A Self‐regulation Perspective on Hidden‐profile Problems: If–Then Planning to Review Information Improves Group Decisions

Abstract

In hidden‐profile (HP) problems, groups squander their potential to make superior decisions because members fail to capitalize on each other's unique knowledge (unshared information). A new self‐regulation perspective suggests that hindrances in goal striving (e.g., failing to seize action opportunities) contribute to this problem. Implementation intentions (if–then plans) are known to help deal with hindrances in goal striving; therefore, supporting decision goals with if–then plans should improve the impact of unshared information on group decisions. Indeed, in line with past research, control participants in two experiments rarely identified the best alternative despite monetary incentives and setting decision goals. In contrast, simply adding if–then plans to review advantages of the non‐preferred alternatives before making the final decision significantly increased solution rates. Process manipulations (Experiment 1) and measures (Experiment 2) indicate that conceptualizing HP problems as a self‐regulation challenge provides explanatory power beyond existing accounts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Promoting the translation of intentions into action by implementation intentions: behavioral effects and physiological correlates

“…In line with this interpretation, the response times indicated that ADHD children responded more slowly than control children, especially in the planning condition. This interpretation is also in accordance with behavioral studies that have demonstrated that implementation intentions can improve the initiation of reflective responses such as evaluating a chosen strategy ( Henderson et al, 2007 ), taking an onlooker’s perspective ( Wieber et al, 2015 ), and reviewing the pros and cons of different decision alternatives ( Thürmer et al, 2015b ). Overall, the study by Paul et al (2007) shows that implementation intentions can affect neural activity, as reflected in the first half of the P300 component, and improve response inhibition in children with ADHD.…”

If-then plans help regulate automatic peer influence on impulse buying

“…Finally, participants in the current research did not make purchases in an actual store. Past research has observed if-then planning effects in incentivized decisions (Thürmer et al, 2015b) and in naturalistic settings (Holland et al, 2006), suggesting that the present findings may generalize to such contexts. Nevertheless, future research should test whether implementation intentions are effective for regulating peer impact on actual purchase decisions and online shopping behaviour.…”

Goal Pursuit in Organizational Health Interventions: The Role of Team Climate, Outcome Expectancy, and Implementation Intentions

“…These studies were mainly conducted at the individual level and/or in a laboratory setting. Nevertheless, there is also emerging research on the effects of collective implementation intentions (Wieber et al, 2012, 2015a; Thürmer et al, 2015a, 2017) that might also be applied to organizational settings (Thürmer et al, 2015b). Such “we-plans” that specify when, where and how a group acts toward a collective goal should then help collective goal striving that improves performance, and therefore might also be an expedient strategy for reaching goals within OHIs.…”