Goal Intention Research Articles

The Cue-Response Mental Link: Its Critical Role in the Downregulation of Disgust by Perspective Taking Implementation Intention.

Implementation intentions are if-then plans that create a mental link between a situational cue and a goal-directed response that people can form to help them achieve emotion regulation goals more effectively. The main goal of this study was to determine if forming the goal intention to not get disgusted together with a perspective taking implementation intention is more effective than forming the goal intention to not get disgusted that spells out the same perspective taking strategy but without linking it to the cue. Eighty-six female participants viewed disgusting, neutral, and pleasant pictures under four instructions: no emotion regulation instructions (CG), the goal intention to not get disgusted (GI), this goal intention furnished with the perspective taking regulation strategy (GI-PT), and this goal intention in tandem with the perspective taking implementation intention (PT-II). Compared with CG, GI, and GI-PT participants, PT-II participants showed a significantly larger decrease in disgust when seeing the disgusting pictures. This effect remained constant across repeated exposure to the critical contents and was larger among individuals who did not consciously try to reappraise the disgusting pictures than among individuals who consciously tried to reappraise them. Valence rating, arousal rating, and sympathetic activity did not significantly differ between conditions. We conclude that it is the if(situational cue)-then(goal-directed response) link created by forming the perspective taking implementation intention that accounts for the positive effect on disgust and not simply the information about the perspective taking behavior to adopt.

An Empirical Study of Goal Intentions and Monetary Compensation for Reviewers in Information Science

In this paper, we study manuscript reviewers in terms of their goal intentions, effort level, and monetary compensation. Building upon our previous paper, “How to motivate a reviewer with a present bias to work harder”, we explore further nuances in reviewer motivations and behaviors. With this aim, we surveyed corresponding authors who have published in four Information Science journals about their role as reviewers. Based on the survey responses (a sample size of 193 reviewers), we analyzed what their goal intentions are with respect to manuscript evaluation, and whether it is possible to better motivate them to choose higher evaluation goals. We also studied whether a reviewer with a present bias is more likely to choose a higher goal regarding the manuscript evaluation if they are sufficiently compensated. We found that “Quality control” is the most likely goal intention regarding the evaluation of a difficult manuscript, while “Networking opportunities” is the least likely one. We also found that in a competitive deadline scenario, at least a quarter of the respondents seemed to overvalue immediate rewards over future benefits and intentions. However, 42,5% of the survey respondents were more likely to accept higher evaluation goals if they received some monetary compensation. Furthermore, we found that reviewers with an overly strong present bias will need a monetary incentive to write a review report for a difficult manuscript in a competitive deadline scenario, with “Quality control” as their evaluation goal.

Reliability and Validity of a Theory-Based Determinants of Eating and Physical Activity Behaviors Questionnaire for Chinese Elementary School Children

ObjectiveThe primary objective of this study was to develop and validate a Social Cognitive Theory-based instrument to identify psychosocial factors that influence diet and physical activity among Chinese children aged 10–12 years. DesignThis is a cross-sectional study, with data collected from questionnaires. SettingTwo elementary schools in Beijing, China. ParticipantsFourth to sixth-grade students (N = 1,486) aged 10–12 years were recruited. Variables MeasuredGender, height, weight, nation, and grade were collected. Energy-balanced eating behaviors and their related sociopsychological factors were surveyed. AnalysisConfirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlations, Cronbach α index, and mediation analysis were used. Results(1) Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a 6-factor solution (51 items) and all factor loadings > 0.32, indicating that the model fitness was acceptable. (2) All correlation coefficients are statistically significant. All of the Cronbach α indexes were > 0.65, indicating acceptable reliability. (3) The mediating effect of goal intention and outcome expectations between self-efficacy and habit strength was statistically significant (P < 0.01), verifying the theory structure. Conclusions and ImplicationsThis questionnaire exhibits good internal consistency, reliability, and structural validity. It can be effectively employed to investigate energy-balanced eating behaviors related to the Social Cognitive Theory in Chinese children.

Diarec: Dynamic Intention-Aware Recommendation with Attention-Based Context-Aware Item Attributes Modeling

Abstract Recommender systems (RSs) often focus on learning users’ long-term preferences, while the sequential pattern of behavior is ignored. On the other hand, sequential RSs try to predict the next action by exploring relations between items in a user’s last interactions but do not consider the general preference. Recently, the performance of RSs has increased by unifying these two types of paradigms. However, existing methods still have two limitations. First, the user’s behavior uncertainty impedes precise learning of preferences. Second, being unable to understand the semantics of items makes the effect of the same item considered in the same way. These limitations jointly prevent RS from learning multifaceted preferences to capture the actual intentions of users. Existing methods have not properly addressed these problems since they ignore context-aware interactions between the user and item in terms of the links between the user and item attributes and sequential user actions over time. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel model, called the Dynamic Intention-Aware Recommendation with attention-based context-aware item attributes modeling (DIARec), which is capable of determining users’ preferences based on their goal intention, taking into account the influence of various item features on user decision-making in their current context. Specifically, to model users’ dynamic intentions, we introduce a dynamic intent-aware module to represent the hierarchical relations between items and their attributes in a given session. Experiments on benchmark datasets indicate that the proposed model DIARec outperforms other state-of-the-art methods.

An action phase theory approach to the configuration of entrepreneurial goal and implementation intentions

PurposeThis paper integrates the action phase theory (APT) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to analyse the dynamic mechanisms involved in the configuration of goals and implementation intentions throughout the entrepreneurship process.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis compares individuals in different phases of this process (not yet decided, potential and nascent entrepreneurs). A large sample of adults from Spain is analysed. Structural equation models and multi-group analysis (MGA) serve to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results confirm that perceived behavioural control (PBC) is the most influential antecedent of entrepreneurial goal intention (EGI) in pre-actional phases (undecided and potential entrepreneurs), whilst attitude towards entrepreneurship (ATE) takes this role during nascency. Subjective norms (SNs) are more important in Phase 1 (establishing the goal) and in Phase 3 (performing nascent behaviour).Originality/valueThis study contributes to both the TPB and the APT. It provides the most relevant insight into the mental process that leads to starting up and helps explain certain previous conflicting results found in the literature. Additionally, it has important implications not only for theory building but also for support bodies and for entrepreneurship educators.

Measuring context-response associations that drive habits.

People achieve important life outcomes of health, financial security, and productivity by repeating operant behavior. To identify whether such operants reflect goal pursuit or habit, the present research introduces a new paradigm that yields objective measures of learning and controls for the motivations of goal pursuit. In two experiments, participants practiced a sequential task of making sushi and then completed a test of the strength of cue-response (habit) associations in memory. Finally, they repeated the sushi task without instructions while under cognitive load (designed to impede deliberation about goals). As predicted, greater task practice yielded stronger cue-response associations, which in turn promoted task success. Practice did not improve performance by enhancing goal intentions or other task motivations. We conclude that repetition facilitates performance by creating mental associations that automatically activate practiced, habitual responses upon perception of recurring context cues.

Using a volitional help sheet to increase university students' attendance at synchronous online lectures: A randomized controlled trial.

A volitional help sheet (VHS) is an intervention for promoting implementation intentions. This study was the first to test the effectiveness of a VHS for increasing university students' lecture attendance. To develop a VHS to increase university students' lecture attendance and test its effectiveness at increasing the proportion of lectures attended, and promoting the maintenance of lecture attendance, over an 11-week teaching semester. One hundred and seventy-eight undergraduate students enrolled in a psychology degree programme were allocated at random to a VHS or active control condition. Prior to intervention, measures of goal intention to attend lectures and trait conscientiousness were collected using self-report, online questionnaires. Over the following 11-week teaching semester, attendance at synchronous (live) online lectures was measured. The VHS condition attended a greater proportion of lectures and maintained their lecture attendance for longer than did the active control condition. These effects were not sensitive to underlying goal intentions, although the sample means on the measures of goal intention were approaching ceiling. Trait conscientiousness increased the effects of the VHS on the proportion of lectures attended. VHSs constitute useful interventions for increasing and maintaining university students' lecture attendance.

How to motivate a reviewer with a present bias to work harder

Reviewers with a present bias focus on the here and now, placing more importance on immediate rewards than on future intentions and benefits. In this paper, we are going to address two related research questions: First, can a reviewer's motivation to work hard be increased by using a higher evaluation goal? Second, would a reviewer be more willing to accept a higher evaluation goal if the review process provided a large enough reward? Using a formal model, we predict that a reviewer with a present bias increases their motivation to work hard by setting a higher goal for the manuscript evaluation (relative to having no goal). For example, the reviewer is willing to control the quality of the manuscript, in addition to helping the profession and keeping themselves up to date. However, a reviewer with a severe present bias prefers to exert a low level of effort. In this situation, we find that monetary incentives can play an important role for reviewers. In their absence, a reviewer may not accept the evaluation goal that motivates them to work hard in the peer review process. In this paper, using a series of computational experiments, we discuss the behavior of a reviewer with a present bias and the role of goal intentions and additional instrumental gains.

Dutch dairy farmers’ adoption of climate mitigation measures – The role of socio-psychological and socio-demographical factors

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions is an essential element of climate change policies. This paper explores Dutch dairy farmers' adoption behaviour of climate change mitigation measures using a Self-regulated Stage model of Behavioural Change. It tests the statistical relationship of stage-specific socio-psychological factors with individual farmer's intentions of planning or adopting on-farm climate mitigation measures. In addition, it tests the statistical relationship of intentions on four stages (pre-decisional, pre-actional, actional, post-actional). The empirical application focuses on data from specialised Dutch dairy farmers registered with the Farm Accountancy Data Network. Our findings suggest that negative emotion, personal norm, perceived goal feasibility, action planning, and coping planning vary significantly by stage. Furthermore, personal norm, attitude, goal intention, behavioural intention, and implementation intention are found to be statistically significant and positive influencing factors on adopting climate mitigation measures. Lastly, farmers younger than 45 years old with full agricultural education and farms with high livestock density are more likely to have taken steps in adopting mitigation measures.

The positive impact of mindfulness interventions on the explicit and implicit affective attitudes toward vegetarian foods.

The main goal of our intervention study was to investigate whether two conceptually different mindfulness interventions positively impacted the explicit and implicit affective evaluations of vegetarian foods. We included possible mediating variables (e.g., wellbeing) and related our results to the stage model of self-regulated behavioral change (SSBC). We implemented a compassion and caring-based mental training (N = 31) and an adapted MBSR course (N = 34) as mindfulness interventions, and a stress-reduction course (N = 26) as the active control group. The curriculums consisted of 12 weekly group sessions á 75 min. All participants were tested pre- and post-intervention and 3 months after the last intervention session, answered questionnaires (mindfulness, compassion, wellbeing, items of the SSBC) and completed an explicit affective evaluation task and an affective priming task. There was an improvement in the explicit attitudes toward vegetarian foods regardless of the intervention group. In the SSBC, we found a link between the explicit attitudes toward vegetarian foods and the indicated stage in the model. Multiple regression analysis revealed social and personal norms and a vegetarian/vegan diet as the only significant predictors for goal intention in the SSBC. The results of our study suggest that both conceptually different mindfulness interventions, as well as a stress-reduction program, have a positive impact on explicit affective attitudes toward vegetarian foods. We highlight the meaning of inner dimensions and transformation for change processes for a more sustainable diet and the role of social and personal norms.

Reducing binge eating through behavioral-focused versus emotion-focused implementation intentions in patients with binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa: An experimental approach

Binge eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are characterized by recurrent binge eating, episodes of consuming large amounts of food in a discrete period of time associated with a loss of control. Implementation intentions are explicit if-then plans that engender goal-directed action, and rely less on cognitive control than standard treatment options. In a sample with BED and BN, we compared two implementation intention conditions to a control condition. In the behavior-focused condition, implementation intentions targeted binge eating behaviors. In the emotion-focused condition, implementation intentions targeted negative affect preceding binge eating. In the control condition, only goal intentions were set. Each condition comprised three sessions. Participants kept food diaries for four weeks. Compared to the control condition both implementation intention conditions showed significant and large reductions of binge eating that persisted for six months. Effects did not differ between the behavior-focused and emotion-focused implementation intention conditions. These results demonstrate that three sessions on implementation intention formation can lead to long-term reductions in binge eating in patients with BED or BN. Learning how to form implementation intentions seems a recommendable addition to the current standard treatment. Future research could investigate the added value of fully personalized implementation intentions. Clinical trial registration numberNL52600.068.15.

The role of perceived feasibility and perceived desirability on entrepreneurial behaviour through goal and implementation intentions of students in Southeast Vietnam

Purpose: This study examines the relationship between perceived intention (perceived feasibility and perceived desirability), goal and implementation intentions and entrepreneurial behavior of final-year students in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong Province, Dong Nai Province and Ba Ria Vung Tau Province. Vietnamese schools and the government both provide support to students who desire to set up a business.&#x0D; Design/Methodology/Approach: The relationship between perceived intention (perceived feasibility and perceived desirability), goal, implementation intentions and entrepreneurial behavior was determined by the 368 students who have been starting the business using the AMOS-SEM estimation method. &#x0D; Findings: The result shows that perceived feasibility and perceived desirability have positively influenced goal and implementation intentions and goal and implementation intentions have positively impacted entrepreneurial behaviour.&#x0D; Conclusion: In this study, entrepreneurial behaviour is directly explained by two factors, namely goal and implementation intention. It is also indirectly defined by perceived feasibility and desirability.&#x0D; Practical Implications: The study’s findings have implications for both university and student policies. Entrepreneurial ideas and implementation intentions have an impact on behavior.&#x0D; Limitations: Convenient sampling in this study could potentially impact the accuracy of the outcomes in terms of representation.&#x0D; Contribution to Literature: This study extends the Event Entrepreneur model (EEM) by adding the implementation intention factor into the model.

Flexible Learning Environments for a Sustainable Lifelong Learning Process for Teachers in the School Context

The flexibility of digital learning environments allows for personalized content delivery tailored to individual teachers’ needs, fostering active and engaged learning. The opportunities offered by these digital technologies can help teachers adopt a lifelong learning attitude, which has become necessary to maintaining high educational standards in line with international guidelines and policy. However, teachers often struggle to leverage these digital technologies and integrate them in their daily activities. To overcome this problem, we developed a custom-built webinar training course focused on enhancing distance learning teaching in a flexible environment. We tested this training course on a group of 197 primary school teachers and examine the relationship between learning goal orientation, motivation, and intention to transfer and how they related to teachers’ personality traits. We found that our webinar training course is easily implementable and valued by teachers, who highlight the importance of allowing the choice between different training levels. The data analysis indicates that intention to transfer is predicted by learning goal orientation and motivation. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the importance of flexible learning environments and tailored training programs that meet teachers’ needs and interests. From a sustainable perspective, such approaches foster teachers’ lifelong learning, enhance their professional development, nurture a growth mindset, and facilitate adaptability to change.

Can the Brain Strategically Go on Automatic Pilot? The Effect of If-Then Planning on Behavioral Flexibility.

People often have good intentions but fail to adhere to them. Implementation intentions, a form of strategic planning, can help people to close this intention-behavior gap. Their effectiveness has been proposed to depend on the mental formation of a stimulus-response association between a trigger and target behavior, thereby creating an "instant habit." If implementation intentions do indeed lead to reliance on habitual control, then this may come at the cost of reduced behavioral flexibility. Furthermore, we would expect a shift from recruitment of corticostriatal brain regions implicated in goal-directed control toward habit regions. To test these ideas, we performed a fMRI study in which participants received instrumental training supported by either implementation or goal intentions, followed by an outcome revaluation to test reliance on habitual versus goal-directed control. We found that implementation intentions led to increased efficiency early in training, as reflected by higher accuracy, faster RTs, and decreased anterior caudate engagement. However, implementation intentions did not reduce behavioral flexibility when goals changed during the test phase, nor did it affect the underlying corticostriatal pathways. In addition, this study showed that "slips of action" toward devalued outcomes are associated with reduced activity in brain regions implicated in goal-directed control (ventromedial prefrontal cortex and lateral orbitofrontal cortex) and increased activity of the fronto-parietal salience network (including the insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and SMA). In conclusion, our behavioral and neuroimaging findings suggest that strategic if-then planning does not lead to a shift from goal-directed toward habitual control.

Identification of beliefs determining wrong lane riding intentions among Vietnamese adolescent two-wheeled riders: An Expectancy-Value approach

Introduction: In Vietnam, road traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of death and serious injury in adolescents, especially in the 15–19-year age group. Wrong lane riding (WLR) is seen as the most common risky behavior of adolescent two-wheeled riders. This study (a) tested the expectancy-value model held to underpin the key determinants of behavioral intention (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control) as proposed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, and (b) identified appropriate targets for road safety interventions. Method: A cluster random sample of 200 adolescent two-wheeled riders in Ho Chi Minh City participated in a cross-sectional study designed to measure the variables of interest (i.e., behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, control beliefs, and intention towards wrong lane riding). Results: The results of hierarchical multiple regression lend clear support for the expectancy-value theory as an approach to model the different belief components behind the key determinants of behavioral intention. Conclusion: Road safety interventions aimed at reducing WLR among Vietnamese adolescent two-wheeled riders would best target both the cognitive and the affective components of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Interestingly, the sample investigated in this study is rather negatively predisposed toward WLR. Practical Applications: It is recommended to further strengthen and stabilize these safety-oriented beliefs, and to develop the required implementation intentions to guarantee that the appropriate goal intentions in terms of WLR are translated into action. More research is needed to see whether the commission of WLR can also be explained in function of a reactive pathway, or is exclusively under volitional control.

Influence of achievement goal on technology use among undergraduates in Malaysia

ABSTRACT Previous studies had identified the potential link between achievement goal and students’ technology use. However, the literature on this topic is extremely scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antecedents to technology use among undergraduates via an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model with achievement goal as an external variable. Data were collected from 599 undergraduates using a 38-item self-report questionnaire and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results of this study showed that the extended UTAUT model had a good fit to the data of this study, with 35% of the variance in behavioral intention and 32% of the variance in use behavior explained by their antecedents. This study found that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and achievement goal had significant influences on undergraduates’ technology behavioral intention to use technology, while social influence and facilitating conditions from the original UTAUT model did not. It was also found that achievement goal and behavioral intention were significant antecedents that influenced undergraduates’ technology use behavior. The findings of this study contribute to both theory, practice, and policy that enhance our understanding of students’ learning and technology use.

Critical thinking during science investigations: what do practicing teachers value and observe?

ABSTRACT This paper examines how practicing teachers approach and evaluate students’ critical thinking processes in science, using the implementation of an online, inquiry-based investigation in middle school classrooms as the context for teachers’ observations. Feedback and ratings from three samples of science teachers were analysed to determine how they valued and evaluated component processes of students’ critical thinking and how such processes were related to their instructional approaches and student outcomes. Drawing from an integrated view of teacher practice, results suggested that practicing science teachers readily observed and valued critical thinking processes that aligned to goal intentions focused on domain content and successful student thinking. These processes often manifested as components of effective scientific reasoning—for example, gathering evidence, analysing data, evaluating ideas, and developing strong arguments. However, teachers also expressed avoidance intentions related to student confusion and uncertainty before and after inquiry-based investigations designed for critical thinking. These findings highlight a potential disconnect between the benefits of productive student struggle for critical thinking as endorsed in the research on learning and science education and the meaning that teachers ascribe to such struggle as they seek to align their instructional practices to classroom challenges.

Decision comfort and student engagement in higher education

ABSTRACT In today’s dynamic service environment, the higher education sector has maintained steady growth. The incorporation of technology in the process of teaching engages the students in the classroom, however, the students tend to indicate lower levels of engagement. Although engagement in the classroom is pivotal for student success, a robust understanding of the means to enhance student engagement is quite scarce. Thus, this study examines a robust research framework to have a better understanding of student engagement. Derived from the survey of university students, the proposed research hypotheses were tested. Results show that co-production behaviour and decision comfort are prominent drivers of student engagement. Results also show that decision comfort mediates the path between students’ goal intention and student engagement. Finally, we discuss the managerial and theoretical implications.

The impact of implementation intentions on the transfer of training from a management development program

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to further develop our understanding of transfer of training by introducing an additional post training transfer intervention of implementation intentions. This enhances the substantial developments made by goal setting theory but concentrates on goal achievement rather than simply goal setting. Whilst goal intentions specify what a person wants to achieve, implementation intention specifies the behaviour to be performed and the situational context it is to be performed in. This is a qualitative study based on a management development program being delivered in one UK Higher Education Institute. Data was collected from reflective learning journals and semi structured interviews with 15 participants. Findings indicate that the use of an implementation intention statement encouraged transfer in 67% of the participants. This is a higher figure than any other study not using implementation intentions, has previously recorded. This study therefore advances scholarship in the field of Human Resource Development (HRD) and especially transfer of training. It also provides practical utility for organisations looking to gain a return from their investment in HRD.

Entrepreneurship goal and implementation intentions formation: the role of higher education institutions and contexts

The concept of intentionality is widely recognised for its contribution to understanding pre-planned human behaviour, hence the need to fathom its underlying determinants as a precursor to any attempts to predict or influence future human activity. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of supportive environments and higher education institutions on students’ entrepreneurial goal and implementation intentions in Zimbabwe. Also, the study sought to evaluate the applicability of Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour to the context. A cross-sectional quantitative survey of a convinience sample of students from selected higher education institutions in the country was conducted. The 284 responses obtained from the survey were analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling statistical technique. The computer software Smart PLS 3 was used for this purpose. The results indicate a direct influence of university support on entrepreneurial goal intention and perceived behavioural control. In addition, they confirm a direct influence of supportive environments on perceived behavioural control and subjective norms. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that perceived behavioural and subjective norms directly influenced entrepreneurial goal intention. Finally, the results show that entrepreneurial goal intention was a significant predictor of entrepreneurial implementation intention. All other tested relationships were not statistically significant. The study makes two significant contributions to the literature. Firstly, it theorises and empirically tests the influence of supportive educational institutions and external environments on separate classes of entrepreneurial intentions within a single study. Secondly, it tests the relevance of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to two distinct but related categories of entrepreneurial intentions.