Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26236214›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in human neuroscience2015

Promoting the translation of intentions into action by implementation intentions: behavioral effects and physiological correlates.

Frank Wieber, J Lukas Thürmer, Peter M Gollwitzer

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
52citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

52 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. The puzzle of profitless pre-cues.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Evaluation of physical rehabilitation in patients receiving curative treatment for head and neck cancer: The NUTRIMOUV randomized phase II trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
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  18. Phenylketonuria as an Adherence Disease.Patient preference and adherence · 2025
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Frank WieberSocial Psychology and Motivation Group, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz Konstanz, Germany.
J Lukas ThürmerSocial Psychology and Motivation Group, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz Konstanz, Germany ; Graduate School of Decision Sciences, University of Konstanz Konstanz, Germany.
Peter M GollwitzerSocial Psychology and Motivation Group, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz Konstanz, Germany ; Motivation Lab, Department of Psychology, New York University, New York NY, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The present review addresses the physiological correlates of planning effects on behavior. Although intentions to act qualify as predictors of behavior, accumulated evidence indicates that there is a substantial gap between even strong intentions and subsequent action. One effective strategy to reduce this intention-behavior gap is the formation of implementation intentions that specify when, where, and how to act on a given goal in an if-then format ("If I encounter situation Y, then I will initiate action Z!"). It has been proposed that implementation intentions render the mental representation of the situation highly accessible and establish a strong associative link between the mental representations of the situation and the action. These process assumptions have been examined in behavioral research, and in physiological research, a field that has begun to investigate the temporal dynamics of and brain areas involved in implementation intention effects. In the present review, we first summarize studies on the cognitive processes that are central to the strategic automation of action control by implementation intentions. We then examine studies involving critical samples with impaired self-regulation. Lastly, we review studies that have applied physiological measures such as heart rate, cortisol level, and eye movement, as well as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on the neural correlates of implementation intention effects. In support of the assumed processes, implementation intentions increased goal attainment in studies on cognitive processes and in critical samples, modulated brain waves related to perceptual and decision processes, and generated less activity in brain areas associated with effortful action control. In our discussion, we reflect on the status quo of physiological research on implementation intentions, methodological and conceptual issues, related research, and propose future directions.

Indexed as

actionEEGfMRIgoalsimplementation intentionsself-regulation

Identifiers

PMID26236214
PMCPMC4500900

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.