A meta-analytic review of the effect of implementation intentions on physical activity
Belanger-Gravel and colleagues meta-analysed twenty-six studies testing whether implementation intentions, the technique of deciding in advance exactly when, where and how you will act, increase physical activity. The technique works well for many health behaviours, and the results for exercise had been inconsistent, which is what prompted the review. Pooled across the studies, the effect was positive and small to medium immediately after the intervention, and smaller but still present at follow-up, with the length of follow-up making no reliable difference to its size. Two conditions improved it. The effect was larger in student and clinical samples than in the general population, and larger when the plan included working out in advance what would get in the way and what to do about it, rather than only specifying the intended action. That second finding is the practical one, since it separates a plan from a wish. The authors conclude that the technique is worth using for physical activity while being clear that the benefit is modest.
Belanger-Gravel and colleagues meta-analysed twenty-six studies testing whether implementation intentions, the technique of deciding in advance exactly when, where and how you will act, increase physical activity. The technique works well for many health behaviours, and the results for exercise had been inconsistent, which is what prompted the review. Pooled across the studies, the effect was positive and small to medium immediately after the intervention, and smaller but still present at follow-up, with the length of follow-up making no reliable difference to its size. Two conditions improved it. The effect was larger in student and clinical samples than in the general population, and larger when the plan included working out in advance what would get in the way and what to do about it, rather than only specifying the intended action. That second finding is the practical one, since it separates a plan from a wish. The authors conclude that the technique is worth using for physical activity while being clear that the benefit is modest.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Bélanger-Gravel, A., Godin, G. & Amireault, S. (2013). "A meta-analytic review of the effect of implementation intentions on physical activity." Health Psychology Review, 7(1), 23-54.
Where we use it
- Nobody Is Born Consistent, Why We Move
Reliability of this reference
The link below is the right work, with one detail that does not line up. Title and all three authors match. Crossref dates it to the online-first publication of 21 March 2011; the print issue is 7(1), 2013. Worth opening before quoting a figure from it.
The source
https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2011.560095
DOI: 10.1080/17437199.2011.560095