How implementation intention facilitates behavior change? From instant habits to embodied cognition

Forming implementation intentions (“If I encounter situation X, then I will perform response Y in order to achieve Z”) promotes the translation of goal intentions (“I wish to achieve Z”) into real actions. The aim of the present article is to review the action control processes elicited by this technique. We analyze the processes implied in the initiation of responses and in their maintenance. Specifically, we will review 1) how implementation intentions modify past habits, that are resistant to change; 2) the flexible and tenacious characteristic of goal pursuit when this strategy has been formed; 3) using the concept of sensorimotor simulations, we will analyze how the mere verbal “if, then” act may facilitate the enactment of real actions.