Intention-behaviour Gap

Question 1

Third variable problem

Answer 1

Never be sure our thoughts cause our actions, could always be unconscious causes that has produced them both

Illusory correlation

Question 2

Brubaker & Fowler (1990)

Answer 2

Persuasive message delivered

Asked about intentions to have testicular self examination

Ppts had stronger intentions when provided with message

Intentions cause behaviour -> see correspondence

Question 3

Webb & Sheeran (2006)

Answer 3

Larger changed intentions didn’t lead to changed behaviour, only medium changed behaviour

People do have wilful control over their responses, difference in reality compared to intention is smaller

Question 4

Why do people fail to act on their intentions

Sheeran et al (2005)

Answer 4

Intention viability:
-impossible for some decisions to find expression in absence of resources

Counter-intentional habits:
-intentions have smaller effects on behaviours performed frequently in similar situations

Lack of resources:
-supportive environment

Intention activation:

• extent to which contextual demands alter salience, direction or intensity
• conflicting goals= original intention ‘deactivated’

Deactivated intentions:

• forgotten
• reprioritised

Intention elaboration:
-people fail to elaborate in sufficient detail how to go about performing intended action

Question 5

De bruin et al (2012)

Answer 5

Monitoring progress and responding to discrepancies = leads to behaviours / goal achievement

Question 6

Harkin, Webb et all (2016)

Answer 6

Interventions have large effect on monitoring, before intervention people not monitoring behaviour

Corresponding change in behaviour

Question 7

Evans et al (1999)

Answer 7

Type 1 diabetes

16% no prescription

20% enough prescriptions

Monitoring makes you confront unpleasant truth

Question 8

Ostrich problem

Answer 8

Motivated avoidance or rejection of information about goal progress

Question 9

Reference values

Answer 9

Desired future target

Past

Others

-Active or passive ways of monitoring behaviour

Question 10

Monitoring

Answer 10

Public monitoring:
-progress monitored in public context

Private monitoring (reported):
-privately monitored, info reported to someone else

Private monitoring (not reported):
-privately monitored, info not reported to anyone else 

Have to face unpleasant truth when public monitoring or reported private monitoring

Question 11

Action planning

Answer 11

Process of linking goal-directed behaviours to certain environmental cues specifying when, where and how to act

Question 12

Action planning mechanisms

Answer 12

Assists individuals in identifying salient cues that lead to action

Cues then trigger intended action

Helps people get started

Question 13

Coping planning

Answer 13

Identifying barriers that might derail intended actions, forming plans to manage or overcome them

Question 14

Coping planning mechanisms

Answer 14

Helps person to overcome obstacles and cope with difficulties by anticipating personal risk situations and planning coping responses in detail

Prevents goal striving being derailed by obstacles

Question 15

Leventhal et al (1965)

Answer 15

Tetanus shot
Manipulated fear:
-high fear condition: words constructed and photos used

Action planning condition:

• told location of health services, times that shots were available
• requested each student to review schedule and get a jab

Question 16

Rodda et al (2019)

Answer 16

Assessment only:
-ppts described readiness to use strategies to limit their gambling spending that day

Assessment plus action and coping planning:

• ppts specified how, what and when they would implement strategy
• identified barriers and ways of addressing them and constructed if then plan

Those in intervention group spent less than intended, those in assessment spent allocated amount