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Bridging the intention–behavior gap: Inducing implementation intentions through persuasive appeals
Author(s) -
Fennis Bob M.,
Adriaanse Marieke A.,
Stroebe Wolfgang,
Pol Bert
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of consumer psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.433
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1532-7663
pISSN - 1057-7408
DOI - 10.1016/j.jcps.2010.12.003
Subject(s) - psychology , bridging (networking) , situational ethics , construct (python library) , social psychology , action (physics) , bridge (graph theory) , cognitive psychology , computer science , medicine , computer network , physics , quantum mechanics , programming language
The potential of using implementation intentions—action plans that link a critical situational cue to a specific goal‐directed behavior—to bridge the intention–behavior gap in consumer behavior has been limited by the practice of using explicit instructions to induce the construct. In two studies, we therefore tested the effectiveness of an indirect, persuasive strategy that benefits from the positive consequences of implementation intentions by ‘mimicking’ their underlying psychological processes. Experiment 1 showed that a strategy presenting vivid information on critical cues and appropriate behavioral responses affected mental imagery. Experiment 2 demonstrated that this strategy affected actual purchase behavior.