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Psychology of Planning
Peter M Gollwitzer1,2,3, Paschal Sheeran4,5
1Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA;
Annual Review of Psychology
|January 17, 2025
Summary
Making if-then plans, a goal-achievement strategy, enhances cognitive functions, emotional control, and behavior change. This research explores how specific planning strategies effectively support flexible yet tenacious goal pursuit.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Motivation Science
Background:
- Planning is a key area of study across various psychological fields.
- Understanding effective planning strategies is crucial for goal attainment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine planning through the lens of motivation science.
- To identify which planning strategies best help individuals achieve their goals.
- To investigate the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral benefits of if-then planning.
Main Methods:
- Focus on the strategy of making if-then plans (implementation intentions).
- Review of existing literature on cognitive performance, emotion control, behavior change, and social interactions.
- Identification of moderators affecting if-then planning outcomes.
Main Results:
- If-then planning enhances cognitive functions like attention control, prospective memory, and executive functions.
- Positive impacts observed in emotion control, desired behavior change, and social interactions.
- Moderators include sample characteristics, goal features, and plan specificity.
Conclusions:
- If-then planning positively influences thinking, feeling, and acting towards goal achievement.
- Understanding the underlying processes of if-then planning can optimize its effectiveness.
- This strategy promotes flexible yet tenacious goal pursuit.
Keywords:
automaticitybehavior changecognitive performanceemotion controlgoalsif-then plansimplementation intentionsmotivationself-regulationsocial interactionsMore Related Videos
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