intention-behaviour gap Flashcards
define intention
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
are attitudes good behavioural predictors?
no - effect of attitudes is mediated by intention
mediator vs moderator
- mediator = mechanisms (e.g. intention mediates attidudes and behaviour)
- moderator = variable changing strength of relationship
influence of past behaviour on intentions
reflecting on past behaviour to determine intention -> no actual intention, but copying past behaviour - unconscious influences
how to study intention-behaviour experimentally
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
reasons for failing to act on intention (5)
- 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
impact of monitoring goal progress on behaviours
more monitoring = more progress
visible vs invisible progress (chocolate study)
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
why do people monitor goals or not?
(2 why, 1 why not)
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
different ways of monitoring impact on goals
monitor behaviours or outcomes - whichever you measure will be impacted
therefore monitoring exercise when your goal is to loose weight isn’t as effective
what impacts effect monitoring progress has:
reference values
public/private
recorded/not recorded
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
HAPA
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
action planning
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
coping planning
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
rubicon model of action phases (4)
- pre-decisional phase = deliberation over which goal to pursue and forming an intention - similar to motivational phase in HAPA
- pre-actional phase = when where and how to act
- action phase = behaviour is initiated and maintained if necessary
- post-actional phase = outcome is evaluated against desired - similar to monitoring progress
implementation intentions
if-then planning
IF = opportunity to act
THEN = goal directed response
implementation intention experiment - students completing tasks
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
planning and goal achievement experiment - students needing tetanus shots
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
planning and goal achievement experiment - gamblers
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
planning and goal achievement experiment - cervical smear (+ eval)
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)
meta-analysis of HAPA studies findings - post-intentional phase
intention strength effects likelihood to make plans - medium effect size
effect of forming implementation intentions - meta-analysis
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
action vs coping plans with intention to exercise after cardiac problems study
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)
how implementation intentions work (2 reasons)
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
“f” counting study
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
habitual use of bikes study (Eindhoven - Netherlands)
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
mechanisms of implementation intentions (4 stages)
- implementation intention in if-then format
- heightened cue accessibility and strong cue-response link
- strategic automaticity - opportunities identified quickly and easily without conscious deliberation - remaining flexible and sensitive to goal
- goal achievement
