***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Two studies tested whether action control by implementation intentions is sensitive to the activation and strength of participants ’ underlying goal intentions . In Study 1 , participants formed implementation intentions ( or did not )  and their goal intentions were measured . Findings revealed a significant interaction between implementation intentions and the strength of respective goal intentions . Implementation intentions benefited the rate of goal attainment when participants had strong goal intentions but not when goal intentions were weak . Study 2 activated either a task-relevant or a neutral goal outside of participants ’ conscious awareness and found that implementation intentions affected performance only when the relevant goal had been activated . These findings indicate that the rate of goal attainment engendered by implementation intentions takes account of the state ( strength , activation ) of people ’s superordinate goal intentions Significance High attrition from educational programs is a major obstacle to social mobility and a persistent source of economic inefficiency . Over two-thirds of students entering a 2-y institution fail to earn a credential in the United States . In online courses , attrition rates are even higher . In two large field experiments , we tested the conditions under which a writing activity that facilitates goal commitment and goal -directed behavior reduces attrition in online courses . The activity raised completion rates by up to 78 % for members of individualist cultures and primarily for those who contended with predictable and surmountable obstacles in the form of everyday obligations , but it was ineffective in collectivist cultures and for people contending with other types of obstacles . Academic credentials open up a wealth of opportunities . However , many people drop out of educational programs , such as community college and online courses . Prior research found that a brief self-regulation strategy can improve self-discipline and academic outcomes . Could this strategy support learners at large scale ? Mental contrasting with implementation intentions ( MCII ) involves writing about positive outcomes associated with a goal , the obstacles to achieving it , and concrete if – then plans to overcome them . The strategy was developed in Western countries ( United States , Germany ) and appeals to individualist tendencies , which may reduce its efficacy in collectivist cultures such as India or China . We tested this hypothesis in two r and omized controlled experiments in online courses ( n = 17,963 ) . Learners in individualist cultures were 32 % ( first experiment ) and 15 % ( second experiment ) more likely to complete the course following the MCII intervention than a control activity . In contrast , learners in collectivist cultures were unaffected by MCII . Natural language processing of written responses revealed that  MCII  was effective when a learner ’s primary obstacle was predictable and surmountable , such as everyday work or family obligations but not a practical constraint ( e.g. , Internet access ) or a lack of time . By revealing heterogeneity in  MCII  ’s effectiveness , this research advances theory on self-regulation and illuminates how even highly efficacious interventions may be culturally bounded in their effects OBJECTIVE This study tested whether an intervention that combined information with self-regulation strategies had a better effect on eating fruits and vegetables than an information-only intervention . DESIGN Women between age 30 and 50 ( N = 255 ) participated in a 24-month r and omized controlled trial comparing two brief interventions : All participants received the same information intervention ; participants in the information plus self-regulation group additionally learned a self-regulation technique that integrates mental contrasting with implementation intentions . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Participants reported in daily diaries how many servings of fruits and vegetables they ate per day during 1 week at baseline , and in the first week , 1 , 2 , 4 , and 24 months after intervention . RESULTS Participants in both groups ate more fruits and vegetables ( 0.47 to 1.00 daily servings ) than at baseline during the first 4 months after intervention . Two years later , participants in the information plus self-regulation group maintained the higher intake , whereas participants in the information group returned to baseline levels . CONCLUSION Adding self-regulation training to an information intervention increased its effectiveness for long-term behavior change This study evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention based on the concept of implementation intentions for reducing dietary fat intake .  Participants ( n=264 ) completed question naires on their motivation to eat a low-fat diet before being r and omized to either an experimental condition , which required them to form an implementation intention , or a control condition . Results showed that , after 1 month , fat intake , saturated fat intake , and the proportion of energy derived from fat decreased significantly in the experimental group but not in the control group . This difference could not be explained by differences in motivation between the 2 groups . The findings are discussed in relation to the use of implementation intentions instead of tailored interventions to change behavior in general population OBJECTIVE Fantasy realization theory ( Oettingen , 2012 ) proposes that fantasizing about a desired future or dwelling upon negative reality rarely changes behavior whereas mentally contrasting fantasy with reality can be an effective behavior change technique . This is because mental contrasting energizes people to overcome obstacles that st and in the way of their desired future . The present study tested whether mental contrasting promotes rates of physical activity among overweight , middle-aged , and low-SES men . METHOD A r and omized controlled trial was conducted with members of an angling club in the north of Engl and ( N = 467 ) . At baseline , participants completed a postal question naire that measured cognitions about physical activity .  The intervention was embedded in the question naire for relevant participants . Behavior was followed up via telephone at 1 month and 7 months postbaseline . The key outcome measure was a vali date d , self-report measure of physical activity ( Godin , Jobin & Bouillon , 1986 ) taken at all three time-points . RESULTS Longitudinal , explanatory , and intention-to-treat analyses each indicated that mental contrasting was effective in enhancing rates of physical activity .  Mental contrasting also aided the translation of beliefs about the value and worth of physical activity ( instrumental attitudes ) into action . CONCLUSION Mental contrasting appears to be an effective self-regulatory intervention for promoting physical activity and warrants further tests in health psychology Background Regular exercise can have positive effects on both the physical and mental health of individuals with schizophrenia . However , deficits in cognition , perception , affect , and volition make it especially difficult for people with schizophrenia to plan and follow through with their exercising intentions , as indicated by poor attendance and high drop-out rates in prior studies . Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions ( MCII ) is a well-established strategy to support the enactment of intended actions . This pilot study tests whether MCII helps people with schizophrenia in highly structured or autonomy-focused clinical hospital setting s to translate their exercising intentions into action . Methods Thirty-six in patients ( eleven women ) with a mean age of 30.89 years ( SD = 11.41 ) diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders from specialized highly structured or autonomy-focused wards were r and omly assigned to two intervention groups . In the equal contact goal intention control condition , patients read an informative text about physical activity ; they then set and wrote down the goal to attend jogging sessions . In the MCII experimental condition , patients read the same informative text and then worked through the MCII strategy . We hypothesized that MCII would increase attendance and persistence relative to the control condition over the course of four weeks and this will be especially be the case when applied in an autonomy-focused setting compared to when applied in a highly structured setting . Results When applied in autonomy-focused setting s , MCII  increased attendance and persistence in jogging group sessions relative to the control condition . In the highly structured setting , no differences between conditions were found , most likely due to a ceiling effect . These results remained even when adjusting for group differences in the pre-intervention scores for the control variables depression ( BDI ) , physical activity ( IPAQ ) , weight ( BMI ) , age , and education . Whereas commitment and physical activity apart from the jogging sessions remained stable over the course of the treatment , depression and negative symptoms were reduced . There were no differences in pre-post treatment changes between intervention groups . Conclusions The intervention in the present study provides initial support for the hypothesis that MCII helps patients to translate their exercising intentions into real-life behavior even in autonomously-focused setting s without social control . Trial registration Clinical Trials.gov ID ; URL : NCT01547026 Registered 3 March 2012 Objective : Stroke is the most common cause of physical impairment , and having already had a stroke dramatically increases the risk of having another one . Although greater physical activity lowers rates of stroke recurrence , patients often fail to act in line with this recommendation . The present intervention tested whether teaching the self-regulation strategy of mental contrasting ( MC ) with implementation intentions ( II ; MCII ) improves stroke patients ’ physical activity and weight loss over 1 year compared with 2 information-only , control interventions . Research Method : Participants were 183 stroke survivors who were capable of adhering to physical activity recommendations ( age : M = 57 years ; body mass index ( BMI ): M = 30 ) . Patients were r and omized to 3 conditions : unstructured information ( n = 61 ) , structured information ( n = 62 ) , and structured information plus MCII ( n = 60 ) . Patients ’ physical activity was assessed 50 weeks after they had left the rehabilitation hospital using the Baecke Inventory ( Baecke , Burema , & Frijters , 1982 ) , and by diaries provided at 2 consecutive weekends after 0 , 10 , 20 , 30 , 40 , and 50 weeks . Diaries were also used to assess weight change . Results : MCII participants were more physically active after the 50 weeks ( Baecke Inventory : 2.74 vs. 2.59 , p < .05 ; diary : 62.45 vs. 54.11 , p = .03 ) and lost more weight ( 2.15 kg , p = .02 ) compared with participants in the control conditions . Conclusions : Teaching the MCII self-regulation strategy enhanced long-term physical activity in stroke patients relative to health information on its own . MCII thus qualifies as an effective intervention technique to improve secondary stroke prevention The current intervention tested whether a metacognitive self-regulatory strategy of goal pursuit can help economically disadvantaged children convert positive thoughts and images about their future into effective action . Mental contrasting with implementation intentions ( MCII ) entails mental contrasting a desired future with relevant obstacles of reality and forming implementation intentions ( if – then plans ) specifying when and where to overcome those obstacles . Seventy-seven 5th grade rs from an urban middle school were r and omly assigned to learn either MCII or a Positive Thinking control strategy . Compared to children in the control condition , children taught how to apply MCII to their academic wishes and concerns significantly improved their report card grade s ( η2 = .07 ) , attendance ( η2 = .05 ) , and conduct ( η2 = .07 ) . These findings suggest that MCII holds considerable promise for helping disadvantaged middle school children improve their academic performance & NA ; The present study tested a short intervention using goal ‐pursuit strategies to increase physical capacity in pain patients . Sixty chronic back pain patients were r and omly assigned to intervention or control conditions . Both groups followed a 3‐week conventional back pain program at an outpatient back pain center . Instead of routine treatment , the intervention group received a one‐hour intervention consisting of a combination of ( a ) a goal ‐ setting strategy ( i.e. , mental contrasting , MC ) aim ed at commitment to improved physical capacity , ( b ) a short cognitive behavioral therapy‐oriented problem‐solving approach ( CBT ) to help patients overcome the obstacles associated with improving physical capacity , and ( c ) a goal ‐pursuit strategy , i.e. , implementation intentions ( II ) aim ed at performing physical exercise regularly . At two follow‐ups ( 3 weeks after discharge and 3 months after returning home ) the MCII‐CBT group had increased its physical capacity significantly more than the control group as measured by both behavioral measures ( ergometer , lifting ) and subjective ratings . Findings are discussed with relation to the use of the intervention as a specific treatment to increase chronic pain patients ’ motivation to be physically active 
    Output:
    
Mental contrasting shows promise as a brief behaviour change strategy with a significant small to moderate-sized effect on changing health behaviour in the short-term .