Measuring implementation intentions in the context of the theory of planned behavior

The usefulness of measuring implementation intentions in the context of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was explored among 112 Norwegian college students. They responded to a questionnaire measuring past behavior, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intentions, implementation intentions, and actual performance of regular exercising and recycling of drinking cartons. Implementation intentions were measured using five items relating to recycling and four items relating to exercise, which showed satisfactory internal consistencies. Consistent with the main prediction, the presence of implementation intentions was related to performing the two behaviors, although behavioral intentions were the strongest determinant for both behaviors. The results suggest that the TPB may benefit from inclusion of the concept of implementation intentions to provide a more complete understanding of the psychological process in which motivation is translated into action.     

An investigation of preconditions necessary for the introduction of a campaign to promote breast self-examination amongst Zimbabwean women

This study examines elements of the health belief model as predictors of intentions to self-examine breasts in two samples of women. Undergraduate samples from London and Harare are compared on levels of knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination (BSE), and on scales measuring perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, exposure to information and experience of breast cancer and perceived costs, barriers and benefits of BSE. Analysis of results indicates that an education campaign to promote awareness and the practice of BSE which incorporates factors of the health belief model could increase the number of Zimbabwean women performing this valuable preventive health behaviour.     

The effect of implementation intentions on transfer of training

Two experiments investigated the effect of forming implementation intentions on transfer of training in two training programs. In the first experiment (N = 37), trainees who formed implementation intentions implemented active listening skills sooner, and to a greater degree, than those in the control group. In the second experiment (n = 28), conducted in the field, trainees who formed implementation intentions received a higher performance score for implementing the trained behavior compared with those in the control condition. Results from both experiments provide empirical evidence suggesting that forming implementation intentions at the end of a training program increases the likelihood of using the newly acquired skills.     

The use of implementation intentions and the decision balance sheet in promoting exercise behaviour

Although increasing exercise and fitness has often been associated with positive health outcomes, infrequent exercise participation has remained a problem. Since two distinct motivational and volitional phases to goal pursuit have been proposed, a combined motivational (decision balance sheet, DBS) and volitional (implementation intentions) intervention was predicted to be more effective in increasing exercise behaviour than a control or either strategy alone. A total of 86 students were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions, and were all asked to try to exercise two more times a week than they currently did, over a four week period. Their fitness levels were measured through fitness tests conducted pre- and post-intervention. A priori orthogonal contrasts indicated that the experimental strategies produced a greater increase in exercise frequency and total time spent exercising per week and accordingly showed greater fitness improvements than the control group. Moreover, the volitional groups taken together produced greater increase in time spent exercising and a marginally greater improvement in frequency than the DBS alone. The combined intervention led to improvements in fitness and marginal increases in frequency over the implementation intention alone group. It is proposed that for the combined group the DBS may have aided recall of the implementation intention or increased commitment to it, as remembering and then acting on the plan, in the stated place and time, mediated the implementation intention–behaviour relationship. The combined intervention produced the greatest fitness improvements, indicating that this strategy can lead to important health benefits.     

Stay calm! Regulating emotional responses by implementation intentions: Assessing the impact on physiological and subjective arousal

Implementation intention (IMP) has recently been highlighted as an effective emotion regulatory strategy. Most studies examining the effectiveness of IMPs to regulate emotion have relied on self-report measures of emotional change. In two studies we employed electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR) in addition to arousal ratings (AR) to assess the impact of an IMP on emotional responses. In Study 1, 60 participants viewed neutral and two types of negative pictures (weapon vs. non-weapon) under the IMP “If I see a weapon, then I will stay calm and relaxed!” or no self-regulatory instructions (Control). In Study 2, additionally to the Control and IMP conditions, participants completed the picture rating task either under goal intention (GI) to stay calm and relaxed or warning instructions highlighting that some pictures contain weapons. In both studies, participants showed lower EDA, reduced HR deceleration and lower AR to the weapon pictures compared to the non-weapon pictures. In Study 2, the IMP was associated with lower EDA compared to the GI condition for the weapon pictures, but not compared to the weapon pictures in the Warning condition. ARs were lower for IMP compared to GI and Warning conditions for the weapon pictures.     

The theory of planned behaviour and breast self-examination: Assessing the impact of past behaviour,context stability and habit strength

This study applied the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to the prediction of breast self-examination (BSE) intentions and behaviour, and tested whether the frequency of past behaviour and context stability moderates intention–behaviour and habit–behaviour relations. Seventy-seven females completed measures of the TPB, frequency of past behaviour, context stability and habit strength (Self-Report Habit Index). BSE behaviour was assessed at 1-month follow-up (n?=?66). The TPB explained 33% of the variance in BSE intentions and 11% of the variance in time 2 BSE. The frequency of past behaviour moderated the intention–behaviour relationship such that the intention was only positively related to time 2 BSE behaviour when the frequency of past behaviour was low. Context stability and the combination of the frequency of past behaviour?×?context stability moderated the habit–behaviour relationship such that habit strength was only positively related to time 2 BSE behaviour when context stability and the combination of frequency of past behaviour?×?context stability were high. The results are consistent with the proposal that behaviours that are performed frequently in stable contexts are predominantly under the control of habitual processes, whereas behaviours that are performed infrequently in unstable contexts are predominantly under the control of intentional processes.     

A randomised controlled trial of the effects of implementation intentions on women's walking behaviour

The combination of low physical activity rates and increased cardiovascular deaths indicate the overwhelming need for behaviour change interventions that can effectively promote physical activity among sedentary women. This 11-week randomised controlled trial examined the effects of an implementation intentions intervention on sedentary women's walking behaviour. Seventy-five women (M age = 48.17) were randomly assigned to either a control group where they were required to self-monitor their daily pedometer-determined step count or to an experimental group where they were asked to form specific walking plans (i.e. implementation intentions) every 6 weeks and to self-monitor their daily pedometer-determined step count. Measures of exercise intentions, perceived behavioural control, scheduling and barrier self-efficacy were administered at baseline, week 6 and week 11. Analyses indicated higher step counts over the first 6 weeks for women in the experimental condition (p < 0.02). Furthermore, higher self-efficacy to schedule (p < 0.01) and overcome walking barriers (p < 0.03), as well as higher perceptions of behavioural control (p < 0.02) were found at week 11 for women in the experimental versus control condition. However, none of the control beliefs were found to mediate the effects of the intervention on the women's walking behaviour. Furthermore, the intervention did not have any effect on the strength of the goal intention–behaviour relationship. The findings suggest implementation intentions are an effective strategy for initiating leisure-time walking within sedentary women.     

Implementation intentions as a predictor of applicant withdrawal

Despite withdrawal from the job application being a serious concern for organizations, limited research exists that examines this phenomenon. Utilizing the broad intention-behavior framework as suggested in the Theory of Planned Behavior, we examined whether the type of intentions formed when applying for a job (i.e., goal vs. implementation intentions) predicts later withdrawal from the job application. Using a field experimental strategy, half of the applicants in a large applicant pool (N = 5,346) were randomly made to form implementation intentions. It was found that forming implementation intentions was indeed effective in reducing applicant withdrawal, albeit with a small effect size. Theoretical and practical implications of this finding are discussed.     

Breaking and creating habits on the working floor: A field-experiment on the power of implementation intentions

Previous research has shown that implementation intentions are effective tools to promote new behavior. The present study aimed to provide the first evidence that conscious planning is an effective tool in replacing well-learned habits with new habits. This was tested in a field-experiment on repetitive behavior in the domain of recycling, using 109 employees of a tele-company as participants. Recycling behavior of the participants was observed by the actual amount of paper and the number of plastic cups in their personal wastebaskets. Following a pre-measure, participants were assigned to either implementation intention conditions, conditions in which an eye-catching facility was placed to promote recycling behavior, or control conditions. Recycling behavior was substantially improved in the facility as well as the implementation intention conditions in week 1 and week 2 and still 2 months after the manipulation. These data supported our hypothesis that planning breaks down unwanted habits and creates new ones.     

Bridging the gap between intentions and behavior: Implementation intentions, action control, and procrastination

In the context of Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior, the antecedents of intentions are better understood than the antecedents of behavior. The current study aimed to improve the understanding of the transition from intentions to behavior. Based on the work of Gollwitzer (1993), Kuhl and Beckmann (1994), and Lay (1986) we proposed a model of mediators (i.e., implementation intentions) and moderators (i.e., action-state orientation and trait procrastination) in the intention-behavior relation. The model was applied to job seeking, and tested using longitudinal survey data of a sample of unemployed individuals in The Netherlands (N = 175). Support was found for the proposed mediating role of implementation intentions in the relation between job search intention and job search behavior. The proposed moderating roles of action-state orientation and trait procrastination were not supported.     

Individual social capital and the implementation of entrepreneurial intentions: The case of Russia

The current research hypothesized that individual social capital facilitates the implementation of one's intention to start a business. The research samples were drawn from a sample of 2061 adult respondents: a sub‐sample of 269 adults who stated their intention to start their own business during the next two years (‘intenders’) and a matching sub‐sample of 270 who said they did not intend to do so (‘non‐intenders’). The study shows that the ‘intenders’ possessed greater individual social capital. These resources had a positive indirect impact (through increased perceived behavioural control and attitude) on their intention to start their own business.     

Goal-striving and the implementation of goal intentions in the regulation of body weight

Abstract

The enactment of relatively easy-to-implement and relatively difficult-to-implement goal intentions was investigated in a field study of body weight maintenance for 141 university students. Three appraisal processes were examined as mechanisms for implementing intentions: self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and affect towards means. The results showed that goal-directed dieting behaviours for men and women and goal-directed exercising/sport activities for men were influenced by the appraisals in a linear compensatory manner, and goal-directed exercising/sport activities for women were influenced by the appraisals via a three-way interaction. Self-efficacy, in particular, was a strong, pervasive determinant of both dieting and exercising/sport activities for men and women.     

Relationship of body image to breast and skin self-examination intentions and behaviors

Breast self-examinations (BSE) and skin self-examinations (SSE) represent cost-effective and time-efficient approaches to cancer detection. Given their utility, it is important to determine who is likely to perform these behaviors regularly and why. Because BSE and SSE require close examination of one's body, women who are less satisfied and less comfortable with their bodies may perform these behaviors less often. This study sought to determine if a relationship exists between body image and BSE and SSE behaviors and intentions. Ninety-three women completed measures assessing body image, past performance of and future intentions to perform BSE and SSE. Results indicated that body image was related to past performance of SSE. Having greater body-areas satisfaction and more favorable global evaluations of appearance were related to having performed SSE more frequently in the past year. Future research should further examine this relationship utilizing longitudinal designs and more diverse populations.     

Planning is for doing: Implementation intentions go beyond the mere creation of goal-directed associations

Studies on implementation intentions so far have mainly pointed towards strengthened cue-behavior associations as the mechanism underlying the effectiveness of this self-regulatory tool. However, we propose that because it triggers people to look into the future and to mentally simulate their future behavior, planning by means of implementation intentions might go beyond the creation of goal-directed associations and thus lead to more enduring effects on behavior. We tested this hypothesis in an experiment using a longitudinal design, where participants formed an intention for a behavior that deviates from their routine, and furnished it either with associative learning of cue and behavior, forming implementation intentions, or nothing at all. Results showed that initially, learning cue-behavior associations led to the same rate of goal completion as forming implementation intentions. However, only the effect of implementation intentions was maintained at the second measurement one week later. These findings suggest that planning does more than merely create goal-directed associations, which might offer a new perspective on the workings and use of this important tool for behavior change.     

Patients' intentions in primary care: Measurement and preliminary investigation

Abstract

A questionnaire to assess patients' intentions in primary care was completed by 206 patients. Patients also rated the amount of help with their presenting problem which they thought could be provided by each of 11 secondary services. A principal components analysis of the intentions revealed 4 components: “Explanation and understanding,” “Support,” “Medical treatment” and “Information-seeking.” Individual patients' intentions were quantified on each of these dimensions. Requests for “Explanation and understanding” did not correlate with expectation of help from any of the 11 sources. In contrast, each of the remaining 3 types of request correlated with expectation of help from a number of sources. These results show, first, a way of measuring patients' intentions on multiple independent dimensions. Secondly, they indicate that patients look solely to the general practitioner for general information and reassurance about their problems. For emotional support they look to additional, mainly psychiatric, sources. This calls into question the view that general practitioners are seen by patients as more appropriate providers of emotional support than specialist services.     

Control of impulsive emotional behaviour through implementation intentions

Past research has established that people can strategically enhance or override impulsive emotional behaviour with implementation intentions (Eder, Rothermund, & Proctor, 2010). However, it is unclear whether emotional action tendencies change by intentional processes or by habit formation processes due to repeated enactment of the intention (or both). The present study shows that forming implementation intentions is sufficient to modulate emotional action tendencies. Participants received instructions about how to respond to positive and negative stimuli on evaluation trials but no such trials were actually presented. Results showed that merely intending to approach and avoid affective stimuli influenced emotional action tendencies in a modified affective Simon task in which affective valence was irrelevant. An affective Simon effect (i.e., faster reactions when the valence of the stimulus corresponded with the valence of the movement) was observed when participants intended evaluations with affectively congruent responses (i.e., positive–approach, negative–avoid); in contrast, the effect was reversed in direction when participants planned evaluations with incongruent responses (i.e., positive–avoid, negative–approach). Thus, implementation intentions can regulate implicit emotional responses even in the absence of possible habit formation processes. Implications for dual-system accounts of emotion regulation are discussed.     

The effect of message framing on breast self-examination attitudes, intentions, and behavior

In this study we tested the framing hypothesis that a pamphlet stressing the negative consequences of not performing breast self-examination (BSE) would be more persuasive than a pamphlet emphasizing BSE's positive consequences. College-aged female subjects were exposed to a loss-frame pamphlet, a gain-frame pamphlet, or a no-arguments pamphlet, or they received no pamphlet describing the importance of and the techniques for performing BSE. Attitudes toward BSE and intentions to perform BSE were assessed immediately after this intervention and again 4 months later. The follow-up also assessed subjects' postexperimental BSE behavior. Consistent with predictions, subjects who read a pamphlet with arguments framed in loss language manifested more positive BSE attitudes, intentions, and behaviors than did subjects in the other three conditions. The greater impact of the loss pamphlet could not be attributed to greater fear arousal, better memory for pamphlet content, greater perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, or stronger beliefs in BSE's efficacy on the part of the loss subjects. Only measures of perceived self-efficacy in performing BSE were differentially affected by the framing manipulation, with loss subjects reporting the greatest levels of self-confidence. The results are discussed in terms of prospect theory's framing postulate and a simpler negativity-bias conceptualization, and underlying mechanisms such as differential salience and vividness are considered. Clinical implications of the findings are also explored.     

How psychological resources mediate and perceived social support moderates the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking intentions in college students

There is a high prevalence of depression among college students, which is linked to lower levels of help-seeking intentions. However, there has been a lack of research examining variables that may help explain this relationship. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining whether psychological resources (optimism and self-esteem) mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking intentions, and whether this relationship is moderated by perceived social support. Participants were 8121 college students (66% female) aged 17–25 years (M?=?20.42, SD?=?1.90), who completed the My World Survey Post-Second Level, a national survey on youth mental health. Linear regression analysis confirmed that depressive symptoms predicted lower informal help-seeking intentions. Moderated mediation indicated that social support moderated the direct relationship between depressive symptoms and informal help-seeking intentions and that optimism and self-esteem mediated this relationship, when gender was controlled for. Findings indicate that social support and psychological resources help further our understanding of the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking in young people. Campaigns promoting help-seeking in college students should focus on the beneficial role of social support and on fostering optimism and self-esteem as facilitators of help-seeking intentions.     

The emergence and implementation of health goals

Abstract

Modern theorizing on goals is applied to an analysis of the implementation and the emergence of health goals. First, a model of action phases and its concomitant concepts of implemental mindsets and implementation intentions (Gollwitzer, 1990, 1993) are used to explore how the initiation of health goal directed behaviors can be facilitated and how the performance of health goal directed actions is enhanced. Second, recent theorizing on the psychology of thinking about the future (Oettingen, 1996; 1997) is employed to discuss conditions and processes of the emergence of health goals. It is suggested that contrasting positive fantasies about the future with reflections on the negative aspects of reality create binding health goals that reliably affect people's behaviors.     

Health beliefs and breast examination behaviors: Analyses of linear structural relations

Abstract

A survey of 619 Detroit-area women was conducted in order to understand why women do or do not perform breast self-examination and obtain or not obtain professional breast examinations. The survey assessed these behaviors and women's beliefs about (a) their susceptibility to breast cancer, (b) the seventy or seriousness of breast cancer, (c) the benefits of breast examinations and (d) the costs or disadvantages of the examinations. Separate sets of questions measured seventy of breast cancer when it is treated (a) late (seventy-late) and (b) promptly (seventy-early). Predictions were derived by combining the health belief model with the theory of subjective expected utility. Path analysis supported most predictions of the combined theory. As predicted, high severity-late increased perceived benefit, high seventy-early decreased benefit, and perceived benefit mediated the effects of seventy on behavior. Implications for understanding health decisions, measuring health beliefs, and modifying health behaviors are discussed.