Perceived legitimacy can moderate the effect of proscriptive versus prescriptive injunctions on intentions to comply with UK government COVID-19 guidelines and reactance.

Proscriptive injunctions (i.e., telling people what they should not do) have been found in research to elicit greater perceptions of a threat to freedom, and greater reactance (anger, irritation and annoyance), than prescriptive injunctions (i.e., telling people what they should do), across several health and social behaviors. The current research investigated the effects of Injunction Type (proscriptive vs. prescriptive) and perceived legitimacy of the injunction, on intentions to comply with UK government behavioral guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and on reactance. In two online experimental studies (Study 1: N = 142; Study 2: N = 307), UK participants were presented with information about UK government COVID-19 guidelines that included either a proscriptive injunction or prescriptive injunction and reported their perceptions of the legitimacy of the injunction, their intentions to comply with government guidelines, and their reactance. In both Study 1 and Study 2, the effect of Injunction Type on intentions to comply and reactance was moderated by perceived legitimacy. In both studies, when perceived legitimacy was low, participants exposed to the proscriptive injunction indicated lower intentions to comply with UK government COVID-19 guidelines than did participants exposed to the prescriptive injunction. The findings imply that using a prescriptive injunction frame can elicit greater intentions to comply than using a proscriptive injunction frame when people perceive the injunction to be unreasonable. The results are discussed in relation to the role of legitimacy in determining the effectiveness of different types of injunctions on compliance with rules and guidelines.

Impulsivity and temporal frame: Reducing frequency of snacking by highlighting immediate health benefits.

The current study aimed to examine the effect of giving temporally framed health information regarding either the immediate or long-term health consequences of consuming high-calorie snacks, for people with high Negative Urgency (a dimension of impulsivity), and for those primed with impulsivity. We expected that for participants with high Negative Urgency, and those primed with impulsivity, information which detailed the immediate health benefits of avoiding snack consumption would be more effective than information which detailed long-term health benefits. Participants (N=110) completed a measure of Negative Urgency, reported their snacking frequency over the previous seven days, and completed either an impulsivity or neutral prime task. Following this, they read information detailing either the immediate or long-term health benefits of avoiding high-calorie snacks. High-calorie snack consumption was reported 7days later. The results showed a significant three-way interaction between Negative Urgency, prime task, and temporal frame. Participants who were primed with impulsivity and those high in Negative Urgency showed a greater reduction in snacking frequency after being given information about the immediate vs. long-term health benefits of snacking. The results suggest that the immediacy of health consequences should be considered when designing health information to reduce impulsive snacking behaviour.

Promoting the avoidance of high-calorie snacks: priming autonomy moderates message framing effects.

The beneficial effects of gain-framed vs. loss-framed messages promoting health protective behaviors have been found to be inconsistent, and consideration of potential moderating variables is essential if framed health promotion messages are to be effective. This research aimed to determine the influence of highlighting autonomy (choice and freedom) and heteronomy (coercion) on the avoidance of high-calorie snacks following reading gain-framed or loss-framed health messages. In Study 1 (N = 152) participants completed an autonomy, neutral, or heteronomy priming task, and read a gain-framed or loss-framed health message. In Study 2 (N = 242) participants read a gain-framed or loss-framed health message with embedded autonomy or heteronomy primes. In both studies, snacking intentions and behavior were recorded after seven days. In both studies, when autonomy was highlighted, the gain-framed message (compared to the loss-framed message) resulted in stronger intentions to avoid high-calorie snacks, and lower self-reported snack consumption after seven days. Study 2 demonstrated this effect occurred only for participants to whom the information was most relevant (BMI>25). The results suggest that messages promoting healthy dietary behavior may be more persuasive if the autonomy-supportive vs. coercive nature of the health information is matched to the message frame. Further research is needed to examine potential mediating processes.

Combining self-affirmation and implementation intentions: evidence of detrimental effects on behavioral outcomes.

BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence that self-affirmation manipulations can promote health behavior change. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore whether the efficacy of a self-affirmation manipulation at promoting exercise could be enhanced by an implementation intention intervention. METHODS: Participants (Study 1 N = 120, Study 2 N = 116) were allocated to one of four conditions resulting from the two (self-affirmation manipulation: no affirmation, affirmation) by two (implementation intention manipulation: no implementation intention, implementation intention) experimental design. Exercise behavior was assessed 1 week post-intervention. RESULTS: Contrary to prediction, those participants receiving both manipulations were significantly less likely to increase the amount they exercised compared to those receiving only the self-affirmation manipulation. CONCLUSION: Incorporating an implementation intention manipulation alongside a self-affirmation manipulation had a detrimental effect on exercise behavior; participants receiving both manipulations exercised significantly less in the week following the intervention.

Promoting fruit and vegetable consumption: the role of message framing and autonomy.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that gain-framed messages (vs. loss-framed messages) are more effective when advocating 'low-risk' prevention behaviours (e.g., diet, exercise, dental flossing) that minimize the risk of a health problem.The objective of the reported research was to explore whether autonomy moderated the effectiveness of gain-framed vs. loss-framed messages encouraging fruit and vegetable consumption. DESIGN: A prospective design was used for this study. METHOD: At time 1, participants (N = 177) completed a measure of autonomy and read either a gain-framed message (describing the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption) or a loss-framed message (describing the disadvantages of not eating fruit and vegetables). At time 2, participants reported their fruit and vegetable consumption over the preceding 7 days. RESULTS: Autonomy moderated the effect of message framing. Gain-framed messages only prompted fruit and vegetable consumption amongst those with high levels of autonomy. CONCLUSION: The study identifies a key role for autonomy in shaping recipients' responses to framed messages promoting fruit and vegetable consumption.

Reflective and non-reflective antecedents of health-related behaviour: exploring the relative contributions of impulsivity and implicit self-control to the prediction of dietary behaviour.

OBJECTIVES: This study (N= 139) explored whether two measures that capture non-reflective processing (viz. a self-report measure of impulsivity and a behavioural measure of implicit self-control) would contribute to the prediction of dietary behaviour over and above cognitive predictors specified by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). METHODS: Four dimensions of impulsivity were measured at Time 1. Implicit self-control was measured at Time 2, alongside TPB predictors relating to the avoidance of high-calorie snacks. At Time 3, participants reported their snacking behaviour over the previous 2 weeks. RESULTS: Results revealed that both impulsivity and implicit self-control significantly contributed to the prediction of snacking behaviour over and above the TPB predictors. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the predictive utility of models such as the TPB might be augmented by the inclusion of variables that capture non-reflective information processing.

Identifying evidence-based competences required to deliver behavioural support for smoking cessation.

BACKGROUND: No systematic basis has yet been published for specifying competences needed to underpin behavioural support for smoking cessation. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a system for identifying competences required for the delivery of individual and group-based behavioural support for smoking cessation. METHODS: Sets of recommended competences for behavioural support were identified from a range of guidance documents. Where possible, these were compared with ones based on behaviour change techniques identified within behavioural support programmes found to be effective in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and, for individual behavioural support, ones associated with higher success rates in the English Stop Smoking Services. RESULTS: Ninety-four competences were identified (71 individual and 23 additional group competences), of which 59 were cited in at least two guidance documents (51 and 8, respectively). Fourteen of the individual competences and three of the group competences were supported by RCT evidence and, for individual competences, nine were supported by evidence from the services. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to identify competences recommended for behavioural support for smoking cessation and subsets supported by different types of evidence. This approach can form the basis for the development of assessment and training of stop smoking practitioners and is currently doing so in a national programme in England. With further research, the list of evidence-based competences is likely to be extended.

Too impulsive for implementation intentions? Evidence that impulsivity moderates the effectiveness of an implementation intention intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The reported research explored whether impulsivity moderated the effectiveness of an implementation intention prompt to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. DESIGN: The study employed a prospective experimental design. At Time 1, participants completed a measure of impulsivity. At Time 2, participants in the experimental condition formed implementation intentions to increase their fruit and vegetable intake by two extra portions daily over the following 7 days. Participants in the control condition performed an equivalent neutral task. At Time 3, participants reported their fruit and vegetable consumption over the preceding 7 days. RESULTS: The impulsivity dimension urgency moderated the effectiveness of the implementation intention intervention. Implementation intention formation only prompted fruit and vegetable consumption amongst those with low levels of urgency. Implementation intention formation did not increase consumption amongst those high in urgency. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that implementation intention interventions may fail to promote goal attainment for those high in impulsivity.

Spontaneous implementation intentions and impulsivity: can impulsivity moderate the effectiveness of planning strategies?

OBJECTIVE: Self-initiated plans relating to when, where, and how behaviour will be performed have been shown to be effective in promoting goal progress. The current study (N=256) explored whether any impact of self-initiated implementation intentions on the avoidance of snacking was moderated by impulsivity. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study employed a prospective design. At Time 1, participants reported the extent to which they had formed self-initiated implementation intentions to avoid eating high-calorie snacks. At Time 2, participants reported their snack consumption over the preceding 2 weeks and completed a measure of impulsivity. RESULTS: Impulsivity (urgency) moderated the effect of self-initiated implementation intentions on snack consumption. Specifically, self-initiated implementation intentions benefited the avoidance of snacking most for those low in impulsivity and least for those high in impulsivity. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that impulsivity might form an important boundary condition to the effectiveness of self-initiated implementation intention formation in relation to snacking.

Impulsive and/or planned behaviour: can impulsivity contribute to the predictive utility of the theory of planned behaviour?

This prospective study tested the prediction that impulsivity would contribute to the prediction of behaviour over and above key variables from an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model. At Time 1, participants completed a questionnaire including measures of TPB constructs related to the avoidance of high-calorie snacks, in addition to measures of impulsivity and dietary restraint. At Time 2, participants (N=315) completed a questionnaire assessing their snacking behaviour over the previous 2 weeks. Results revealed that impulsivity significantly contributed to the prediction of behaviour over and above TPB constructs, with those higher in impulsivity being more likely to snack. This relationship was not moderated by behavioural intention. It is concluded that impulsivity might profitably be included alongside TPB variables when predicting behaviours that are not adequately characterized by careful, analytic, compensatory decision-making strategies.