Health behaviours and risk taking intentions. The role of regulatory modes and self-control

Two studies were conducted to examine whether the intention to adopt positive and avoid unhealthy behaviours is affected by primed regulatory modes (RMs) namely assessment and locomotion and by chronic self-control. In the first study, participants in the assessment condition showed higher intentions to adopt nutritionally healthy behaviours, but lower intentions to engage in physical exercise compared to those in the locomotion condition. The second study showed that the impact of RMs was moderated by participants' chronic selfcontrol: situationally induced RMs was effective for people with low levels of chronic self-control, but did not appear to affect individuals with high level of chronic self-control. Results are discussed with reference to their potential practical applications in everyday life