The effect of forming implementation intentions on avoidance health goal attainment

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen W. Sullivan
2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 1350-1355
Author(s):  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
Daniel Nadolny

Although numerous factors have been demonstrated in laboratory settings to lead to more successful health goal attainment, their actual use in daily goal pursuit is unknown. This study examines spontaneously reported health goals and their characteristics in a sample of 557 American adults. Participants responded to questions about health and health goals, with items assessing motivation, social support, and implementation intentions. In all, 66 percent of respondents had a health goal, 26 percent of participants had implementation intentions, and 47 percent received support from close others. Results suggest that interventions should focus on encouraging goal setting, teaching implementation intentions, and educating close others in providing support.


PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolien Plaete ◽  
Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij ◽  
Maite Verloigne ◽  
Geert Crombez

Background.Self-regulation tools are not always used optimally, and implementation intention plans often lack quality. Therefore, this study explored participants’ use and evaluation of self-regulation techniques and their impact on goal attainment.Methods.Data were obtained from 452 adults in a proof of concept (POC) intervention of ‘MyPlan’, an eHealth intervention using self-regulation techniques to promote three healthy behaviours (physical activity (PA), fruit intake, or vegetable intake). Participants applied self-regulation techniques to a self-selected health behaviour, and evaluated the self-regulation techniques. The quality of implementation intentions was rated by the authors as a function of instrumentality (instrumental and non-instrumental) and specificity (non-specific and medium to highly specific). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict goal attainment.Results.Goal attainment was significantly predicted by the motivational value of the personal advice (OR:1.86), by the specificity of the implementation intentions (OR:3.5), by the motivational value of the action plan (OR:1.86), and by making a new action plan at follow-up (OR:4.10). Interaction-effects with behaviour showed that the specificity score of the implementation intention plans (OR:4.59), the motivational value of the personal advice (OR:2.38), selecting hindering factors and solutions(OR:2.00) and making a new action plan at follow-up (OR:7.54) were predictive of goal attainment only for fruit or vegetable intake. Also, when participants in the fruit and vegetable group made more than three plans, they were more likely to attain their goal (OR:1.73), whereas the reverse was the case in the PA group (OR:0.34).Discussion.The chance that adults reach fruit and vegetable goals can be increased by including motivating personal advice, self-formulated action plans, and instructions/strategies to make specific implementation intentions into eHealth interventions. To increase the chance that adults reach short-term PA goals, it is suggested to keep eHealth PA interventions simple and focus only on developing a few implementation intentions. However, more research is needed to identify behaviour change techniques that can increase health goal attainment at long-term.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolien Plaete ◽  
Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij ◽  
Maite Verloigne ◽  
Geert Crombez

Background. Self-regulation tools are not always used optimally, and implementation intention plans often lack quality. Therefore, this study explored participants’ use and feasibility evaluation of self-regulation techniques and their impact on goal attainment. Methods. Data were obtained from 452 adults in a proof of concept (POC) intervention of ‘MyPlan’, an eHealth intervention using self-regulation techniques to promote three healthy behaviours (physical activity(PA), fruit intake, or vegetable intake). Participants applied self-regulation techniques to a self-selected health behaviour, and evaluated the self-regulation techniques. The quality of implementation intentions was rated by the authors as a function of instrumentality (instrumental and non-instrumental) and specificity (non-specific and medium to high specific). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict goal attainment. Results. Goal attainment was significantly predicted by the motivational value of the personal advice (OR:1.86), by the specificity of the implementation intentions (OR:3.5), by the motivational value of the action plan (OR:1.86), and by making a new action plan at follow-up (OR:4.10). Interaction-effects with behaviour showed that the specificity score of the implementation intention plans (OR:4.59), the motivational value of the personal advice (OR:2.38), selecting hindering factors and solutions(OR:2.00) and making a new action plan at follow-up (OR:7.54) were predictive of goal attainment only for fruit or vegetable intake. Also, when participants in the fruit and vegetable group made more than three plans, they were more likely to attain their goal (OR:1.73), whereas the reverse was the case in the PA group (OR:0.34). Discussion. Feedback on goal feasibility, coping implementation intentions, further research to investigate the optimal number of plans for different behaviours, the optimal frequency and timing of follow-up modules and new ways to incorporate social support in eHealth interventions, are recommended.


Author(s):  
Peter M. Gollwitzer ◽  
Gabriele Oettingen

This chapter begins with a description of how the goal concept emerged in the history of the psychology of motivation to better understand the important role it plays in current research on motivation. The chapter then turns to the self-regulation of goal pursuit. The effects and underlying processes of two different self-regulation strategies will be discussed in detail: mental contrasting and forming implementation intentions. The chapter concludes with a report of the results of recent intervention studies that combine the self-regulation strategies of mental contrasting and forming implementation intentions to help people enhance goal attainment in the health, academic, and interpersonal domains.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maik Bieleke ◽  
Eve Legrand ◽  
Astrid Mignon ◽  
Peter M Gollwitzer

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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 787-793
Author(s):  
Ye Yang ◽  
Hong Zhang

The facilitative effect of implementation intentions on goal attainment has been demonstrated in past research (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). However, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential side effects of implementation intentions on the responses to nonspecified cues (i.e., cues not specified in implementation intentions). In the current study we investigated whether or not cue ambiguity would moderate the effect of implementation intentions on reactions to nonspecified cues. The results indicated reactions of our participants (42 undergraduate psychology students) to nonspecified cues were facilitated by implementation intentions, even when there was high ambiguity between the target and nonspecified cues. These results help clarify the underlying mechanisms of the effects of forming implementation intentions.


Author(s):  
Peter M. Gollwitzer ◽  
Gabriele Oettingen

We start out with describing how the goal concept emerged in the history of the psychology of motivation to better understand the important role it plays in current research on motivation. We then suggest a differentiation between studies targeting the setting of goals versus the implementation of goals to get a grip on the host of empirical work the goal concept has triggered. With respect to goal setting, we first discuss studies that explore determinants affecting the content and structure of set goals (e.g., entity vs. incremental theories of intelligence influence the setting of performance vs. learning goals). We then turn to studies on the self-regulation of goal setting and discuss in detail how a self-regulation strategy called mental contrasting of future and reality facilitates strong commitment to feasible goals but dissolves commitment to unfeasible ones. With respect to goal implementation we first refer to studies on the determinants of effective goal striving (e.g., the framing of the set goal in terms of approach vs. avoidance) and then turn to analyzing the effective self-regulation of goal implementation. Here we focus on the strategy of forming implementation intentions (i.e., if-then plans) and explicate in detail how such planning helps in overcoming classic hurdles to goal attainment (e.g., distractions). We will end the chapter by reporting the results of recent intervention studies that successfully enhanced goal attainment in the health, academic, and interpersonal domains by combining the self-regulation strategy of mental contrasting with that of forming implementation intentions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 3051-3059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja ME van Dillen ◽  
Janneke Noordman ◽  
Sandra van Dulmen ◽  
Gerrit J Hiddink

AbstractObjectivePatients with overweight or obesity increasingly attend general practice, which is an ideal setting for weight-loss counselling. The present study is the first to investigate the quality of weight-loss counselling provided by practice nurses in general practice to patients with overweight or obesity, in order to identify points for improvement.DesignAn observational checklist was developed to assess goal and implementation intentions and ‘missed opportunities for lifestyle counselling’. Comparisons were made with overall consultation goals set by practice nurses, as measured in a post-visit questionnaire.SettingDutch general practice.SubjectsOne hundred video-taped consultations (2010/2011) between practice nurses and patients with overweight or obesity.ResultsHalf of the consultations contained a goal intention, of which the majority aimed to change eating behaviour. Only part of these goal intentions could be considered implementation intentions. It appeared that actions (how elements) were not often included here. Lifestyle change was more often perceived as an overall consultation goal than weight change. Regarding patterns of overall consultation goals, the majority addressed only one lifestyle factor at a time. If practice nurses formulated weight change in their overall consultation goal, they also used goal or implementation intentions, especially for weight change. In a quarter of the consultations, practice nurses did not ask any further questions about weight, nutrition or physical activity to gain insight, which is an important ‘missed opportunity for lifestyle counselling’.ConclusionsMatching implementation intentions to the broader overall consultation goals of practice nurses would be meaningful, leading to desired goal-directed behaviours and subsequent goal attainment.


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