The Impact of Autonomy-Framed and Control-Framed Implementation Intentions on Snacking Behaviour: The Moderating...

Area of Science:

• Behavioral psychology
• Health psychology
• Dietary interventions

Background:

• Implementation intentions facilitate goal-directed behavior.
• Autonomy-supportive strategies enhance goal pursuit.
• Eating self-efficacy may influence the effectiveness of different implementation intention frames.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if eating self-efficacy moderates the impact of autonomy-framed versus control-framed implementation intentions on reducing high-calorie snack intake.
• To understand how individual differences in self-efficacy affect the success of dietary interventions.

Main Methods:

• Randomized prospective design with 300 UK participants.
• Two waves of data collection assessing snacking behavior, implementation intention framing, and eating self-efficacy.
• Hierarchical multiple regression analysis to examine moderation effects.

Main Results:

• Eating self-efficacy significantly moderated the effects of implementation intention framing.
• Autonomy-framed intentions were more effective for high self-efficacy individuals.
• Control-framed intentions were more effective for low self-efficacy individuals.

Conclusions:

• The effectiveness of implementation intentions for healthy eating depends on eating self-efficacy.
• Intervention design should consider and adapt to individual self-efficacy levels for optimal results.
• Tailoring motivational strategies to self-efficacy is crucial for dietary change.