An important application of psychological principles involves increasing intentions to engage in activities that, although admittedly beneficial, are often not initially appealing (e.g., studying, quitting smoking, dieting). The present study tests the utility of directed thinking as a tool for eliciting intentions to engage in such activities. Undergraduate students were directed to think either about the reasons why people should find studying enjoyable or about the actions that people might take to make studying enjoyable. Regardless of whether they thought as individuals or in cooperating dyads, students who thought about actions later reported greater intentions to spend time studying than did students who thought about reasons. The results have both theoretical and practical significance.

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This study extends previous research on the use of node-link mapping during counseling by addressing the effect that this visual representation technique has on clients with attentional problems. Participants were 13 counselors in a methadone treatment program and their 93 opioid-addicted clients who had been in treatment for more than three months. Both counselors and clients were randomly assigned to mapping-enhanced or standard counseling. Based on a self-report measure assessing attention-related problems of clients, they were categorized as having either adequate or poor levels of attentional stamina and attentional control. Consistent with previous findings, clients in mapping-enhanced counseling had lower percentages of urine samples that were positive for cocaine or heroin. In addition, results suggest that mapping has greater benefits in terms of session attendance and program perception for clients with poor attentional stamina.

The current study examined the effectiveness of motivational activities designed to improve early treatment engagement for probationers receiving substance abuse treatment and differential effects on males and females. A total of 294 probationers either received treatment as usual (standard treatment) or standard treatment enhanced with three 2-hour motivational modules. The results indicated that probationers who received the motivational modules perceived their communities as being more engaged and likely to remain clean and sober compared to probationers who received standard treatment, and this was especially true for female probationers (who, in general, demonstrated higher levels of engagement and readiness for treatment than did males). The results also indicated that the motivational activities helped sustain treatment readiness during the first 3 months of treatment.