Why people know they should, but they don't
With the New Year upon us, and the Christmas break quickly fading from our minds, the time has come again for New Year Resolutions. It's that time of year when we all vow to make that positive change to our lives, and sign up to the Gym to lose a few Christmas calories.
But despite all the good intentions that we had, it's interesting to see how quickly gym membership drops after January. We know that gym, walking and cycling are good for us, and most of us would like to have a well-toned body, so why don't we keep to these promises?
This gap between our intentions and our behaviour has puzzled psychologists for some time. Is it because we're not very good at making plans, or do we forget them? One theory that helps explain people's failure to maintain comes from Gollwitzer & Brandstatter (1997), with an idea called Implementation Intentions.
They argue that when we make plans, we often do it in a very loose and informal way: "Oh, I'll join the Gym in January". It's a noble start, but there's no detail for us to jog our memories. What Implementation Intentions require are stricter, more focused intentions: "I'll join the Gym in January, I'll go Monday and Wednesday after work, and I'll find out the times of buses to get there". By reinforcing the motivation with specific environment based cues, we are more likely to remember the intention: we'll act on it because we know the details of the event and we'll be reminded when work finishes on Monday.
It's a very simple method of reinforcing intentions, and it does seem to work very well. Research by Luszczynska (2006) reported on a group of patients recovering from heart attacks and their attendance to meetings & recommended physical activity levels. Half of the patients received no extra guidance, and the other half were asked to use Implementation Intentions.
Results showed that the second group, who made detailed plans, maintained a constant commitment to meetings throughout the 8 months after recuperation, while the first group's attendance declined significantly. For the physical activity, only patients who used implementation intentions continued their recommended 3 sessions a week of exercise eight months later.
This shows that it is possible to get people to do positive behaviours through simple and effective ways. If we can encourage people to make more detailed plans for travel behaviour, we can introduce more people to taking sustainable ways of transport. Just like going to the gym, sometimes we all need just that little extra push.
If you'd like to hear more about how psychology can influence behaviour, you can send us an email at CTP@jmp.co.uk or you can visit our website at http://vctp.org/vctp/
In partnership with PTRC, the CTP will be holding a seminar series in London from March 2010 on how psychology and transport can work together for sustainable travel. If you would like to find out more about this exciting new venture, please do get in touch.
References:
Gollwitzer, P.M., & Brandstatter, V. (1997). Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 186-199.
Luszczynska, A. (2006). An implementation intentions intervention, the use of a planning strategy, and physical activity after myocardial infarction. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 900-908.
