Lecture 8: Implementation Intentions

Question 1

intention-behaviour gap =

Answer 1

gap between one’s intention/goals and one’s behaviour.

Question 2

theory of planned behaviour=

Answer 2

the idea that motivation is the most important determinant of behaviour. in addition, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (self-efficacy) are important factors.

Question 3

wat liet onderzoek zien over de factor die tussen intenties en behaviour zit

Answer 3

Participants that either ate fast-food often or sporadically were monitored for their intention and frequency of buying fast-food. Results showed that intentions were a good predictor of behavior in those who infrequently ate fast-food in the past (no habit). However, as the frequency of behavior increases, the habit becomes a better predictor of behavior.

-> habits seem to contribute to the gap between intentions and behaviour.

Question 4

ways we can measure habits in real life

Answer 4

• field experiment (popcorn)
• self-report (frequency measures, response generating measure)

Question 5

field experiment van habits in de gap tussen intentie en behaviour

Answer 5

Cinema-visitors were given free popcorn, of which one half got fresh popcorn and the other half got stale popcorn (made 7 days before). Participants indicated how frequently they ate popcorn in theaters in the past on a 7-point scale (ranging from always to never). After the movie, the amount of popcorn
eaten by each participant was measured. Results showed that:
* Low/moderate habit: those that didn’t eat popcorn that frequently in the past ate more of the fresh
popcorn than from the stale popcorn.
* High habit: those that often ate popcorn in the past ate as much fresh popcorn as stale popcorn.

-> The incentive value of the stimulus does not matter anymore when habits are involved.

When this experiment was done in an unrelated context (meeting room), all participants ate more of the fresh popcorn than from the stale popcorn.

-> Habits depend on repetition of behavior in a certain context, after which this context becomes a trigger of the behavior.

Question 6

self-report frequency measures =

Answer 6

directly ask about the frequency of past behaviour and about the stability of the context

Question 7

response generating measure=

Answer 7

ask to which the frequency of a certain answer is counted. bijv. Self-Report Behavioural Automaticity Index (SRBA).

Question 8

While habits are efficient (easy, fast, low effort), they are also inflexible: intentions do not directly change the strength of the S-R associations. Thus, it can be hard to change habits.

Answer 8

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Question 9

implementation intentions: waarvoor kan je het gebruiken

Answer 9

Using IIs have been shown to promote the initiation of desired behavior (more fruit and vegetables, vitamin C intake) as well as to reduce undesired behaviors (smoking, unhealthy snacking).

Question 10

mechanisms of IIs

Answer 10

• cues more accessible
• creating ‘instant habits’

Question 11

coupon collection study

Answer 11

Students were asked to collect a coupon for the cafeteria from the secretary’s office. Half were asked to plan when/where/how they would collect the coupon (planning condition), while half was just asked how they would spend it (control condition). A lexical decision task (LDT) was used to measure cue accessibility.

Results showed that those in the planning condition reacted faster in the LDT. Further, they collected the coupon more often than the control condition and this was mediated by accessibility.

-> IIs result in higher cue accessibility and more implementation of behavior.

Question 12

experiment to measure accessibility and automaticity

Answer 12

Students were told they were going to do a primed lexical decision task and were divided into 2 groups:

• Goal intention (GI) group: were given the instruction to speed up their response to a nonword ‘avenda’ by familiarizing themselves with it.
• Implementation intention (II) group: were asked to formulate the II ‘If I see avenda, then I will press the key especially quickly’.

There were 2 ways in which the task was performed to measure both cue accessibility and S-R strength:
1. Cue accessibility: avenda was presented as the target.
2. S-R strength: avenda was presented as the prime and ‘press’ was the target.

Results showed that the II group was faster than the GI group to respond when avenda was the target and faster to respond to ‘press’ when avenda was the prime.

-> IIs result in high cue accessibility and stronger S-R links in memory.

Question 13

even kijken naar deze samenvatting voor measures van accessibility en s-r strength

Answer 13

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Question 14

7 steps to behaviour change

Answer 14

1. choose a behaviour you are highly motivated to change
2. determine the critical cue: when is the habit performed?
3. determine if this critical cue can be avoided or changed
4. link the right action to the critical cue (if it cannot be avoided)
5. continuosly monitor your behaviour and adapt the right action (bv als je klaar bent met appels eten)
6. take small steps and do not form multiple IIs for related behaviour at a time
7. celebrate your success (reinforcement!)

Question 15

hoe kan je de critical cue bepalen

Answer 15

• cue monitoring diary: recording the behaviour and the cue for a few days
• mental contrasting: contrasting positive future siutations with the reality can raise awareness of critical cues that hinder this goal realization.

Question 16

wat is de goede manier om de actie te linken aan de critical cue

Answer 16

Naming the old habit in the II is generally not advised: research shows that it actually strengthens the S-R relationship (even more than simple goal-intention). In contrast, formulating an II with a replacement behavior works better.

-> An ‘If…, then NOT…’ (negotiation) structure heightens accessibility of the habit and leads to more habitual behavior: a replacement in the form of ‘If…, then…’ is preferable.

Question 17

wat als je meerdere IIs vormt voor gerelateerd gedrag

Answer 17

Once 1 II has worked and a habit is formed, the next can be considered. Formulating multiple plans (for related behavior) jeopardizes their effectiveness: studies show that this resulted in no change, except for when the plans were unrelated to each other.

Question 18

theory of planned behaviour

Answer 18

• Intention (the motivation required to perform a particular behavior) as the proximal determinant of behavior
• Attitudes: general pos/neg evaluation of behavior
• Subjective norms: global perception of social
  pressure
• Perceived behavioral control, related to ‘self-
  efficacy

Question 19

motivational models =

Answer 19

• Health Belief Model
• Theory of Reasoned Action
• Theory of Planned Behavior

Question 20

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

Answer 20

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Question 21

Diary research suggests that almost half of
our daily behaviours is performed in the
same manner in the same situations

Answer 21

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Question 22

the role of habits in trasnport

Answer 22

• Phase 1: Habit strength measures of car use (past frequency & response frequency), and measures derived from Theory of Planned Behavior regarding transport by car versus alternatives
• Phase 2: 7-day transport diary

Results:
* Habit best predictor of car use!
* Habit X Intention interaction (intention only predictive when habit
is weak)

Question 23

the role of habits in snacking

Answer 23

• Phase 1: Habit strength measure (SRHI) and intention regarding snacking, and Power of Food questionnaire
• Phase 2 (1 month later): 7-day snack diary

Results: Habit strength best predictor of unhealthy snacking!

Question 24

• Behavior change is challenging → ‘Intention-behavior gap’ (Webb &
  Sheeran, 2006)
• Much of our daily behavior is habitual.
• Real-life habits can be measured directly with: SRHI, SRBAI, primed lexical decision task. An indirect indication can be obtained from past frequency (x context) and response frequency.
• Intention X Habit interaction
  – Weak habits: intentions are predictive
  – Strong habits: no effect of intentions

Answer 24

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Question 25

1. Outcome-devaluation test
2. Primed lexical decision task
3. Sign tracking test
4. Past frequency x Context stability
   measure

Answer 25

3

Question 26

Habits and II’s are both mediated
by S-R association, but this association is
established in a different manner:

Answer 26

habit = repetition
II = conscious planning

Question 27

wat meet je met lexical decision task

Answer 27

cue accessibility

Question 28

2 working mechanisms implementation intentions:

Answer 28

– If: heightened cue accessibility
– If-Then: strong S-R link leads to strategic automaticity

(furthermore, II’s promote behavioral repetition in a stable context, so also gradual habit formation)

Question 29

Step 1: Choose a behavior that you are highly motivated to change.

Answer 29

• Strong intention and intrinsic motivation are crucial for effectiveness of implementation intentions (see review by Prestwich
  et al., 2006)
• Combination with Motivational Interviewing could be beneficial

Question 30

Step 2: Determine the critical cue: in which situation do you carry out the “bad habit”?

Answer 30

• Preferentially this is a cue (or behavior) that reliably precedes the behavior and that can easily be noticed.
• External vs. internal cue (e.g. boredom, stress)?

Question 31

soorten cues bij step 3: determining the critical cue

Answer 31

• Situational cues (‘If I come home and I feel like a snack, then I will eat an apple!’)
• Motivational cues (comparable with internal cues) (‘If I am bored and I feel like a snack, then I will eat an apple!’)
• Dependent variable: change in snacking?

Question 32

habit discontinuity hypothesis

Answer 32

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)

Question 33

ironic process theory

Answer 33

Attempts to suppress a thought actually render it more salient and makes one móre conscious of it.

Question 34

verschil negotion II and replacement II

Answer 34

• Negation II: If ‘situation X’, then I won’t eat chocolate! (eigenlijk niet de oude habit noemen in de II!) -> dit is NIET effectief omdat je de accessibility groter maakt, en leidt tot meer habitual behaviour.
• Replacement II: If ‘situation X’, then I will eat an apple instead of chocolate! -> dit is wel goed

Question 35

dus niet if, then NOT, maar alleen if, then

Answer 35

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Question 36

conclusie van adriaanse et al

Answer 36

• Old association becomes weaker.
• New associations becomes stronger.
  → no cognitive advantage of habitual response

Question 37

One plan to reduce snacking at a time: It’s ok to make multiple plans, just not related plans.

Answer 37

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Question 38

• Are based on strong motivation
• Specify a (personal) critical cue
• For snacking internal cues may be better than external
• Relate the critical cue to a new instrumental response
• Are not formulated in a negation format ☺
• Consist of 1 (related) if-then association
• Can be used as a metacognitive strategy

Answer 38

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Question 39

hoe moet je cue reactivity/accessibility dus meten

Answer 39

lexical decision task