If-then Planning in Sports: A Scoping Review

If-then planning (implementation intentions) describes a self-regulatory strategy that helps people to attain their goals across a variety of domains, such as achieving physical activity goals. Based on such beneficial effects, if-then plans are anecdotally discussed as a strategy to enhance sports-related performance as well. However, this discussion currently lacks an empirical basis. We therefore conducted a scoping review to identify experimental research on if-then planning effects on sports-related performance, potential moderators of these effects, the methodological approaches used, and the suitability of the available evidence for assessing the effectiveness of if-then planning in sports. Based on a search of four online databases, we identified a set of eleven studies that investigated if-then planning in experimental research with sports-related performance as outcome measure. Six of these studies focused on if-then planning in endurance tasks, the remaining studies investigated sports performance beyond endurance. The samples were often small and comprised university students, and conclusions regarding the effectiveness of if-then planning for improving sports-related performance were rather heterogeneous. Still, the majority of studies shed light on tentative mechanisms (e.g., perceptions of effort and pain, arousal) and moderators (e.g., athletes’ beliefs about their performance limits, feasibility of the behavior) of if-then planning in sports, guiding future research regarding the question of when and for whom if-then-planning might be a beneficial strategy. Based on these findings, we identify potentials and pitfalls when using if-then plans to enhance sports-related performance, discuss promising routes for future research, and derive practical implications for athletes and coaches.