Does adding reinforcement of implementation intentions support behaviour change?

Abstract

It has been suggested that implementation intentions could help people to translate intentions into action and help them form a new habit by repeating their behavioural action consistently. However, implementation intentions remain underused. Previous studies have used reminders to strengthen implementation intentions. However, this could lead to dependency towards the reminders and hinder automaticity. So, in this experiment, we have tried a different approach by conducting a 4-week study to investigate the impact of reinforcement on implementation intentions for reporting daily mood. Unlike reminders sent when the action happens, our reinforcements were sent in advance to remind people of their implementation intentions. Our findings suggest that adding reinforcements leads to better compliance but not necessarily increased automaticity. The reinforcements also help people to remember their implementation intentions.