Article archive / January 1, 2011
Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 5. Source pages: 1, 16.
As far back as the ancient Babylonians, humans have been making New Year’s resolutions, but only with about 15 percent success. Modern tips and guidelines, many stemming from behavior therapy, suggest ways to shape and reinforce our efforts: write down the goal, make goals specific, measurable; schedule time to meet the goal; get social support, reward yourself, and so on.
But psychologists who study the “automatic unconscious” have their own twist. In The New Unconscious, Peter Gollwitzer presents evidence for improving goal success by engaging the automatic unconscious. “Instilling automatic self- regulation” he explains, as a second step to the goal, creates an “instant habit.” He calls the technique “implementation intentions.”
The format for an implementation intention (ll) is “If situation X is encountered, then I will perform behavior Y!” An II is created to expand a goal, but it is different from the goal, which is of a format, “I intend to do Z.” For example, “I intend to exercise more” is a goal. Adding the II develops the link, “When I watch the evening news, I will do my squats!” The II engages automatic actions. Gollwitzer writes “…automatic action control comes in handy as established routines linked to a relevant context release the critical goal-directed behavior immediately, efficiently, and without a conscious intent.”
Researchers have shown that self-regulation is like a muscle; it wears out when we use it. We only have so much “will power” or self-control to apply to our goals. However, implementation intentions side-step this problem, probably because conscious resources are not involved. Research shows that these “automatic habits” are less impacted by ego-depletion, distractions, or stress, and less influenced by our bad moods or low self-esteem.
So add an II to a New Year’s resolution and engage the adaptive unconscious. And see for yourself if you agree with the research: we don’t have to change ourselves or change the world, in order to succeed at changing a behavior.
Happy New Year.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.