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From Intentions to Behavior: Implementation Intention, Commitment, and Conscientiousness 1
Author(s) -
Ajzen Icek,
Czasch Cornelia,
Flood Michael G.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00485.x
Subject(s) - conscientiousness , psychology , task (project management) , situational ethics , social psychology , trait , personality , big five personality traits , extraversion and introversion , computer science , management , economics , programming language
Implementation intentions are said to transfer control over goal‐directed behavior to situational cues, thereby automating initiation of the behavior (Gollwitzer, 1999). Alternatively, implementation intentions may be effective because they create commitment to the intended behavior. In an empirical study, implementation intentions regarding a simple task (rating TV newscasts) varied in their specificity. In addition, explicit commitment to the task was manipulated, and chronic conscientiousness was assessed. Consistent with the commitment hypothesis, general and specific implementation intentions were equally effective in raising level of task performance, and they were no more effective than asking for an explicit commitment to carry out the task. Also, individuals high in conscientiousness were more likely than individuals low on this trait to enact their intentions.