The effects of self-discordance, self-concordance, and implementation intentions on health behavior

Abstract

Building upon previous research on implementation intentions, the present study hypothesized that implementation intentions would be beneficial for participants who endorsed self-concordant and self-discordant forms of motivation. Self-concordance describes the extent to which goals are congruent with organismic needs for self-determination, competence, and relatedness whereas self-discordance describes the extent to which goals and behaviors are incongruent with these needs. Results showed that implementation intentions were beneficial for people who endorsed self-discordant forms of motivation. In addition, a statistically nonsignificant trend was observed for implementation intentions to be beneficial among individuals who endorsed self-concordant forms of motivation. It is concluded that implementation exercises are beneficial for individuals who endorse self-discordant motivation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.