Blocked Goals, Persistent Action: Implementation Intentions Engender Tenacious Goal Striving

Abstract: Research on goal attainment has demonstrated that people are more likely to reach their goals when they form implementation intentions. Three experiments tested whether implementation intentions lead to tenacious goal striving following blockage of an initial attempt to reach the goal. In all three experiments some participants were instructed to form an implementation intention and other participants were not. Subsequently, the initial goal-directed attempt of all participants was unexpectedly blocked. Experiment 1 found that implementation intentions resulted in more attempts to realize one’s goal. Experiment 2 showed that when participants formed an implementation intention their repeated attempt was acted out as intensely as their first, blocked attempt. Experiment 3 found that implementation intentions still allow people to seize an alternative, more onerous means to realize their intention. These results imply that implementation intention conserve self-regulatory strength. A

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Postprint ; begutachtet (peer reviewed) ; In: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology ; 44 (2008) 4 ; 1137-1143

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Psychologie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Mannheim
• (when): 2008
• Creator: Martijn, Carolien ; Alberts, Hugo ; Sheeran, Paschal ; Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Y. ; Mikolajczak, Jochen ; Vries, Nanne K. de

Further information

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2008.01.005
• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-253051
• Rights: Open Access unbekannt; Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 23.08.2025, 10:04 PM CEST