Table 1
Examples of Possible Implementation Intentions Geared at Resolving Self-Regulatory Problems in Failing to Get Started with Goal Striving and Getting Derailed.
| Self-Regulatory |
Problem Example of Implementation Intention |
Relevant Studies |
| Failing to Get Started |
| Remembering to act |
[1. Goal is to increase physical activity]
And if it is 5pm on Monday, then I will jog home from work! |
Chasteen, Park, and Schwarz (2001) xClose
Chasteen, A. L., Park, D. C., & Schwarz, N. (2001). Implementation intentions and facilitation of prospective memory. Psychological Science, 12, 457-461.; Gollwitzer and Brandstätter (1997, Study 2) xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Brandstätter, V. (1997). Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 186-199.; Koestner et al. (2002) xClose
Koestner, R., Lekes, N., Powers, T. A., & Chicoine, E. (2002). Attaining personal goals: Self-concordance plus implementation intentions equals success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 231-244.; Sheeran and Orbell (1999) xClose
Sheeran, P., & Orbell, S. (1999). Implementation intentions and repeated behavior: Augmenting the predictive validity of the theory of planned behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 349-369.. |
| Missing opportunities |
[2. Goal is to obtain health and safety training] As soon as I receive the list of courses, then I will immediately make the phone call to book my place on the first course! |
Brändstatter, Lengfelder, and Gollwitzer (2001, Study 1) xClose
Brandstätter, V., Lengfelder, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2001). Implementation intentions and efficient action initiation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 946-960.; Dholakia & Bagozzi (2003) xClose
Dholakia, U. M., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2003). As time goes by: How goal and implementation intentions influence enactment of short-fuse behaviors. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33, 889-922.; Gollwitzer and Brandstätter (1997, Study 3) xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Brandstätter, V. (1997). Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 186-199.; Oettingen, Hönig, and Gollwitzer (2000, Study 3) xClose
Oettingen, G., Hönig, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2000). Effective self-regulation of goal attainment. International Journal of Educational Research, 33, 705-732.; Sheeran and Orbell (2000) xClose
Sheeran, P., & Orbell, S. (2000). Using implementation intentions to increase attendance for cervical cancer screening. Health Psychology, 19, 283-289.; Sheeran and Silverman (2003) xClose
Sheeran, P., & Silverman, M. (2003). Evaluation of three interventions to promote workplace health and safety: Evidence for the utility of implementation intentions. Social Science and Medicine, 56, 2153-2163.. |
| Initial reluctance |
[3. Goal is to eat healthily] And if it is Saturday at 10am, then I will select 5 low-fat dishes from my cook book to make during the week! |
Bayer and Gollwitzer (2007) xClose
Bayer, C., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2007). Boosting scholastic test scores by willpower: The role of implementation intentions. Self and Identity, 6, 1-19.; Orbell and Sheeran (2000) xClose
Orbell, S., & Sheeran, P. (2000). Motivational and volitional processes in action initiation: A field study of the role of implementation intentions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 780-797.; Prestwich, Lawton, and Conner (2003) xClose
Prestwich, A., Lawton, R., & Conner, M. (2003). Use of implementation intentions and the decision balance sheet in promoting exercise behavior. Psychology and Health, 18, 707-721.; Sheeran, Webb, and Gollwitzer (2005, Study 1) xClose
Sheeran, P., Webb, T. L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2005). The interplay between goal intentions and implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 87-98.. |
| Getting Derailed |
| Unwanted attention responses |
[4. Goal is to reduce intake of high-fat snacks] And if I start to think about my favorite snack, then I will immediately ignore that thought! |
Achtziger, Gollwitzer, and Sheeran (2007) xClose
Achtziger, A., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2007). Implementation intentions and shielding goal striving from unwanted thoughts and feelings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.; Gawrilow and Gollwitzer (in press) xClose
Gawrilow, C., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (in press). Implementation intentions facilitate response inhibition in ADHD children. Cognitive Therapy and Research.; Gollwitzer and Schaal (1998) xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Schaal, B. (1998). Metacognition in action: The importance of implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2, 124-136.; Paul, Gawrilow, Zech, Gollwitzer, Rockstroh, Odenthal, Kratzer, and Wienbruch (2007) xClose
Paul, I., Gawrilow, C., Zech, F., Gollwitzer, P. M., Rockstroh, B., Odenthal, G., Kratzer, W., & Wienbruch, C. (2007). If-then planning modulates the P300 in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. NeuroReport, 18, 653-657.. |
| Falling prey to bad habits |
[5. Goal is to increase physical activity] And if I have walked up one flight of stairs and see the elevator, then I will tell myself ‘I can do it! I can take the stairs all the way up to my office!’ |
Cohen, Bayer, Jaudas, and Gollwitzer (2008) xClose
Cohen, A.-L., Bayer, U. C., Jaudas, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). Self-regulatory strategy and executive control: Implementation intentions modulate task switching and Simon task performance. Psychological Research, 72, 12-26.; Holland, Aarts, and Langendam (2006) xClose
Holland, R. W., Aarts, H., & Langendam, D. (2006). Breaking and creating habits on the working floor: A field-experiment on the power of implementation intentions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 776-783.; Verplanken and Faes (1999) xClose
Verplanken, B., & Faes, S. (1999). Good intentions, bad habits, and effects of forming implementation intentions on healthy eating. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 591-604. |
| Detrimental self-states |
[6. Goal is to remain calm in an anxiety-provoking situation] And if my heart starts to race, then I will start my breathing exercise! |
Gollwitzer and Bayer (2000) xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Bayer, U. C. (2000, October). Becoming a better person without changing the self. Paper presented at the Self and Identity Pre-conference of the Annual Meeting of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, Atlanta, Georgia.; Gollwitzer, Sheeran, Michalski, and Seifert (2008) xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M., Sheeran, P., Michalski, V., & Seifert, A. E. (2008). When intentions go public: Does social reality widen the intention-behavior gap. Manuscript under review.; Schweiger, Gallo, and Gollwitzer (2007) xClose
Schweiger Gallo, I., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2007). Implementation intentions: Control of fear despite cognitive load. Psicothema, 19, 280-285.; Sheeran, Aubrey, and Kellett (2007) xClose
Sheeran, P., Aubrey, R., & Kellett, S. (2007). Increasing attendance for psychotherapy: Implementation intentions and the self-regulation of attendance-related negative affect. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 853-863.. |
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