Wednesday, November 9, 2011






How does the implementation intention work?

First I must rehearse it a few times. This rehearsal establishes a connection between the situational cues (five o’clock on Mondays and Thursdays) and a goal-directed behavior (changing into my exercise clothes and starting my run). Once the implementation intention has been sufficiently rehearsed, when the situational cues are encountered, the corresponding goal-directed behaviors are initiated automatically, or without effort. That is, when the clock strives five on a Monday, I will automatically change my clothes and start my run even if I’m drained.

Compare this implementation intention to the goal intention I started with: “I want to start running regularly each week.” Although my goal intention reminds me of what I aim to do at a global level it provides little to no help in how I should actually go about achieving that goal.

I trust that forming an implementation intention will help me to start running regularly. Why? There has been a ton of research establishing the efficacy of implementation intentions in goal pursuits of various kinds. In fact they are about three times more effective than simply creating a goal intention (Gollwitzer & Brandstatter, 1997). Much of this work has been conducted by Dr. Peter Gollwitzer, a professor at NYU (my alma mater).  Let me tell you about a few studies….

Action Initiation
Women were found to increase the frequency of regular breast self-examinations after forming an implementation intention that specified where they would perform the examination and at what time of day (Orbell, Hodgkins, & Sheeran, 1997). In fact 100% of the woman for whom this was a strong goal performed the examinations after forming an implementation intention, while only 53%  of woman for whom this was a strong goal completed the examinations without forming an implementation intention. In another study students were found to increase the frequency of vigorous regular exercise after forming an implementation intention specifying where and when they would exercise (Milne, Orbell, & Sheeran, 2002). In fact implementation intentions were much more effective in getting participants to exercise than reading a factual leaflet about the importance of exercise for health.

Stopping Unwanted Responses
In one study researchers evaluated how to stop unhealthy snacking. Participants in the implementation intention condition rehearsed the statement “When I encounter an obstacle to healthy eating and feel like having a snack, I’ll eat an apple instead.” These participants showed a marked reduction in unhealthy snack intake (Adriaanse, Oettingen, Gollwitzer, Hennes, De Ridder, & De Wit, 2010).

Emotion Regulation
In a series of studies, participants' emotions were measured while viewing fear eliciting stimuli (spiders) (Gallo, Keil, McCulloch, Rockstroh, & Gollwitzer, 2009). Some participants were arachnophobic and some were not. In the goal intentions condition participants were directed to form the goal “I will not get frightened.” Participants in the implementation intention condition formed the same goal intention but were additionally directed to form the implementation intention, “And if I see a spider, I will stay calm and relaxed.” Arachnophobic participants who formed an implementation intention rated the stimuli as less arousing, and experienced reduced negative affect. In fact, their negative affect was the same as non-arachnophobic participants.

Based on this research I’m using an implementation intention to start my running routine. Perhaps it will work so well that I’ll surprise my friend (and myself) by running a half marathon after all. Wish me luck!

Tell us about the goals you want to achieve and the implementation intentions you are going to use! 

One relevant article:
Gollwitzer, P., & Brandstätter, V. (1997). Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73 (1), 186-199 DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.73.1.186


  1. What an excellent idea. At the end of a days work, it is only too easy to slump down in a heap of exhaustion and the thought of running around getting all sweaty does not compare with the thought of a glass of cold sauvignon blanc. So to decide that at 6pm, Monday, on go the trainers and the running gear - followed by a glass of said Sauvignon Blanc?? to achieve my goal of running 13 miles I can see can really work.

  2. Hi Clare-
    Glad you found the post helpful. Once I learned about this research, I started using implementation intentions all the time. Definitely gets me moving toward those more pesky goals!

  3. HA! Excellent post! I have finished 3 marathons, and keeping up with the training was the most difficult thing to do. I eventually learned that even when exhausted after a long day of work/school, that once the shoes were on and I was heading down the street, no matter how hard it felt, it would always get better after that first mile. By the time I was 2-3 miles into any run, I always had a sense of amazement that I felt so good after feeling so little energy when I started. It's really just a matter of discipline. And giving yourself nice rewards always helps.

    Los Angeles Marathon 2010
    Big Sur Marathon 2010
    Los Angeles Marathon 2011


  4. Wow Daniel!
    You are quite impressive. Sounds like you've found a routine that works, but on those really hard days you can always try an implementation intention to help you get going.