L6: Implementation Intentions

Question 1

Define compulsivity

Answer 1

Common underlying processes play a role in behavior that is continued despite explicit knowledge of devastating negative consequences in various disorders (learning & motivational processes involved (like pavlovian & operant conditioning, positive/negative reinforcement & punishing), neurobio processes)

Question 2

What endophenotype?

Answer 2

measurable trait or characteristic that links genetic factors to complex psychopathology

Question 3

What is the intention-behaviour gap?

Answer 3

the phenomenon that people have explicit decisions to change their behavior but fail to take action (medium-large change in intention -> small-to-medium change in behaviour)
- poses challenge for motivational models (these say that intention is the main determinant of behaviour)
- actually habits play big role in determining behaviour (law of effect)

Question 4

Define habit

Answer 4

instrumental responses that are triggered by stimuli, and that do not depend on the current motivation for the outcome of the behavior

Question 5

Which test can be used to determine whether behavior is habitual?

Answer 5

Outcome-devaluation test

Question 6

Name and explain different methods for measuring habits

Answer 6

• field experiment
• self report measures
• primed lexical decision task

Question 7

How can you use a field experiment to measure habits?

Answer 7

field experiment of snacking habits (eating popcorn in the cinema)
- on 7point scale particpants had to say how frequently they ate popcorn in cinema in the past (always to never)
- cinema visitors randomly assigned to either receive fresh or stale popcorn
- measured how much popcorn was eaten
hihgh habits particpants: stale = fresh amounts eaten
low/moderate habit particpatns = stale<fresh
this only happened in cinema context (not in meeting room context) ->CONTEXT VERY IMPORTANT

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of self report measures for measuring habits?

Answer 8

• subjective
• self report of automatic behaviour is hard
• nonetheless, there is evidence that such measures can reliably predict behaviour

Question 9

How can you use self report measures to measure real life habits?

Answer 9

• frequency measures (frequency of past behaviour, past frequency x context stability)
• response generating measure (response frequency measure, how often do people bike to school)
• questionnaires that tap into the subjective experience of habit/automaticity (self report habit index, self report behavioural automaticity index)

Question 10

How does the primed lexical deicison task solve some of the self report measure disadvantages?

Answer 10

• its an objective measure
• it indicates associative stimulus response (S-R) strength

Question 11

How can you use Primed lexical decision task work to measure real life habits?

Answer 11

+ is shown, then a subliminal prime (like lecture or bar) shown, then mask of the prime, then a word or non word and they have to press left or right key to say if its a word or non word
-> reaction time shows the association of the strength between the subliminal prime & the target word (measure assocaition between lecture & coffee for example)

Question 12

What is the intention x habit interaction like?

Answer 12

weak habits: intentions are predictive
strong habits: no effect of intentions

Question 13

what is the advantage of habits? disadvantage?

Answer 13

pro: they are efficient (easy, fast, low effort) so you can free up cognitive space for other things
con: cognitive inflexibility (hard to break the habit)

Question 14

What are Implementation intentions?

Answer 14

• if-then plans that link a critical cue to an instrumental action
• used to promote initiation of desired behaviour & reduce undesired behaviour
• strategic planning to make & break habits
• bridges intention-behaviour gap

Question 15

How do Implementation intentions work?

Answer 15

by consciously connecting 2 things (if then) which makes an instant habit -> Strategic automaticity

both habits & IIs mediated by s-r associations, but established in different manner:
- habit: through repetition
- II: through conscious planning

2 working mechanisms
HEIGHTENED CUE ACCESSIBLITY -> ENHANCED DETECTION OF THE SPECIFIED SITUATION

STRONG CUE-RESPONSE LINKS -> AUTOMATIZATION OF RESPONDING

Question 16

How can IIs be used to form new habits & break existing ones?

Answer 16

1. choose behaviour that you’re highly motivated to change (strong intention & intrinsic motivation are crucial for effectiveness of IIs, combo w MI could be beneficial)
2. determine the critical cue: in which situation do you carry out the “bad habit”?, which “if” (do you always snack when watching netflix?). preferentially this is a cue (or behaviour) that reliably precedes the behaviour & that can easily be noticed. personalized internal cues very important (like boredom or stress)
3. can the critical cue easily be avoided/changed? (habit discontinuity hypothesis) -> avoid/change the context to promote the desired behaviour (ex; foodscapes using healthy snacks). but not always feasible…
4. link the right action to your critical cue. Which then? if watch tv & feel like snacking then i wont eat cookies (negation II, doesnt work! cause u become more aware of cookies), instead use replacement II (if netflix then eat apple, this makes the new habit stronger than the old habit)
5. continue to monitor your behaviour & adjust your plan if its no longer optimal
6. Once you have formed this habit, you can consider
   changing other habits. Small steps!
7. celebrate your success!

Question 17

How can you determine the triggers of your bad habits? step 2 of changing behaviour

Answer 17

strategy 1: cue monitoring diary
strategy 2: mental contrasting (contrast positive future if u change ur behaviour with negative reality) (app woop)

Question 18

What are the 2 reasons why mental contrasting works to determine the critical cue?

Answer 18

• raises awareness of the distance from the goal -> goal commitment
• aids identification of obstacles/critical cues that hinder goal realization -> if…!

Question 19

What is the habit discontinuity hypothesis?

Answer 19

Avoiding the old context disrupts old S-R habits, which may allow one to rethink and initiate new behaviours and choices.
-> stimulus control (avoid habit trigger/critical cue) aka change the context to promote the desired behaviour

Question 20

What are the mechanisms of habits in substance use?

Answer 20

• substance use often starts as goal directed but becomes habitual (automatic & triggered by specific cues)
• as the habits strenghten, they become less sensitive to changes even if negative consequences occur, so more compuslive

Question 21

Could IIs be effective for stopping/reducing substance (ab)use?

Answer 21

• IIs have been shown to be effective in reducing smoking (but less effective in deeply ingrained smoking behaviours) & drinking in sub clinical samples

Question 22

Can IIS be used to treat compulsive behaviour in mental disorders?

Answer 22

promising results in treatment of:
- self harm
- psychotherapy attendance

Question 23

What are still the challenges in implementing IIs in the treatment of mental disorders & addiction?

Answer 23

• deeply ingrained behaviour, especially w long history of reinforcement is hard by IIs. need extensive training & repeated practice
• IIs should be part of broader therapeutic strategy (for example w CBT, CBM, MI etc)
• IIs should be personalized to individual triggers & context

Question 24

How does the cognitive advantage of habits change when IIs are introduced?

Answer 24

IIs remove the cognitive advantage of habitual responses, making the alternative behaviour equally accesible which can help break unwanted habits
but this doesnt immediately create a new habit but just increases flexibility in behaviour choices
so strong goal intentions are crucial for the effectiveness of IIs in breaking habits since u need to repetitvely choose the alternative response in the critical situation