Abstract
Mental contrasting is a self-regulation imagery strategy that involves imagining a desired future and mentally contrasting it with the present reality, which is theorised to prompt the individual to realise that action is required to achieve the desired future (Oettingen et al., 1997, 2000; Oettingen, 2012). Recent research has combined mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) (‘if–then plans; Oettingen & Gollwitzer, 2018; Oettingen, 2012), which is hypothesised to strengthen the effects. This article looks at the evidence for mental contrasting, how it has been used in interventions and experiments and describes case studies of its application in practice. Finally, this paper provides an overview of the key issues for implementing mental contrasting in applied health psychology practice.
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