Implicating Self-Control in the Mechanism by which Implementation Intentions Reduce Stress-Induced Unhealthy Eating: a C
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INVITED COMMENTARY
Implicating Self-Control in the Mechanism by which Implementation Intentions Reduce Stress-Induced Unhealthy Eating: a Comment on O’Connor et al. Martin S. Hagger, BA (hons), Dip Psych, PhD
# The Society of Behavioral Medicine 2015
O’Connor and colleagues (1) present an innovative evaluation of a theory-based tool to reduce stress-induced unhealthy eating. Their research is exemplary of the progress being made in research adopting theories of planning, particularly, actioncontrol theory (2, 3), and how behavior modification strategies based on this model (e.g., planning, implementation intentions) can be applied to address the intention-behavior “gap” frequently cited in models of social cognition (4–7) and attain better health outcomes (8, 9). I would like to commend their use of progressive methods of measurement and analysis. The use of daily diary methods as a means to evaluate caloric consumption represents a step change toward more accurate and comprehensive assessments of eating behavior (10). The adoption of multi-level analysis is also an important application in light of the recent focus on behavior change above mere behavioral prediction in the behavioral medicine literature (11–14). The inclusion of a moderator analysis to examine the effectiveness of the intervention among individuals with varying levels of motivation is also important given the claims that implementation intentions are maximally effective when individuals have formed strong intentions (3, 8, 15–18). Overall, my view is that the article makes substantial theoretical, measurement, and practical innovations. I would like to seize this opportunity to point out some additional theoretical interpretations of the findings based on research developments in the domain of self-control and
M. S. Hagger (*) Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine Research Group, School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia e-mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.martinhagger.com
implicit processes. I hope that these proposals will make a contribution to further understand the mechanisms by which planning interventions like implementation intentions affect changes in automatic, well-learned, and impulsive actions that are strongly associated through repeated action to cues such as stress (8, 19, 20). In particular, I think that self-control, a variable that has received considerable recent attention in the scientific literature (21), particularly health (22), may be implicated in the explanation of the effects of planning strategies on behavior change. I think self-control is particularly pertinent in this context because it has been identified as a key factor in overcoming automatic, non-conscious responses that are well-learned and impulse driven, usually with a component that is reinforced by dopamine-mediated intrinsic reward systems in the brain (22–29). O’Connor and colleagues’ (1) focus on stress-induced eating is based on generalized
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