Projects (First Support Period)
| Project 4: | The limits of action control by implementation intentions |
| Field: | Motivation psychology |
| Project manager: | Prof. Dr. Peter Gollwitzer |
| Project agent: | Dr. Frank Wieber |
Project Description
The intention to achieve a goal does not necessarily lead to the initiation of actions that promote goal achievement (so called intention-behavior gap). This gap between intention and action can be bridged by a self regulatory strategy, i.e. if-then-plans (implementation intentions). In the If-component, opportunities to act are specified and in the Then-component, actions are spelled out that promote the goal. These plans facilitate initiating and persisting in goal striving. This has been demonstrated empirically in numerous field and laboratory studies.
For the first time, the project Motivation Psychology will investigate potential limits of the action control through implementation intentions. In the first line of research, we will investigate, to what extent the specification of If- and Then-components limit the effectiveness of implementation intentions. To this aim we will analyse if choosing certain opportunities for action (e.g. with low explication) and goal promoting actions (e.g. with low perceived self-efficiacy) undermine the effectiveness of implementation intentions.
In the second line of research, we will investigate to what extent implementation intentions have costs by restricting the necessary flexibility of action. It will be tested under which circumstance one rigidly sticks to the action plans specified in the implementation intention. Moreover, it will be investigated if meta-knowledge about implementation intentions can solve this persistence-flexibility-dilemma.