Action Control by Implementation Intentions: Effective Cue Detection and Efficient Response Initiation

Parks‐Stamm, Elizabeth J.; Gollwitzer, Peter M.; Oettingen, Gabriele

doi:10.1521/soco.2007.25.2.248

Cited by 144 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(36 reference statements)

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“…As forming an if-then plan implies the selection of a future situ-ation, the mental representation of this situation becomes highly activated, and therefore more easily accessible. This heightened accessibility of the situation spelled out in the if-part was observed in several studies meaning that people more readily identify and notice the critical situation when they subsequently encounter it (e.g., Aarts, Dijksterhuis, & Midden, 1999;Parks-Stamm, Gollwitzer, & Oettingen, 2007). Additionally, this critical cue automatically triggers the intended response: it is enacted immediately, efficiently, and without conscious intent (e.g., Bayer, Achtziger, Gollwitzer, & Moskowitz, 2009;Brandstätter, Lengfelder, & Gollwitzer, 2001).…”

Section: If-then Plans As a Self-regulatory Strategy Of Goal Implemenmentioning

confidence: 86%

If-Then Plans Benefit Executive Functions in Children with ADHD

Gawrilow¹,

Gollwitzer²,

Oettingen³

2011

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

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Children with ADHD encounter multiple academic and interpersonal problems presumably due to insuf cient executive functions. In two studies we measured executive functions (i.e., shifting, resistance to distraction) and assessed whether children with ADHD can empower these functions by forming implementation intentions (i.e., if-then plans; Gollwitzer, 1999). Children with ADHD made fewer perseverative errors on a shifting task (Study 1) when instructed to make if-then plans. They also bene ted from if-then plans in solving math problems that required both working memory and the inhibition of distractions (Study 2). Results concerning implications for research on if-then planning in children with ADHD are discussed.1. For ease of exposition in this paper, the term ADHD is used constantly as an abbreviation for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder according to the DSM-IV combined subtype of ADHD and the ICD-10 category of Hyperkinetic Disorder. PLANS BENEFIT EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IN ADHD 617Inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are the core symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).1 Children with ADHD are easily distracted by extraneous stimuli, have problems organizing activities, and lack inhibitory control. Prominent theories on ADHD suggest that ADHD-symptoms arise from deficits in executive functions because these deficits reliably differentiate children with ADHD from children without ADHD (Barkley, 1997). For instance, children with ADHD show worse performances compared to children without ADHD on tasks requiring planning, inhibition, task shifting, and working memory (Lijffijt, Kenemans, Verbaten, & van Engeland, 2005).Executive functions are commonly grouped into three types: (a) inhibition, (b) shifting, and (c) working memory (Miyake, Friedman, Emerson, Witzki, & Howerter, 2000).Inhibition involves the ability to inhibit dominant, automatic, or pre-potent responses. A typical inhibition task is the Stop Signal task (SST; Logan & Cowan, 1984), in which participants learn to discriminate between two different stimuli (i.e., X versus O) and in one-third of the trials an auditive stop signal is presented with a time delay after the presentation of the stimulus (e.g., 250 ms). In trials with a stop signal, participants are required to inhibit their response. Children with ADHD have difficulties to inhibit their response on stop trials and show a prolonged reaction time on Go trials as compared to children without ADHD and without any psychiatric diagnosis (Lijffijt et al., 2005).Another type of executive function encompasses the shifting back and forth between multiple tasks or mental sets (Monsell, 1996). Also referred to as task switching, shifting has been identified as an executive function that may play a role in failures of cognitive control in patients with brain injuries and psychiatric disorders (Miyake et al., 2000). Children with ADHD also have difficulties performing tasks that require shifting between mental sets and therefore consistently exhibit poorer performan...

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Section: If-then Plans As a Self-regulatory Strategy Of Goal Implemenmentioning

confidence: 86%

If-Then Plans Benefit Executive Functions in Children with ADHD

Gawrilow¹,

Gollwitzer²,

Oettingen³

2011

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

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“…First, the mental representation of the critical situation becomes activated and therefore highly accessible. This accessibility allows for easy detection, effective recall, and a readiness to attend to the critical situation, even if one is cognitively busy (e.g., Aarts & Dijksterhuis, 2000;Parks-Stamm, Gollwitzer, & Oettingen, 2007;Webb & Sheeran, 2003). Second, the initiation of the planned goal-directed behavior acquires features of automaticity: in the presence of the specified situation, action initiation is immediate, efficient, and no longer requires conscious intent (e.g., Brandstaetter, Lengfelder, & Gollwitzer, 2001;Sheeran, Webb, & Gollwitzer, 2005;Webb & Sheeran, 2007).…”

Section: Self-regulation By Implementation Intentionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation Intentions Facilitate Response Inhibition in Children with ADHD

Gawrilow

Gollwitzer

2007

Cogn Ther Res

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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with action control problems such as failure to inhibit inappropriate responses. Two studies investigated whether self-regulation by implementation intentions (if-then plans; Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54, 493-503) facilitates response inhibition in children with ADHD. In Study 1, children with ADHD who furnished a suppression goal with implementation intentions improved inhibition of an unwanted response on a Go/NoGo task to the same level observed in children without ADHD. Study 2 showed that a combination of implementation intentions and psychostimulant medication resulted in the highest level of suppression performance in children with ADHD. Theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed.

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“…By contrast, the implementation of goaldirected action in response to an existing, specifi ed, critical situation entails features of automaticity (e.g., Bargh, 1994 ): Effects of implementation intentions have been observed to be immediate and effi cient, and once the specifi ed situation is encountered they come about without requiring extensive deliberation on how to respond (e.g., Aarts, Dijksterhuis, & Midden, 1999 ;Webb & Sheeran, 2007, 2008Wieber & Sassenberg, 2006 ). Indeed, empirical evidence suggests that forming implementation intentions in addition to mere goals leads to faster responses to critical situations (e.g., ParksStamm, Gollwitzer, & Oettingen, 2007 ) and improved performance in a secondary task without compromising the simultaneous performance in a primary task (i.e., speed-up effects are still evident under high cognitive load; e.g., Brandstätter, Lengfelder, & Gollwitzer, 2001 ). This research also suggests that there is no need for a further conscious intent to act in a critical moment.…”

Section: Controlling Actions By Goals and Implementation Intentionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning and the Control of Action

Wieber

Gollwitzer

2017

Knowledge and Space

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Planning has been found to have a powerful effect on human actions (e.g., Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006 ). But how do people plan? In this chapter we fi rst introduce implementation intentions (e.g., Gollwitzer, 1999 ) as an effi cient way of planning. Implementation intentions refer to specifi c plans in which individuals and groups can specify when, where, and how they intend to act using an if-then format (e.g., "If I come home from work on Fridays, then I will immediately put on my jogging shoes and go for a 30-minute run!"). After we examine how they support goal pursuit, we differentiate between spontaneous and strategic planning-two ways in which if-then plans can be made on the basis of goal-related knowledge.With respect to spontaneous planning, we highlight the importance of the accessibility of goal-related knowledge. We introduce goal systems theory (Kruglanski, Shah, Fishbach, Friedman, Chun, & Sleeth-Keppler, 2002 ) as a conceptual framework because it addresses the question of how goals can increase the accessibility of knowledge about when, where, and how to pursue the goal. To illustrate how the accessibility of goal-related knowledge facilitates goal attainment, we discuss a set of recent studies. They show that individuals spontaneously grasp goal-relevant information in the form of implementation intentions (Marquardt, Tröger, Wieber, & Gollwitzer, 2016 ; see also Marquardt, 2011 ) even if it is incidentally provided in their environment and that they use this knowledge to improve their goal attainment without being prompted to do so.

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Action Control by Implementation Intentions: Effective Cue Detection and Efficient Response Initiation

Cited by 144 publications

References 22 publications

If-Then Plans Benefit Executive Functions in Children with ADHD

If-Then Plans Benefit Executive Functions in Children with ADHD

Implementation Intentions Facilitate Response Inhibition in Children with ADHD

Planning and the Control of Action

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