intention-behaviour gap

Question 1

define intention

Answer 1

self-instruction to perform particular behaviours or to obtain certain outcomes
indication of how hard you will try or effort will be exerted to achieve outcomes

Question 2

are attitudes good behavioural predictors?

Answer 2

no - effect of attitudes is mediated by intention

Question 3

mediator vs moderator

Answer 3

• mediator = mechanisms (e.g. intention mediates attidudes and behaviour)
• moderator = variable changing strength of relationship

Question 4

influence of past behaviour on intentions

Answer 4

reflecting on past behaviour to determine intention -> no actual intention, but copying past behaviour - unconscious influences

Question 5

how to study intention-behaviour experimentally

Answer 5

manipulate intention and the follow-up behaviour
see to what extent changes in intention lead to behaviour change

interventions have large impact on intention but much smaller on behaviour - other variables

Question 6

reasons for failing to act on intention (5)

Answer 6

• intention viability - impossible because of lack of abilities, resources, opportunities
• counter intentional habits - smaller impact on frequent behaviours
• lack of resources - e.g. food in plastic packaging is unavoidable
• intention activation - context and conflicting goals change intensity of intention relative to other intentions e.g. rushing because you’re almost late is more important than finding a recycling bin
• intention elaboration - saying “eat healthy” doesn’t say how to perform this - too broad

Question 7

impact of monitoring goal progress on behaviours

Answer 7

more monitoring = more progress

Question 8

visible vs invisible progress (chocolate study)

Answer 8

dieters asked to taste test chocolates and report back
one group put wrappers in bin and other left on table
table group ate less - restrained with public attention and being able to see how many they have eaten - confronted with it

Question 9

why do people monitor goals or not?
(2 why, 1 why not)

Answer 9

good:
* identify discrepancies - where you are and where you want to be
* allocation of effort between goals

why not
* confronting unpleasant truth - progress isn’t that good

Question 9

different ways of monitoring impact on goals

Answer 9

monitor behaviours or outcomes - whichever you measure will be impacted
therefore monitoring exercise when your goal is to loose weight isn’t as effective

Question 9

what impacts effect monitoring progress has:
reference values
public/private
recorded/not recorded

Answer 9

reference values:
* comparison to where you were before
* comparison to where you are trying to go
* comparison to others
effect is very similar for before vs after comparison

public vs private:
* public e.g. weight watchers
* private reported
* private not reported
more public is much more effective - not reported is by far least effective

recorded vs not recorded
recorded progress is much more effective

Question 10

HAPA

Answer 10

health action process approach
preintentional phase - motivational process:
action self-efficacy and outcome expectancies influence intention

post-intentional phase - volitional processes:
volitional self-efficacy, action planning and coping planning lead to behaviour

intention as the starting point for wilful action

Question 11

action planning

Answer 11

link goal-directed behaviour to environmental cues by specifying when, where, and how to act
mediates intention with coping planning
identifies cues which can trigger action
helps start behaviours

Question 12

coping planning

Answer 12

identify potential barriers to intended action and plan to manage/overcome them
mental stimulation of overcoming anticipated barriers
mediates intention with action planning
prevents goal striving being derailed

Question 13

rubicon model of action phases (4)

Answer 13

1. pre-decisional phase = deliberation over which goal to pursue and forming an intention - similar to motivational phase in HAPA
2. pre-actional phase = when where and how to act
3. action phase = behaviour is initiated and maintained if necessary
4. post-actional phase = outcome is evaluated against desired - similar to monitoring progress

Question 14

implementation intentions

Answer 14

if-then planning
IF = opportunity to act
THEN = goal directed response

Question 15

implementation intention experiment - students completing tasks

Answer 15

2 conditions:
* goal intention = i will perform [task] on wednesday at [select time]
* implementation intetion = if it is wednesday at [select time] then i will perform [task]

results:
commitment to task didn’t vary
time when task was completed did vary
implementation intention did the task 100 mins late vs 480 mins late in goal intention condition

Question 16

planning and goal achievement experiment - students needing tetanus shots

Answer 16

manipulated fear = showed impact tetanus would have
manipulated action planning = told where and when to go to get what and asked to look at schedule to find a time they could go get it

results:
fear wasn’t very effective but action plan was

very small sample - 59 in groups were eligible and only 9 got it - 8 from action plan condition

Question 17

planning and goal achievement experiment - gamblers

Answer 17

184 gamblers going into a casino measured using index of gambling severity
reported intended spend before entering
2 conditions:
* assessment = described readiness to use strategies to limit spending
* assessment and action and coping plan = specified how, what and when to implement strategy, identified barriers and how to address these - if-then plan

results:
problem gamblers spent much less than intended with action plan

limits - problem gamblers spent same in both conditions but intentions were very different - not consistent data

Question 18

planning and goal achievement experiment - cervical smear (+ eval)

Answer 18

114 women due one - idea that women don’t go as they have to phone to book
2 conditions:
* control = questionnaire
* implementation intention = questionnaire + told they are more likely to go if they plan when and where, then asked to write when, where, and how they’ll book an appointment
measured attendance at screening over 3 months (from medical records)

results:
92% attendance in experimental vs 69% in control

positives:
objective behavioural measure used
random allocation of conditions
real life - applications to medicine

negatives:
demand effects - do what they think experiment wants them to do
more similar to an action plan than implementation intention (If-then)

Question 19

meta-analysis of HAPA studies findings - post-intentional phase

Answer 19

intention strength effects likelihood to make plans - medium effect size

Question 20

effect of forming implementation intentions - meta-analysis

Answer 20

medium effect size on behaviour (0.67)
effective across:
* published and unpublished
* student and non-student participants
* self-report and objective measures
* behaviour types and self-regulatory problems

Question 21

action vs coping plans with intention to exercise after cardiac problems study

Answer 21

after 2 months - action and coping have very little effect, older = less active, more active before = more active after
after 4 months - age isn’t predictive any longer, previous activity is a stronger predictor, action planning = no effect, coping planning = small effect

conclusions:
coding planning is more effective later on
idea that action plans help initiate behaviours (not shown by these results tho)

Question 22

how implementation intentions work (2 reasons)

Answer 22

heightened cue accessibility = environment triggers association so behaviour becomes accessible - perceptually ready to encounter situation

strong cue-response links = association means no deliberation is needed when situation is encountered about what to do - automatic activation of response

Question 23

“f” counting study

Answer 23

asked to count number of fs in a paragraph
2 conditions:
goal intention:
* i intend to count all the fs
* i intend to count all the fs on my fingers
implementation intention condition:
*as soon as i see the letter f, i will add one more to my count
*as soon as i see the letter f, i will count it on my fingers

results = more successful at getting correct number in implementation intention condition

Question 24

habitual use of bikes study (Eindhoven - Netherlands)

Answer 24

measured extent to which cycling was habitual - how often they go by bike
random allocation to either plan travel goals or plan how to fix puncture (control)
association task of a location and mode of transport - asked to say whether it is realistic to travel there
measured speed of identifying cycling as appropriate on 5 critical trials

results:
habitual were much faster than nonhabitual in control condition
both were faster in experimental condition than control

Question 25

mechanisms of implementation intentions (4 stages)

Answer 25

1. implementation intention in if-then format
2. heightened cue accessibility and strong cue-response link
3. strategic automaticity - opportunities identified quickly and easily without conscious deliberation - remaining flexible and sensitive to goal
4. goal achievement