Effects of directed thinking on intentions to engage in beneficial activities: Actions versus reasons

An important application of psychological principles involves increasing in tentions to engage in activities that, although admittedly beneficial, are often not initially appealing (e.g., studying, quitting smoking, dieting). The present study tests the utility of directed thinking as a tool for elic iting intentions to engage in such activities. Undergraduate students were directed to think either about the reasons why people should find studying enjoyable or about the actions that people might take to make studying enjo yable. Regardless of whether they thought as individuals or in cooperating dyads, students who thought about actions later reported greater intentions to spend time studying than did students who thought about reasons. The re sults have both theoretical and practical significance.