Boosting scholastic test scores by willpower: The role of implementation intentions

As both high self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1997 Bandura, A. 1997. Self-efficacy: The exercise of control, New York: Freeman. [Google Scholar]) and forming implementation intentions (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006 Gollwitzer, P. M. and Sheeran, P. 2006. Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances of Experimental Social Psychology, 38: 69–119. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) are known to improve goal attainment, it is suggested that implementation intentions geared at strengthening self-efficacy should be a very helpful self-regulation strategy to achieve high scholastic test scores. In Study 1, female participants had to perform a math test either with the goal intention of solving as many problems as possible or with an additional self-efficacy strengthening implementation intention. In Study 2, male participants worked on an analytic reasoning test under either a mere achievement goal intention, an additional self-efficacy strengthening implementation intention, or an additional self-efficacy strengthening goal intention. In both studies, participants with self-efficacy strengthening implementation intentions outperformed the mere achievement goal intention participants. Moreover, Study 2 showed that additional self-efficacy strengthening goal intentions were not as effective as additional self-efficacy strengthening implementation intentions. The results are discussed in terms of their contribution to research on both self-efficacy and implementation intentions.