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QUESTION-309: Within one design, do contingent if-then plans outperform schedule plans for the same goal, sample and outcome, does recording the plan weaken it, and does rehearsal work through the accessibility of the cue or the strength of the cue–response link?

1 min read

Properties4
StatusOpen
Tagsmotivation, behavioral-integration, cognition
Linewill-organization
Cited as “bears on” byTHEORY-1175 — Between tests, implementation intentions in the contingent if-then format had larger effects than plans that schedule when, where and what without linking cue to response (d = .43 against .29); rehearsing the plan once raised the effect, keeping a copy to revisit lowered it (.31 against .44), and adding how or for how long to a time-and-place cue roughly halved it, THEORY-908 — Between tests, uncorrected for publication bias, implementation intentions in the contingent if-then format had larger effects than plans that schedule when, where and what without linking cue to response (d = .43 against .29); tests in which the plan was rehearsed had larger effects (.45 against .33, with no gain beyond one rehearsal), tests in which it was recorded had smaller ones (.31 against .44), and adding how or for how long to a time and place went with about half the effect (.24 against .46)

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Why it is a question

THEORY-908 holds that, between tests, contingent if-then plans had larger effects than schedule plans, rehearsed plans larger effects than plans not rehearsed, and recorded plans smaller ones. Contingent and schedule plans come from different studies, outcomes and settings, and the authors’ reading of the recording cost, deliberation undermining automaticity, was not measured. No within-study comparison was pooled.

What would answer it

An experiment that randomly assigns contingent against schedule plans for the same goal, sample and outcome, and recording against not recording the plan, finding the contingent advantage and the recording cost within one design; and a test that rehearsal works through cue accessibility or cue–response link strength. The differences are refuted as effects of the plan if within-study comparisons show no format difference, or if the recording cost disappears once outcome type is held fixed. More between-test moderator analyses cannot answer it.

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