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Why intentions often don’t lead to behaviour change

In a recent article, I explained how there is no magic number of days to form a new habit. In this article, I discuss an important process which needs to take place early in the habit formation process — The intention. For a behaviour to become second nature to us, we must first have an intention to act. Then we must act. To develop a habit, we must practice the behaviour repeatedly for it to become an almost instinctive part of the way we live our life.


We often hear about the gap between us undertaking a new behaviour and developing a long-term habit. Although there is a lesser talked about bridge which often gets in the way — the gap between our intentions and our actual behaviour.



Intention alone is insufficient

A recent scientific article combined 22 studies which investigated the relationship between people’s intention to engage in physical activity and their actual behaviours. The results showed that people are unlikely to be physically active without intentions. Just 4.2% of participants became active without initially intending to. This study also found that while intention is necessary, it is often not sufficient to perform the behaviour. A third of participants intended to become active but didn’t follow through with the behaviour.


Source: Feil et al. (2023)


This research identified important differences among specific population groups. For example, students showed the largest intention-behaviour gap, with 56% intending to become active, but failing to do so. Whereas participants suffering with health conditions showed the smallest intention-behaviour gap — with 40% unable to act on their intentions.


How physical activity was measured in different studies had a significant impact upon the intention-behaviour gap. Studies which used objective measures (such as wearable devices) showed a much higher gap between intentions and behaviours, with 71% of people failing to act on their intentions. This implies that the actual gap between people’s intentions and their subsequent behaviour, could be much greater than previously thought.



Bridging the intention-behaviour gap

To increase the likelihood of intentions leading to behaviour change, additional support is needed to bridge the intention-behaviour gap. We should tailor different support to people who have already formed an intention to act, and those who have no intention to behave differently. For example, those who have already formed intentions could benefit from guidance and support to get started. Whereas those without intentions may require additional communication and incentives to positively change their behaviour.


The available research tells us that behaviours, such as physical activity, are stubborn, and many people find it difficult to get started. This research showed that 59% either did not intend to become active or failed to become active despite intending to. We must find innovative population-level solutions to help people see the value of physical activity and start their journey into activity.


If you read an academic paper or blog post into addressing the intention-behaviour gap, here you’ll often be offered several surface level ways to bridge the gap — Maybe we need to build people’s confidence? Or nudge them to make the ‘right decision’? Perhaps people need to develop an action plan?


Surface level solutions will likely only produce a surface level impact. Any change they do support, will likely only lead to short term behaviour change. To support people to change their behaviour over the long-term, we need to ask two key questions


  1. Is the offer great enough?

  2. Are the personal, social and environmental barriers too big to overcome?


For people to bridge the gap between their initial intention to act, and their actual behaviour, the reward for acting must be great enough for them to take the plunge. They must also be able to act. If a person is personally or socially excluded from a certain behaviour, it is highly unlikely that they will act.


To bridge the intention-behaviour gap, new behaviours must be suitably rewarding and existing barriers need to be broken down to help people get started. As a result, it’s necessary to understand the target group and co-design new programmes, policies or services with them. This will allow us to build on what they value, and address the personal, social and environmental barriers they face.


The takeaway

Intentions are the building blocks of behaviour change. However, many people fail to act on their intentions. Experimental research shows that a large increase in intention only has a small impact upon actual behaviour.


To bridge the intention-behaviour gap we need to think differently about how we promote and deliver programmes. We need to appeal to what people value to help them connect new behaviours with something they care about. This will help to build the desire and motivation to act.


This, however, will not be enough. We also need to understand the deeper barriers which are preventing people from getting started. By understanding people’s true barriers — beyond surface level barriers such as lack of time — we can deliver programmes and policies which people are more likely to engage with.


This article is part of a series exploring how to better understand and change behaviour at scale. Other articles in this series are available here: https://www.improvingsociety.org/perspectives


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Sources:

  1. Feil, K., Fritsch, J., & Rhodes, R. E. (2023). The intention-behaviour gap in physical activity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the action control framework. British Journal of Sports Medicine. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2022–106640

  2. Rhodes RE, Dickau L. (2012). Experimental evidence for the intention-behavior relationship in the physical activity domain: a meta-analysis. Health Psychol, 31, 724–7.

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