Blocking external interfering stimuli through implementation intentions

Abstract

Previous research has shown that implementation intentions (“If situation X occurs, then I will perform behavior Y.”) facilitate goal attainment and enable effective action without the need for conscious self-control (Gollwitzer, 1999). Children with ADHD typically show impairments in executive functions and an associated self-regulation deficit. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether implementation intentions enable children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to concentrate better and to resist distractions more effectively. The current study examined the effects of implementation intentions in a sample of 32 boys with ADHD and 41 healthy boys without ADHD (control group), aged 9 to 12 years. All children completed mathematics problems on a computer from the Concentration Performance Test by Düker and Lienert (1959). At irregular intervals, distracting scenes from a children's film simultaneously appeared on a second screen. The two groups differed significantly in arithmetic performance, with healthy children completing and correctly solving more problems than children with ADHD. The film phases had a disruptive effect on arithmetic performance in both groups, with the performance of children with ADHD being even more impaired by distraction. Children with ADHD who formed a task-related implementation intention showed improved performance in both calculation speed and accuracy compared with children who formed a goal intention. Children with ADHD who formed a distraction-related implementation intention benefited only in calculation speed compared with the goal-intention condition. This effect was not observed in the control group: the healthy boys solved approximately the same number of problems in all three conditions. This finding is presumably due to the very good arithmetic performance of the control children (ceiling effect). Overall, the results suggest that task-related implementation intentions free cognitive capacities that enable children with ADHD to perform well even on tasks that are effortful and difficult for them.