Module 5 · Motivation & mind · Supported by multiple studies

The gap between intending and doing

Why wanting to and committing to are not enough on their own.

6 min read · Level: Intermediate · Free — no account needed to read

The problem it solves

Why isn’t deciding to do something — even committing to it — enough?

The concept

The intention–behaviour gap is the distance between what people intend and what they do. Experiments that changed people’s intentions by a lot changed their behaviour by much less.

Intentions fail for predictable reasons: not getting started, getting derailed by distractions or obstacles, and not following through to the end. Commitment helps, especially made specific and sometimes public, but it doesn’t close the gap alone.

What closes more of it is planning (when, where, how), preparing for obstacles, and building the behaviour into a cue so that it no longer depends on remembering the intention.

Why it matters

Knowing the gap is normal stops you reading it as a lack of sincerity, and points you toward the tools that bridge it.

Supported by multiple studies: Many studies, often pooled in reviews or meta-analyses, point the same way. It still works better for some people and situations than others.

See it happen

Emma sincerely commits to calling her grandmother every week, but weeks go by.

The ordinary first approach

She must not care enough, and feels guilty about it.

With the idea

She sees the gap as normal and adds a plan: every Sunday after lunch, with the number saved on her home screen.

What changed

The commitment now has a when and a cue, so it no longer depends on remembering.

Easy to get wrong

• Treating the gap as proof you don’t really want it.
• Making stronger promises instead of better plans.
• Committing publicly to a plan with no when or where.

Try it now: Find where your intention leaks

1. Pick one thing you intend but don’t do.
2. Ask: do I fail to start, get derailed, or not finish?
3. Choose one tool for that point — a plan, a coping plan, or a finish line.

Apply it to one of your habits

For one of your habits, where does the intention leak — starting, staying on track, or finishing?

Reflect

• Which of your intentions have the biggest gap?

Go deeper — evidence & sources

• Webb & Sheeran (2006). Does changing behavioral intentions engender behavior change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.2.249
• Sheeran & Webb (2016). The Intention–Behavior Gap. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. doi:10.1111/spc3.12265
• Rhodes & de Bruijn (2013). How big is the physical activity intention–behaviour gap? A meta-analysis using the action control framework. British Journal of Health Psychology. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12032