Abstract
Past research shows that forming implementation intentions increases the probability of carrying out goals. The present research proposes that mental imagery can strengthen the effects of implementation intentions on goal achievement. Participants were assigned a mundane goal and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: implementation intentions only or implementation intentions plus mental imagery. Results support the hypothesis that using mental imagery when forming implementation intentions leads to higher rates of goal achievement.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aarts, H., & Dijksterhuis, A. (2000). Habits as knowledge structures: automaticity in goal-directed behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 53–63.
Aarts, H., Dijksterhuis, A., & Midden, C. (1999). To plan or not to plan? Goal achievement or interrupting the performance of mundane behaviors. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 971–979.
Beisteiner, R., Höllinger, P., Lindinger, G., Lang, W., & Berthoz, A. (1995). Mental representations of movements. Brain potentials associated with imagination of hand movements, Electroencephalography & Clinical Neurophysiology, 96, 183–193.
Driskell, J. E., Copper, C., & Moran, A. (1994). Does mental practice enhance performance? Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 481–491.
Ehrsson, H. H., Geyer, S., & Naito, E. (2003). Imagery of voluntary movement of fingers, toes, and tongue activates corresponding body-part-specific motor representations. Journal of Neurophysiology, 90, 3304–3316.
Faude-Koivisto, T., Würz, D., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). Implementation intentions: The mental representations and cognitive procedures of IF-THEN planning. In W. Klein & K. Markman (Eds.), The handbook of imagination and mental simulation, pp. 69–86. New York: Guilford.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1993). Goal achievement: The role of intentions. In W. Strobe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology, Vol. 4, pp. 141–185. Chichester: Wiley.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54, 493–503.
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119.
Gould, D., & Damarjian, N. (1996). Imagery training for peak performance. In J. L. Van Raalte & B. W. Brewer (Eds.), Exploring sport and exercise psychology, pp. 25–50. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Lang, P. J. (1979). A bio-informational theory of emotional imagery. Psychophysiology, 16, 495–512.
Moran, A. (2004). Sport and exercise psychology: A critical introduction. Hove, East Sussex, UK: Routledge.
Murphy, S., Nordin, S. M., & Cumming, J. (2008). Imagery in sport, exercise and dance. In T. Horn (Ed.), Advances in sport and exercise psychology (3rd ed.), pp. 297–324. Champagne, IL: Human Kinetics.
Neisser, U. (1978). Anticipations, images and introspection. Cognition, 6, 169–174.
Oettingen, G., Hönig, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2000). Effective self-regulation of goal attainment. International Journal of Educational Research, 33(7–8), 705–732.
Schacter, D. L., Addis, D. R., & Buckner, R. L. (2008). Episodic simulation of future events: concepts, data, and applications. Annuals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124, 39–60.
Sheeran, P. (2002). Intention-behavior relations: A conceptual and empirical review. In W. Strobe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology, Vol. 12, pp. 1–30. Chichester: Wiley.
Taylor, S. E., & Pham, L. B. (1996). Mental simulation, motivation, and action. In P. M. Gollwitzer & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behavior, pp. 219–235. New York: Guilford Press.
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2004). Identifying good opportunities to act: implementation intentions and cue discrimination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 407–419.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Knäuper, B., Roseman, M., Johnson, P.J. et al. Using Mental Imagery to Enhance the Effectiveness of Implementation Intentions. Curr Psychol 28, 181–186 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-009-9055-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-009-9055-0