Goal conflict and the physical activity intention-behavior relationship: Insights from a study of People's daily experiences

Although intention is a strong predictor of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA), several factors moderate the intention-behavior relationship. People experience goal conflict when one or more of their goals makes it more difficult to pursue other goals. Goal conflict was examined as a moderator of the intention-behavior relation using data from ecological momentary assessments and accelerometer-derived estimates of MVPA. Participants (N = 100; 22 males) wore an accelerometer and responded to digital surveys assessing MVPA intentions and goal conflict up to four times daily for seven consecutive days. MVPA in the 180-min epoch following each survey prompt was recorded. Multilevel modelling was used to analyze the data using the disaggregated between- and within-person effects. Results revealed an intention-behavior gap of 30% and significant within-person effects for intention and goal conflict. Within-person goal conflict moderated the intention-behavior relationship such that when people had stronger intentions to be active compared to their average level of intention, they engaged in more MVPA; and when goal conflict was higher, compared to their average level of goal conflict, people engaged in less MVPA. Findings suggest experiencing higher goal conflict about engaging in MVPA thwarts people's abilities to follow through with their intentions to be active throughout the day.