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Evidence That Implicit Beliefs Moderate the Automaticity-Behavior Relationship in Health Behaviors

Objective: Implicit attitudes toward behaviors develop over time through repeated experience of behaviors alongside associated evaluations. Implicit attitudes can be activated on presentation of cues or other behaviorally-relevant information, which may also activate an associated behavioral response. The implicit attitude-behavior link means that the associated behavioral response is likely to be non-consciously and automatically enacted. Implicit attitude strength should, therefore, moderate effects of behavioral automaticity on subsequent behavior. Methods: The moderating effect of implicit attitudes on effects of automaticity on health behavior was investigated using a two-wave correlational design. Two samples of University students completed measures of attitudes, behavioral automaticity, and implicit attitudes for free-sugar intake (sample 1) and heavy episodic drinking (sample 2) at an initial time point, with follow-up behavioral measures taken at two and five weeks later, respectively. Results: Moderated path analyses indicated that attitudes and behavioral automaticity predicted behavior in both samples. Implicit attitudes moderated the automaticity-behavior relationship in both samples. The effect of behavioral automaticity on behavior was largest when implicit attitudes were high. Conclusions: Findings provide important preliminary evidence that individuals with strong implicit attitudes are more likely to enact their behavior automatically rather than as part of an intentional process.