Implementation intentions improve exercise self-efficacy and exercise behavior regardless of task difficulty

Shen, Wang; Xu, Junzhou; Yu, Qian; Zhou, Junyi

doi:10.2224/sbp.8000

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Increased time-to-failure in if-then planning versus control conditions has been observed in two studies (Thürmer et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2019). These studies utilized different static muscular endurance tasks (i.e., holding up a heavy ball in a group of three people, holding a difficult yoga posture for as long as possible).…”

Section: Main Effectsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…One focus of research on if-then planning in sports has been on endurance performance (Wolff, Bieleke, & Schüler, 2019), which has so far resulted in six published studies (see upper part of Table 1). The majority of these studies focused on static muscular endurance performance, predominantly via weight-holding tasks (Bieleke & Wolff, 2017;Hirsch et al, 2020;Thürmer et al, 2017;Wolff et al, 2018) and once in a posture-holding yoga task (Wang et al, 2019). Only one study used a cycling task to examine whole-body endurance performance (Latinjak et al, 2018).…”

Section: Endurance Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants received the following plan either in an individual (I) or a collective (We) format: "And if my (our) muscles hurt, then I (we) will ignore the pain and tell myself (ourselves): I (We) can do it" Latinjak et al (2018) Participants generated their own if-then plans by anticipating problematic situations (e.g., disengagement thoughts, dejection, fatigue) and specifying a goal-directed behaviors. Wolff et al (2018) Participants received the following if-then plan from the experimenter: "If the task becomes too strenuous for me, then I will ignore the strain and tell myself: Keep going" Wang et al (2019) Participants generated their own if-then plans. Example: "If I tremble and am in pain, I will encourage myself to persevere and keep counting up to 90" Hirsch et al (2020) Participants received the following if-then plan from the experimenter: "And if my exertion (pain) becomes too high, then I tell myself: I can still keep going" Beyond Endurance Performance Achtziger et al (2008, Study 2) Participants generated their own if-then plans by specifying inner states (e.g., "not concentrating enough", "feeling self-abandoned", "feeling exhausted", "feeling angry") and goal-directed behaviors (e.g., "then I will risk something and play courageously," "then I will calm myself and tell myself 'I will win!'")…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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If-Then Planning in Sports

Bieleke

Wolff

Englert

et al. 2021

Zeitschrift für Sportpsychologie

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Abstract. If-then planning (implementation intentions) describes a self-regulatory strategy that helps people to attain their goals across a variety of domains, such as achieving physical activity goals. Based on such beneficial effects, if-then plans are anecdotally discussed as a strategy to enhance sports-related performance as well. However, this discussion currently lacks an empirical basis. We therefore conducted a scoping review to identify experimental research on the effects of if-then planning on sports-related performance, potential moderators of these effects, the methodological approaches used, and the suitability of the available evidence for assessing the effectiveness of if-then planning in sports. Based on a search of four online databases, we identified a set of 11 studies that investigated if-then planning in experimental research with sports-related performance as an outcome measure. Six of these studies focused on if-then planning in endurance tasks, whereas the remaining studies investigated sports performance in domains that do not revolve primarily around endurance (e. g., tennis, golf, darts). The samples were often small and comprised university students; the conclusions drawn regarding the effectiveness of if-then planning for improving sports-related performance were rather heterogeneous. Still, most studies did shed light on tentative mechanisms (e. g., perceptions of effort and pain, arousal) and moderators (e. g., athletes’ beliefs about their performance limits, the feasibility of the behavior) of if-then planning in sports, guiding future research regarding the question of when and for whom if-then planning might be a beneficial strategy. Based on these findings, we identify the potentials and pitfalls of using if-then plans to enhance sports-related performance, discuss promising routes for future research, and derive practical implications for athletes and coaches.

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Section: Main Effectsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Endurance Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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If-Then Planning in Sports

Bieleke

Wolff

Englert

et al. 2021

Zeitschrift für Sportpsychologie

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“…One focus of research on if-then planning in sports has been on endurance performance (Wolff, Bieleke et al, 2019), which has so far resulted in six published studies (see upper part of Table 1). The majority of these studies focused on static muscular endurance performance, predominantly via weight-holding tasks (Bieleke & Wolff, 2017;Hirsch et al, 2020;Thürmer et al, 2017;Wolff et al, 2018) and once in a posture-holding yoga task (Wang et al, 2019). Only one study used a cycling task to examine whole-body endurance performance (Latinjak et al, 2018).…”

Section: Endurance Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

If-then Planning in Sports: A Scoping Review

Bieleke¹,

Wolff²,

Englert³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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If-then planning or so-called implementation intentions describes a self-regulatory strategy that helps people to attain their goals across a variety of domains. While if-then plans are well known to facilitate physical activity behavior, there is considerable lack of research investigating their effectiveness for enhancing sports-related performance. We therefore systematically reviewed the empirical evidence available to date, which comprises a total of 11 studies that focus either on performance in endurance tasks or on sports performance beyond endurance. The results suggest that the findings on the effectiveness of if-then planning on sports-related performance are rather heterogeneous. However, the majority of studies shed light on the processes and moderators of if-then planning in sports, allowing inferences about when and for whom if-then-planning might be a beneficial strategy. Based on these findings, we identify potentials and pitfalls when using if-then plans to enhance sports-related performance, discuss promising routes for future research, and derive practical implications for athletes and coaches.

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“…Their desirable cognitive mechanisms (e.g., automaticity) and their effectiveness across various domains (e.g., health, exercise) render if-then plans a promising candidate to be an effective self-regulatory strategy in endurance sports (Wolff et al, 2019). However, prior research in this domain has so far produced mixed results (Bieleke et al, 2020): Two studies investigated time-to-failure in a group ball-holding task (Thürmer et al, 2017) and in a yoga posture holding task (Wang et al, 2019). Compared to a control group, participants who had formed if-then plans performed better in both studies.…”

Section: Optimizing Performance With Tailored Self-regulatory Intervementioning

confidence: 99%

Struggles and Strategies in Anaerobic and Aerobic Cycling Tests: A Mixed-Method Approach With a Focus on Tailored Self-Regulation Strategies

Hirsch¹,

Bieleke²,

Bertschinger³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Endurance sports pose a plethora of psychological demands that athletes have to deal with. Unfortunately, fine-grained investigations of these demands and strategies for coping with them are lacking, severely limiting our knowledge about endurance performance. Here, we investigated the obstacles exercisers experienced during an anaerobic (Wingate test) and an aerobic cycling test (incremental exercise test), as well as the strategies they considered helpful for dealing with these obstacles. In addition, we tested whether if-then plans (i.e., implementation intentions) capitalizing on these obstacles and strategies improved performance in the corresponding tests. N = 59 students (age: M = 23.9 years, SD = 6.5) performed both tests twice in a 2-within (Session: 1 vs. 2) × 2-between (Condition: goal intention vs. implementation intention) design. Obstacles and strategies were assessed using structured interviews after Session 1 and analyzed with thematic analyses. In both tests, feelings of exertion were the most frequently stated obstacle. Motivation to do well in the test, motivation through self-encouragement, as well as focusing on certain body parts and cycling technique were other frequently stated strategies in both tests. There were also test-specific obstacles, such as boredom reported in the aerobic test. The efficacy of tailored if-then plans on endurance performance was analyzed with Bayesian mixed-factor ANOVA. The results suggest that making if-then plans did not help exercisers to improve their performance. These findings shed novel light into the mental processes accompanying physical exercise and contribute to an emerging literature on if-then planning in the exercise context.

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Implementation intentions improve exercise self-efficacy and exercise behavior regardless of task difficulty

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

If-Then Planning in Sports

If-Then Planning in Sports

If-then Planning in Sports: A Scoping Review

Struggles and Strategies in Anaerobic and Aerobic Cycling Tests: A Mixed-Method Approach With a Focus on Tailored Self-Regulation Strategies

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