Spontaneous implementation intentions and impulsivity: can impulsivity moderate the effectiveness of planning strategies?

Objective:Self-initiated plans relating to when, where, and how behaviour will be performed have been shown to be effective in promoting goal progress. The current study (N=256) explored whether any impact of self-initiated implementation intentions on the avoidance of snacking was moderated by impulsivity.Design and methods: The study employed a prospective design. At Time 1, participants reported the extent to which they had formed self-initiated implementation intentions to avoid eating high-calorie snacks. At Time 2, participants reported their snack consumption over the preceding 2 weeks and completed a measure of impulsivity.Results:Impulsivity (urgency) moderated the effect of self-initiated implementation intentions on snack consumption. Specifically, self-initiated implementation intentions benefited the avoidance of snacking most for those low in impulsivity and least for those high in impulsivity.Conclusion:The findings suggest that impulsivity might form an important boundary condition to the effectiveness of self-initiated implementation intention formation in relation to snackin

Discipline identification, identity incompatibility, belonging and their association with deep approaches to learning and academic self-efficacy during COVID-19 in the UK

Previous research indicates that discipline identification — the level of integration of one’s discipline of study into the self-concept — is associated with deep approaches to learning and academic self-efficacy. However, it is not known whether these relationships would hold in the context of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study investigates this, as well as exploring whether belonging, identity incompatibility, and virtual and in-person time spent with fellow students and with faculty act as potential antecedents of discipline identification. A cross-sectional online survey with n = 385 students in the UK was conducted during the spring term (February–May) of the 2019–2020 academic year, when UK universities were under COVID-19 restrictions. Of those students, n = 109 completed a follow-up survey during the autumn term (September–December) of the 2020–2021 academic year. Due to pandemic-related changes, the two waves of data were analysed separately using path analysis. During the spring term, identity incompatibility and discipline identification were significantly associated with both deep approaches to learning and academic self-efficacy. There were also significant indirect effects of belonging on both deep approaches to learning and academic self-efficacy via discipline identification. During the autumn term, discipline identification was again significantly associated with both academic outcomes. Identity incompatibility was significantly associated with academic self-efficacy. There were also indirect effects of identity incompatibility and belonging on deep approaches to learning via discipline identification. These results add to the literature on the importance of discipline identification and associated social-psychological processes in predicting important higher education outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Positive psychological traits predict future sleep quality and quantity: exploring emotion regulation as a common mediator

OBJECTIVE: Mindfulness, self-compassion, gratitude, and optimism have each been associated with better sleep quality and quantity; however, their collective and relative contributions to future sleep outcomes remain unexplored. The current study therefore investigated whether baseline levels of these positive psychological traits could predict subsequent sleep quality and quantity. In addition, emotion regulation was examined as a potential common mediator of the relationships between each of the positive traits and sleep.METHODS AND MEASURES: A prospective, correlational design was employed. Student participants (N = 220) completed self-report measures of mindfulness, self-compassion, gratitude, optimism, emotion regulation and sleep quality and quantity at three separate time-points, each approximately 12 wk apart. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, collectively, the positive traits at baseline predicted better sleep quality and quantity 12 wk and 24 wk later. Optimism emerged as a unique predictor of sleep at each time-point, with higher levels of optimism predicting better sleep. Maladaptive emotion regulation mediated the relationships between optimism and sleep and self-compassion and sleep. CONCLUSION: Findings are consistent with the idea that positive psychological traits might help to facilitate good sleep quality and quantity and indicate that reductions in maladaptive emotion regulation may underpin associations between some positive traits and sleep.</p

Combining self-affirmation and implementation intentions: evidence of detrimental effects on behavioral outcomes

BACKGROUND There is limited evidence that self-affirmation manipulations can promote health behavior change. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to explore whether the efficacy of a self-affirmation manipulation at promoting exercise could be enhanced by an implementation intention intervention. METHODS Participants (Study 1?N?=?120, Study 2?N?=?116) were allocated to one of four conditions resulting from the two (self-affirmation manipulation: no affirmation, affirmation) by two (implementation intention manipulation: no implementation intention, implementation intention) experimental design. Exercise behavior was assessed 1 week post-intervention. RESULTS Contrary to prediction, those participants receiving both manipulations were significantly less likely to increase the amount they exercised compared to those receiving only the self-affirmation manipulation. CONCLUSION Incorporating an implementation intention manipulation alongside a self-affirmation manipulation had a detrimental effect on exercise behavior; participants receiving both manipulations exercised significantly less in the week following the intervention