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Annals of Behavioral Medicine
Published in: Annals of Behavioral Medicine 3/2015

01-06-2015 | Invited Commentary

Implicating Self-Control in the Mechanism by which Implementation Intentions Reduce Stress-Induced Unhealthy Eating: a Comment on O’Connor et al.

Author: Martin S. Hagger, BA (hons), Dip Psych, PhD

Published in: Annals of Behavioral Medicine | Issue 3/2015

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Excerpt

O’Connor and colleagues (1) present an innovative evaluation of a theory-based tool to reduce stress-induced unhealthy eating. Their research is exemplary of the progress being made in research adopting theories of planning, particularly, action-control theory (2, 3), and how behavior modification strategies based on this model (e.g., planning, implementation intentions) can be applied to address the intention-behavior “gap” frequently cited in models of social cognition (4‐7) and attain better health outcomes (8, 9). I would like to commend their use of progressive methods of measurement and analysis. The use of daily diary methods as a means to evaluate caloric consumption represents a step change toward more accurate and comprehensive assessments of eating behavior (10). The adoption of multi-level analysis is also an important application in light of the recent focus on behavior change above mere behavioral prediction in the behavioral medicine literature (11‐14). The inclusion of a moderator analysis to examine the effectiveness of the intervention among individuals with varying levels of motivation is also important given the claims that implementation intentions are maximally effective when individuals have formed strong intentions (3, 8, 15‐18). Overall, my view is that the article makes substantial theoretical, measurement, and practical innovations. …
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Metadata
Title
Implicating Self-Control in the Mechanism by which Implementation Intentions Reduce Stress-Induced Unhealthy Eating: a Comment on O’Connor et al.
Author
Martin S. Hagger, BA (hons), Dip Psych, PhD
Publication date
01-06-2015
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Annals of Behavioral Medicine / Issue 3/2015
Print ISSN: 0883-6612
Electronic ISSN: 1532-4796
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9678-8

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