Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit.

Abstract

The theoretical distinction between goal intentions (I intend to achieve -c) and implementation intentions (I intend to perform goal-directed behavior y when I encounter situation z; P. M. Gollwitzer, 1993) is explored by assessing the completion rate of various goal projects. In correlational Study 1, difficult goal intentions were completed about 3 times more often when participants had furnished them with implementation intentions. In experimental Study 2, all participants were assigned the same difficult goal intention, and half were instructed to form implementation intentions. The beneficial effects of implementatio n intentions paralleled diose of Study 1. In experimental Study 3, implementatio n intentions were observed to facilitate the immediate initiation of goaldirected action when the intended opportunity was encountered. Implementation intentions are interpreted to be powerful self-regulatory tools for overcoming the typical obstacles associated with the initiation of goal-directed actions. Whether people meet their goals depends on both how goal content is framed and how people regulate the respective goaldirected activities (Gollwitzer & Moskowitz, 1996). Content theories focus on the thematic properties of set goals and how these affect the regulation of goal pursuit and actual goal achievement. Such theories attempt to explain differences in goal-directed behaviors in terms of what is specified as the goal by the individual, as the content characteristics of the goal are expected to affect a person's successful goal pursuit. Goal content has been considered both in terms of the different needs on which it is based (e.g., autonomy needs vs. materialistic needs; Deci & Ryan, 1991; Kasser & Ryan, 1994) as well as in terms of implicit theories (e.g., entity theories vs, incremental theories