Struggles and strategies in anaerobic and aerobic cycling tests: A mixed-method approach with a focus on tailored self-regulation strategies

Endurance sports pose a plethora of mental demands that exercisers have to deal with. Unfortunately, investigations of exercise-specific demands and strategies to deal with them are insufficiently researched, leading to a gap in knowledge about athletic requirements and strategies used to deal with them. Here, we investigated which obstacles exercisers experience during an anaerobic (Wingate test) and an aerobic cycling test (incremental exercise test), as well as the strategies they considered helpful for dealing with these obstacles (qualitative analysis). In addition, we examined whether thinking of these obstacles and strategies in terms of if-then plans (or implementation intentions; i.e., “If I encounter obstacle O, then I will apply strategy S!”) improves performance over merely setting performance goals (i.e., goal intentions; quantitative analysis). N = 59 participants (age: M = 23.9 ± 6.5 years) performed both tests twice in a 2-within (Experimental session: 1 vs. 2) × 2-between (Condition: goal vs. implementation intention) design. Exercisers’ obstacles and strategies were assessed using structured interviews in Session 1 and subjected to thematic analysis. In both tests, feelings of exertion were the most frequently stated obstacle. Motivation to do well, self-encouragement, and focus on the body and on cycling were frequently stated strategies in both tests. There were also test-specific obstacles, such as boredom reported in the aerobic test. For session 2, the obstacles and strategies elicited in Session 1 were used to specify if-then plans. Bayesian mixed-factor ANOVA suggests, however, that if-then plans did not help exercisers to improve their performance. These findings shed novel light into the mental processes accompanying endurance exercise and the limits they pose on performance.

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Struggles and Strategies in Anaerobic and Aerobic Cycling Tests: A Mixed-method Approach with a Focus on Tailored Self-regulation Strategies

10.31234/osf.io/pmwu2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Hirsch ◽

Maik Bieleke ◽

Raphael Bertschinger ◽

Julia Schüler ◽

Wanja Wolff

Keyword(s):

Implementation Intentions ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Endurance Performance ◽

Implementation Intention ◽

Body Parts ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Test Motivation ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

Improved Performance

Endurance sports pose a plethora of psychological demands that athletes have to deal with. Unfortunately, fine-grained investigations of these demands and strategies for coping with them are lacking, severely limiting our knowledge about endurance performance. Here, we investigated the obstacles exercisers experienced during an anaerobic (Wingate test) and an aerobic cycling test (incremental exercise test), as well as the strategies they considered helpful for dealing with these obstacles. In addition, we tested whether if-then plans (i.e., implementation intentions) capitalizing on these obstacles and strategies improved performance in the corresponding tests. N = 59 students (age: M = 23.9 years, SD = 6.5) performed both tests twice in a 2-within (Session: 1 vs. 2) × 2-between (Condition: goal intention vs. implementation intention) design. Obstacles and strategies were assessed using structured interviews after Session 1 and analyzed with thematic analyses. In both tests, feelings of exertion were the most frequently stated obstacle. Motivation to do well in the test, motivation through self-encouragement, as well as focusing on certain body parts and cycling technique were other frequently stated strategies in both tests. There were also test-specific obstacles, such as boredom reported in the aerobic test. The efficacy of tailored if-then plans on endurance performance was analyzed with Bayesian mixed-factor ANOVA. The results suggest that making if-then plans did not help exercisers to improve their performance. These findings shed novel light into the mental processes accompanying physical exercise and contribute to an emerging literature on if-then planning in the exercise context.

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Self-regulation strategies of smartphone use during university self-study

10.31219/osf.io/x849a ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rebecca L. Barron ◽

Linda Katherine Kaye

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Learned Helplessness ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Fear Of Missing Out ◽

Self Study ◽

Smartphone Use ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

Insight Into

The role of smartphones within education has received a lot of media and academic attention. This has typically focused on their use in the classroom, within tutor-directed sessions. However, less has been focused on how smartphone use is negotiated within self-study. Using semi-structured interviews, the current study sought to explore final year undergraduate students’ (N = 6) strategies for smartphone self-regulation during self-study time and the extent to which these strategies were effective. IPA revealed three main themes: “Urgency, Context and Consistency”, “Learned Helplessness” and “Fear of Missing out (FoMO)”. The findings extend our understanding of how conceptual frameworks such as self-regulation apply to smartphone regulation during self-study, and provide insight into the barriers for effective regulatory behaviour. Implications for both self-study efficacy and smartphone regulation are discussed.

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The use and evaluation of self-regulation techniques can predict health goal attainment in adults: an explorative study

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1493 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Jolien Plaete ◽

Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij ◽

Maite Verloigne ◽

Geert Crombez

Keyword(s):

Goal Attainment ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

Implementation Intentions ◽

Action Plan ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Implementation Intention ◽

Optimal Number ◽

Ehealth Intervention ◽

Personal Advice

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.

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Goal Attainment

The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190666453.013.14 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 245-268

Author(s):

Peter M. Gollwitzer ◽

Gabriele Oettingen

Keyword(s):

Goal Attainment ◽

Intervention Studies ◽

Implementation Intentions ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Goal Pursuit ◽

The Self ◽

Mental Contrasting ◽

History Of ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

Underlying Processes

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.

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More than planned: Implementation intention effects in non-planned situations

10.31234/osf.io/cys5f ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Maik Bieleke ◽

Eve Legrand ◽

Astrid Mignon ◽

Peter M Gollwitzer

Keyword(s):

Goal Attainment ◽

Implementation Intentions ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Object Classification ◽

Implementation Intention ◽

Classification Task ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Speed And Accuracy ◽

Critical Situations

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.

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Adopting online lecturing for improved learning: A case study from teacher education

Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice ◽

10.53761/1.12.3.9 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 108-127

Author(s):

Marie Quinn ◽

◽

Shannon Kennedy-Clark ◽

Keyword(s):

Mixed Method ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Design Feature ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Reflective Journals ◽

Video Lectures ◽

Self Study ◽

Improved Learning ◽

Method Approach

This paper presents the results of a study that examined the integration of video lectures into a preservice teacher unit of study. The aim of the research was to ascertain how students used the prerecorded videos to complement their learning. The focus was on the pedagogy, and explored three factors: convenience, self-regulation of learning and design to aid learning. A mixed method approach to the data collection was used. Data sources included reflective journals, surveys and semi-structured interviews. An analysis of the data indicates that the pre-service teachers viewed the use of pre-recorded lectures positively and that they were a useful resource for self-study. The use of a webcam was also viewed positively as a design feature of the lectures. Overall, the responses to the innovation were positive.

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The use and evaluation of self-regulation techniques can predict health goal attainment in adults: an explorative study

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.1666 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. e1666 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jolien Plaete ◽

Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij ◽

Maite Verloigne ◽

Geert Crombez

Keyword(s):

Goal Attainment ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

Implementation Intentions ◽

Action Plan ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Implementation Intention ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

Health Goal ◽

Personal Advice

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.

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Self-Regulatory Perspectives in the Theory of Planned Job Search Behavior: Deliberate and Automatic Self-Regulation Strategies to Facilitate Job Seeking

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199764921.013.31 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Edwin van Hooft

Keyword(s):

Job Search ◽

Implementation Intentions ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Search Behavior ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Self Control ◽

Future Research ◽

Job Search Behavior ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

Search Behaviors

Because job search often is a lengthy process accompanied by complexities, disruptions, rejections, and other adversities, job seekers need self-regulation to initiate and maintain job search behaviors for obtaining employment goals. This chapter reviews goal/intention properties (e.g., specificity, proximity, conflicts, motivation type) and skills, beliefs, strategies, and capacities (e.g., self-monitoring skills and type, trait and momentary self-control capacity, nonlimited willpower beliefs, implementation intentions, goal-shielding and goal maintenance strategies) that facilitate self-regulation and as such may moderate the relationship between job search intentions and job search behavior. For each moderator, a theoretical rationale is developed based on self-regulation theory linked to the theory of planned job search behavior, available empirical support is reviewed, and future research recommendations are provided. The importance of irrationality and nonconscious processes is discussed; examples are given of hypoegoic self-regulation strategies that reduce the need for deliberate self-regulation and conscious control by automatizing job search behaviors.

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