Responding to subliminal cues: Do if-then plans facilitate action preparation and initiation without conscious intent?

Forming implementation intentions (“If I encounter cue X, then I will perform behavior Y!”) is postulated to trigger action initiation without further conscious intent once the specified cue is encountered (Gollwitzer, 1999). In two experiments using an injustice paradigm or a categorization task, critical situations (specified in the if-component) were subliminally presented and it was tested whether these situations influenced the preparation (Study 1) and initiation (Study 2) of the planned goal-directed behavior (specified in the then-component). After the subliminal presentation of the critical situations, implementation intention participants showed stronger action preparation and a faster action initiation, as compared to control participants (Study 1) who had not formed any goal intention at all, and compared to participants (Studies 1 and 2) who had only formed goal intentions. These findings suggest that forming implementation intentions leads to automatic action initiation without further consc...

[1]  Angela L. Duckworth,et al.  Self‐regulation strategies improve self‐discipline in adolescents: benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions , 2011 .

[2]  John A. Bargh,et al.  Automaticity in Goal Pursuit , 2005 .

[3]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  If-Then Plans Benefit Delay of Gratification Performance in Children With and Without ADHD , 2011, Cognitive Therapy and Research.

[4]  U. Bronfenbrenner.  Ecological systems theory. , 1992 .

[5]  T. Chartrand,et al.  The mind in the middle: A practical guide to priming and automaticity research. , 2000 .

[6]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit , 1997 .

[7]  Peter M. Gollwitzer,et al.  Self-regulatory strategy and executive control: implementation intentions modulate task switching and Simon task performance , 2007, Psychological research.

[8]  W. Gardner,et al.  Handbook of motivation science , 2008 .

[9]  Peter M. Gollwitzer,et al.  Self-regulation of consumer decision making and behavior: The role of implementation intentions , 2009 .

[10]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  Reflective and reflexive action control in patients with frontal brain lesions. , 2001, Neuropsychology.

[11]  Alex Pentland,et al.  Microcomputer-based estimation of psychophysical thresholds: The Best PEST , 1982 .

[12]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  The Interplay Between Goal Intentions and Implementation Intentions , 2005, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[13]  Peter M. Gollwitzer,et al.  Boosting scholastic test scores by willpower: The role of implementation intentions , 2007 .

[14]  Jutta Heckhausen,et al.  Motivation and action , 1991 .

[15]  John A. Bargh,et al.  Auto-motives: Preconscious determinants of social interaction. , 1990 .

[16]  Dale T. Miller,et al.  Disrespect and the experience of injustice. , 2001, Annual review of psychology.

[17]  Henk Aarts,et al.  Breaking and creating habits on the working floor : A field- experiment on the power of implementation intentions , 2006 .

[18]  Raluca A. Topciu,et al.  Implementation Intentions, Perfectionism, and Goal Progress: Perhaps the Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions , 2005, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[19]  P. Gollwitzer.  Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. , 1999 .

[20]  M. McDaniel,et al.  Implementation intention encoding does not automatize prospective memory responding , 2010, Memory & cognition.

[21]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  Motivation and volition in the course of action , 2008 .

[22]  J.,et al.  Journal of Experimental Social Psychology , 1965, Nature.

[23]  Gabriele Oettingen,et al.  Action control by implementation intentions : effective cue detection and efficient response initiation , 2007 .

[24]  E. Higgins,et al.  Handbook of motivation and cognition : foundations of social behavior , 1991 .

[25]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  Implementation Intentions Facilitate Response Inhibition in Children with ADHD , 2008, Cognitive Therapy and Research.

[26]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  Implementation intentions and efficient action initiation. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[27]  Nira Liberman,et al.  Seven Principles of Goal Activation: A Systematic Approach to Distinguishing Goal Priming From Priming of Non-Goal Constructs , 2007, Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

[28]  P. Sheeran,et al.  How do implementation intentions promote goal attainment? A test of component processes , 2007 .

[29]  Anja Achtziger,et al.  Implementation Intentions and Shielding Goal Striving From Unwanted Thoughts and Feelings , 2008, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[30]  Joseph B. Sidowski,et al.  Behavior research methods and instrumentation , 1968 .

[31]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes , 2006 .

[32]  J. Bargh,et al.  The automated will: nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[33]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  Flexible Tenacity in Goal Pursuit , 2007 .

[34]  Heidi Grant,et al.  The psychology of goals , 2009 .

[35]  J. Bargh.  What have we been priming all these years? On the development, mechanisms, and ecology of nonconscious social behavior. , 2006, European journal of social psychology.

[36]  M. Eimer,et al.  Response facilitation and inhibition in subliminal priming , 2003, Biological Psychology.

[37]  M. Banaji,et al.  Cooling the heat of temptation: Mental self-control and the automatic evaluation of tempting stimuli , 2009 .

[38]  P. Gollwitzer,et al.  Staying on track: Planned goal striving is protected from disruptive internal states , 2010 .

[39]  C. Midden,et al.  To plan or not to plan? Goal achievement or interrupting the performance of mundane behaviors , 1999 .

[40]  P. Gollwitzer.  Goal Achievement: The Role of Intentions , 1993 .