewed, and some unresolved issues are discussed. In broad terms, the theory is
found to be well supported by empirical evidence. Intentions to perform behaviors of different
kinds can be predicted with high accuracy from attitudes toward the behavior, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control; and these intentions, together with perceptions of
behavioral control, account for considerable variance in actual behavior. Attitudes, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control are shown to be related to appropriate sets of salient
behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about the behavior, but the exact nature of these
relations is still uncertain. Expectancy value formulations are found to be only partly
successful in dealing with these relations. Optimal rescaling of expectancy and value
measures is offered as a means of dealing with measurement limitations. Finally, inclusion of
past behavior in the prediction equation is shown to provide a means of testing the theory*s
sufficiency, another issue that remains unresolved. The limited available evidence concerning
this question shows that the theory is predicting behavior quite well in comparison to the
ceiling imposed by behavioral reliability.
The present experiment investigated cognitive and behavioral effects of planning (i.e. forming implementation intentions) on goal pursuit during the performance of mundane behaviors. Participants received the goal to collect a coupon halfway the hall from the lab to the cafeteria. Later, they were also given the task to go from the lab to the cafeteria. Thus participants had to attain a new goal by interrupting a mundane behavior. Some participants enriched their goal with implementation intentions, others did not. Results showed that participants who formed implementation intentions were more effective in goal pursuit than the control group. Importantly, the data suggest that the effects of planning on goal completion are mediated by a heightened mental accessibility of environmental cues related to the goal completion task. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The intention-to-behavior process is analyzed with respect to implementation intentions. These intentions link an intended goal-directed behavior to an anticipated situational context. The reported experimental evidence suggests that implementation intentions create a heightened accessibility of the mental representation of the specified situational cues and induce direct (automatic) control of the intended behavior through these cues. The formation of implementation intentions promotes goal achievement through both of these processes because they eliminate classic problems associated with the control of goal-directed action. Similarities and differences to other theoretical approaches on intentions, planning, and action control are discussed.
When people encounter problems in translating their goals into action (e.g., failing to get started, becoming distracted, or falling into bad habits), they may strategically call on automatic processes in an attempt to secure goal attainment. This can be achieved by plans in the form of implementation intentions that link anticipated critical situations to goal-directed responses ("Whenever situation
x arises, I will initiate the goal-directed response
y!"). Implementation intentions delegate the control of goal-directed responses to anticipated situational cues, which (when actually encountered) elicit these responses automatically. A program of research demonstrates that implementation intentions further the attainment of goals, and it reveals the underlying processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A field experiment with 102 undergraduate students demonstrated that forming implementation intentions was effective in changing complex everyday behavior, in this case establishing a healthier diet. Ss were administered a questionnaire that assessed their current eating habits. The Ss in the experimental condition were then asked to form implementation intentions, i.e., they were asked to pick out a day from the 5 days following the completion of the questionnaire during which they would eat healthily. All Ss were then asked to keep a diary for the 5 days following the completion of the questionnaire detailing their eating patterns. Results show that the effect of implementation intentions was additive to the prediction of healthy eating by behavioral intentions to eat healthily. Implementation intentions were pitted against individual differences in counterintentional (unhealthy) habits. The effects of implementation intentions and counterintentional habits were independent, suggesting that implementation intentions did not break the negative influence of unhealthy habits, and yet managed to make those with unhealthy habits eat healthier in habit-unrelated respects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Whether you're a manager, company psychologist, quality control specialist, or involved with motivating people to work harder in any capacity—Locke and Latham's guide will hand you the keen insight and practical advice you need to reach even your toughest cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Intentions to do more good and less bad are reliably associated with actual efforts in the intended directions (Ajzen, 1991; Godin & Kok, 1996; Sheeran, 2002). However, intention-behavior relations are modest, largely due to the fact that people, despite having formed strang intentions, fail to act on them (Orbell & Sheeran, 1998). Given this predicament, one wonders what people can do to facilitate the translation of intentions into behavior. In this chapter, it is suggested that people should engage in a seeond act of willing by making if-then plans (i. e., implementation intentions) that specify how the (goal) Intention is to be realized. We argue that such plans produce automatic action control by intentionally delegating the control of one's goal-directed thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to specific situational cues. Thus, by forming implementation intentions, people can strategically switch from conscious and effortful control of their goal-directed behaviors to being automatically controlled by selected situational cues. We understand this type of automatic action control as strategic automaticity or instant habits (Gollwitzer, 1999), as it originates from a single act of will rather than being produced by repeated and consistent selection of a certain course of action in the same situation (i. e., principles of routinization; Anderson, 1987; Fitts & Posner, 1967; Newell & Rosenbloom, 1981). The first part of the chapter discusses research that explores how implementation intentions can help people to promote getting started on their goals. In the second part, we discuss findings on how people can use implementation intentions in an attempt to prevent straying off-course from goal attainment.
Assume that you have decided to accomplish a personal wish or desire that has been on your mind for quite some time. Should you go ahead and plan the execution of behaviors that will eventually lead to your desire? Or would planning only be a waste of time, as you already feel highly committed to act and ready to go? Would passively waiting for a good opportunity to get started not be sufficient? As planning might not add anything to the commitment implied by your decision, the time and effort devoted to planning might be unnecessary. The present chapter focuses on this issue: Does planning promote the willful implementation of a person's goals and thus provide volitional benefits? My colleagues and I believe that planning helps to alleviate crucial volitional problems of goal achievement, such as being too easily distracted from a goal pursuit or giving up in the face of difficulties when increased effort and persistence are needed instead. The conceptual analysis of this question relies on ideas that have evolved around the model of action phases (Heckhausen & Gollwitzer, 1987). In particular, we use two different but related concepts to understand the processes by which planning unfolds its beneficial effects on goal achievement: "implemental mind-sets" (Gollwitzer, 1990) and "implementation intentions" (Gollwitzer, 1993).
Holding a strong goal intention ("I intend to reach Z!") does not guarantee goal achievement, because people may fail to deal effectively with selfregulatory problems during goal striving. This review analyzes wether realization of goal intentions is facilitated by forming an implementation intention that spells out the when, where, and how of goal striving in advance ("If situation Y is encountered, then I will initiate goal-directed behavior X!"). Findings from 94 independent tests showed that implementation intentions had a positive effect of medium-to-large magnitude (d= .65) on goal attainment. Implementation intentions were effective in promoting the initiation of goal striving, the shielding of ongoing goal pursuit from unwanted influences, disengagement from failing courses of action, and conservation of capability for future goal striving. There was also strong support for postulatad component processes: Implementation intention formation both enhanced the accessibility of specified opportunities and automated respective goal-directed responses. Several directions for future research are outlined.
The theoretical distinction between goal intentions ("I intend to achieve -c") and implementation intentions ("I intend to perform goal-directed behavior y when I encounter situation z"; P. M. Gollwitzer, 1993) is explored by assessing the completion rate of various goal projects. In correlational Study 1, difficult goal intentions were completed about 3 times more often when participants had furnished them with implementation intentions. In experimental Study 2, all participants were assigned the same difficult goal intention, and half were instructed to form implementation intentions. The beneficial effects of implementation intentions paralleled diose of Study 1. In experimental Study 3, implementation intentions were observed to facilitate the immediate initiation of goaldirected action when the intended opportunity was encountered. Implementation intentions are interpreted to be powerful self-regulatory tools for overcoming the typical obstacles associated with the initiation of goal-directed actions.
From the outset, perspectives on social cognition have taken an emphatically pragmatic stance, as evident in early writing by James, Allport, Bruner, Asch, Heider, Tagiuri, and Jones. After a hiatus, during which social cognition research neglected its proper attunement to social behavior, researchers again are emphasizing that thinking is for doing, that social understanding operates in the service of social interaction. Early and recent (but not intermediate) theories have reflected a pragmatic orientation in 3 recurring themes: People are good-enough social perceivers; people construct meaning through traits, stereotypes, and stories; and people's thinking strategies depend on their goals. The pragmatic viewpoint again opens up new areas for research and theory in social cognition.
Choice, active response, self-regulation, and other volition may all draw on a common inner resource. In Experiment 1, people who forced themselves to eat radishes instead of tempting chocolates subsequently quit faster on unsolvable puzzles than people who had not had to exert self-control over eating. In Experiment 2, making a meaningful personal choice to perform attitude-relevant behavior caused a similar decrement in persistence. In Experiment 3, suppressing emotion led to a subsequent drop in performance of solvable anagrams. In Experiment 4, an initial task requiring high self-regulation made people more passive (i.e., more prone to favor the passive-response option). These results suggest that the self's capacity for active volition is limited and that a range of seemingly different, unrelated acts share a common resource.
Two experiments investigated priming in free association, a conceptual implicit memory task. The stimuli consisted of bidirectionally associated word pairs (e.g., BEACH-SAND) and unidirectionally associated word pairs that have no association from the target response back to the stimulus cue (e.g., BONE-DOG). In the study phase, target words (e.g., SAND, DOG) were presented in an incidental learning task. In the test phase, participants generated an associate to the stimulus cues (e.g., BEACH, BONE). In both experiments, priming was obtained for targets (e.g., SAND) that had an association back to the cue, but not for targets (e.g., DOG) for which such a backward association was absent. These results are problematic for theoretical accounts that attribute priming in free association to the strengthening of target responses. It is argued that priming in free association depends on the strengthening of cue-target associations.
This study tested the idea of habits as a form of goal-directed automatic behavior. Expanding on the idea that habits are mentally represented as associations between goals and actions, it was proposed that goals are capable of activating the habitual action. More specific, when habits are established (e.g., frequent cycling to the university), the very activation of the goal to act (e.g., having to attend lectures at the university) automatically evokes the habitual response (e.g., bicycle). Indeed, it was tested and confirmed that, when behavior is habitual, behavioral responses are activated automatically. In addition, the results of 3 experiments indicated that (a) the automaticity in habits is conditional on the presence of an active goal (cf. goal-dependent automaticity; J. A. Bargh, 1989), supporting the idea that habits are mentally represented as goal-action links, and (b) the formation of implementation intentions (i.e., the creation of a strong mental link between a goal and action) may simulate goal-directed automaticity in habits.
The authors review evidence that self-control may consume a limited resource. Exerting self-control may consume self-control strength, reducing the amount of strength available for subsequent self-control efforts. Coping with stress, regulating negative affect, and resisting temptations require self-control, and after such self-control efforts, subsequent attempts at self-control are more likely to fail. Continuous self-control efforts, such as vigilance, also degrade over time. These decrements in self-control are probably not due to negative moods or learned helplessness produced by the initial self-control attempt. These decrements appear to be specific to behaviors that involve self-control; behaviors that do not require self-control neither consume nor require self-control strength. It is concluded that the executive component of the self--in particular, inhibition--relies on a limited, consumable resource.
Two types of action control derived from the model of action phases (H. Heckhausen & P. M. Gollwitzer, 1987) were analyzed in patients with frontal lesions, patients with nonfrontal lesions, and university students. In Study 1, reflective action control in terms of goal selection was assessed, and impaired deliberation was found in patients with frontal lesions. Study 2 assessed reflexive action control in terms of automatic action initiation as a result of forming implementation intentions (P. M. Gollwitzer, 1999). All participants sped up their responses to critical stimuli by forming implementation intentions. Moreover, lesion patients with weak performances on the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) task did worse than patients with strong TOH performances in Study 1 but better than control participants in Study 2. Findings are interpreted as a functional dissociation between conscious reflective action control and automatic reflexive action control.
Implementation intentions ("If I encounter Situation X, then I'll perform Behavior Y!") are postulated to instigate automatic action initiation. In 4 studies, the hypothesis was tested that implementation intentions lead to immediate action initiation once the specified situation is encountered, even under conditions of high cognitive load. First, individuals whose action control is known to be hampered by disruptive cognitive business, such as opiate addicts under withdrawal (Study 1) and schizophrenic patients (Study 2), benefited from forming implementation intentions. Second, the beneficial effect of implementation intentions was also found in 2 experiments with university students (Studies 3 and 4) in which cognitive load was experimentally induced by using dual task paradigms. Results of the 4 studies suggest that forming implementation intentions instigates immediate action initiation that is also efficient.
It is proposed that goals can be activated outside of awareness and then operate nonconsciously to guide self-regulation effectively (J. A. Bargh, 1990). Five experiments are reported in which the goal either to perform well or to cooperate was activated, without the awareness of participants, through a priming manipulation. In Experiment 1 priming of the goal to perform well caused participants to perform comparatively better on an intellectual task. In Experiment 2 priming of the goal to cooperate caused participants to replenish a commonly held resource more readily. Experiment 3 used a dissociation paradigm to rule out perceptual-construal alternative explanations. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that action guided by nonconsciously activated goals manifests two classic content-free features of the pursuit of consciously held goals. Nonconsciously activated goals effectively guide action, enabling adaptation to ongoing situational demands.
Mediation is said to occur when a causal effect of some variable X on an outcome Y is explained by some intervening variable M. The authors recommend that with small to moderate samples, bootstrap methods (B. Efron & R. Tibshirani, 1993) be used to assess mediation. Bootstrap tests are powerful because they detect that the sampling distribution of the mediated effect is skewed away from 0. They argue that R. M. Baron and D. A. Kenny's (1986) recommendation of first testing the X --> Y association for statistical significance should not be a requirement when there is a priori belief that the effect size is small or suppression is a possibility. Empirical examples and computer setups for bootstrap analyses are provided.
Readiness depends on how accessible categories are to the stimulated organism. Accessibility is a function of the likehood of occurrence of previously learned events, and one's need states and habits of daily living. Lack of perceptual readiness can be rectified by relearning the categories, or by constant close inspection of events and objects. Sensory stimuli are "sorted" to appropriate categories by searching for and using cues. 4 mechanisms are proposed: "grouping and integration, access ordering, match-mismatch signal utilization, and gating." Failure of perceptual readiness may occur because of inability to learn appropriate categories or through interference of accessible categories. These ideas may shed light on "perceptual defense." 88 references.
Two experiments based upon Gollwitzer's (1993) concept of implementation intentions are described. In both experiments, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intentions from Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behaviour were used to measure participants' motivation prior to an intervention in which participants made implementation intentions specifying where and when they would take a vitamin C pill each day. Behaviours were assessed by self-report and pill count at both 10 days and 3 weeks in Experiment 1, and at 2 weeks and 5 weeks in Experiment 2. Results supported the view that participants who formed implementation intentions were less likely to miss taking a pill every day compared to controls. Evidence suggested that implementation intentions were effective because they allowed participants to pass control of behaviour to the environmental cues contained in the implementation intention. Implications of the study and some suggestions for future research are outlined. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The present experiment investigated cognitive and behavioral effects of planning (i.e. forming implementation intentions) on goal pursuit during the performance of mundane behaviors. Participants received the goal to collect a coupon halfway the hall from the lab to the cafeteria. Later, they were also given the task to go from the lab to the cafeteria. Thus participants had to attain a new goal by interrupting a mundane behavior. Some participants enriched their goal with implementation intentions, others did not. Results showed that participants who formed implementation intentions were more effective in goal pursuit than the control group. Importantly, the data suggest that the effects of planning on goal completion are mediated by a heightened mental accessibility of environmental cues related to the goal completion task. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This study rested the idea of habits as a form of goal-directed automatic behavior. Expanding on the idea that habits are mentally represented as associations between goals and actions, it was proposed that goals are capable of activating the habitual action. More specific, when habits are established (e.g., frequent cycling to the university), the very activation of the goal to act (e.g., having to attend lectures at the university) automatically evokes the habitual response (e.g., bicycle). Indeed, it was tested and confirmed that, when behavior is habitual, behavioral responses are activated automatically. in addition, the results of 3 experiments indicated that (a) the automaticity in habits is conditional on the presence of an active goal (cf. goal-dependent automaticity; J. A. Bargh, 1989), supporting the idea that habits are mentally represented as goal-action links, and (b) the formation of implementation intentions (i.e., the creation of a strong mental link between a goal and action) may simulate goal-directed automaticity in habits.
From the outset, perspectives on social cognition have taken an emphatically pragmatic stance, as evident in early writing by James, Allport, Bruner, Asch, Heider, Tagiuri, and Jones. After a hiatus, during which social cognition research neglected its proper attunement to social behavior, researchers again are emphasizing that thinking is for doing, that social understanding operates in the service of social interaction. Early and recent (but not intermediate) theories have reflected a pragmatic orientation in 3 recurring themes: People are good-enough social perceivers; people construct meaning through traits, stereotypes, and stories; and people's thinking strategies depend on their goals. The pragmatic viewpoint again opens up new areas for research and theory in social cognition.
automated social cognitive processes categorize, evaluate, and impute the meanings of behavior and other social information, and this input is then ready for use by conscious and controlled judgment and decision processes / review . . . the literature on automaticity in social cognition] / discuss the research in terms of its relevance for the] issues of awareness, intentionality, efficiency, and control (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)(chapter)
In two experiments the relation between past contact, stereotypic associative strength, and stereotype activation effects on memory performance was investigated. It was hypothesized that, for some stereotypes, contact can lead to the development of stronger stereotypical associations. Associative strength, in turn, was expected to determine stereotype activation effects on behavior (in this case, memory performance). In Experiment 1, it was shown that people who reported to have had much previous contact with elderly people performed worse on a memory (free recall) test after being primed with the stereotype of the elderly. People who reported to have had little previous contact did not show any effects of priming. In Experiment 2, we confirmed that this effect is mediated by associative strength. People who reported to have had a lot of contact with the elderly had developed an association between the category elderly and the attribute “forgetfulness.” The strength of this association, in turn, predicted the degree of memory impairment after activation of the category elderly.
Two experiments based upon Gollwitzer's (1993) concept of implementation intentions are described. In both experiments, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intentions from Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behaviour were used to measure participants' motivation prior to an intervention in which participants made implementation intentions specifying where and when they would take a vitamin C pill each day. Behaviours were assessed by self-report and pill count at both 10 days and 3 weeks in Experiment 1, and at 2 weeks and 5 weeks in Experiment 2. Results supported the view that participants who formed implementation intentions were less likely to miss taking a pill every day compared to controls. Evidence suggested that implementation intentions were effective because they allowed participants to pass control of behaviour to the environmental cues contained in the implementation intention. Implications of the study and some suggestions for future research are outlined. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This study concerns the implications of Peter Gollwitzer's concept of implementation intentions for Icek Ajzen's theory of planned behavior. Attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intentions were assessed before an intervention that required subjects to make implementation intentions concerning when and where they would perform breast self-examination during the next month. Behavior was assessed by self-report 1 month later. Results supported Gollwitzer's contention that goal intentions that have been supplemented by implementation intentions concerning where and when the behavior is to be performed are more likely to be enacted. Evidence suggested that implementation intentions were effective because they provided a mechanism that facilitated the retrieval of intentions in memory. Implementation intentions also reduced the capacity of past behavior to predict future behavior, suggesting that implementation intentions mimic the effect of habit in human action. Implications for applications of models of attitude-behavior relations are outlined.
In "Losing Control," the authors provide a single reference source with comprehensive information on general patterns of self-regulation failure across contexts, research findings on specific self-control disorders, and commentary on the clinical and social aspects of self-regulation failure. Self-control is discussed in relation to what the "self" is, and the cognitive, motivational, and emotional factors that impinge on one's ability to control one's "self." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
"Predicting Health Behaviour" brings together current research and practical details of how models of social cognition can be applied in health research.
[This book] provides the theoretical background and examples of how to apply the most common social cognition models to the explanation of health behaviours. . . . Each chapter provides a general review of relevant research, applying the model to a variety of health behaviours . . . and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of models.
[This book] examines how to: assess the advantages and disadvantages of using each of these models; appropriately apply each model to their work [and] adequately analyse and report the results.
It [is intended] for health professionals, and researchers and students of health and health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This chapter addresses two questions; how big is the “gap” between intentions and behavior, and what psychological variables might be able to “bridge” the intention–behavior gap? A meta-analysis of meta-analyses is used to quantify the gap and a conceptual analysis of intention–behavior discrepancies is presented. Research is described on the extent to which four groups of variables—behavior type, intention type, properties of intention, and cognitive and personality variables—moderate intention–behavior relations. Finally, the scope of the intention construct is discussed in the light of recent evidence concerning the role of habits and automaticity in human behavior.
Forming an implementation intention (‘If I encounter situation X, then I'll perform behaviour Y!’) is thought to increase the likelihood that the person will detect a good opportunity to act. Experiment 1 found support for this hypothesis in a novel context where detection of the specified cue was very difficult. Experiments 2 and 3 extended existing paradigms to test whether this improved cue detection has costs in terms of increased false positives and/or slower responses to ambiguous stimuli. This hypothesis was not supported. Forming an implementation intention led to more accurate (Experiment 2) and faster (Experiment 3) responses to the specified cue without compromising responses to non-relevant, or ambiguous, stimuli. Overall, the findings suggest that forming an implementation intention is an effective self-regulatory tool because the specified cues are discriminated swiftly and with precision. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In the context of an experimental field study, it is analyzed whether furnishing a goal intention with an implementation intention (Gollwitzer, 1993) increases the probability that a new behavior is enacted. For this purpose, 90 students who did not normally use public transportation were asked to test (just one time) a special public transportation offer they had never used before. With a nonobstrusive questionnaire manipulation, the subjects of the experimental group were stimulated to form an implementation intention. The results show that forming an implementation intention significantly increases the probability of enacting the goal intention; that is, testing the public transportation offer. The theoretical and practical implications of this finding are discussed.