Dr Tom St Quinton

Previous research has demonstrated that a stronger belief in free will contributes to a variety of socially desirable behaviors. We assessed the correlation between free will beliefs and health behaviors. Four studies ( N = 1172) provide evidence that belief in free will is positively associated with health protective behaviors (e.g., physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, low fat diet) and negatively associated with health risk behaviors (e.g., alcohol consumption, smoking, unhealthy snacking). In relation to the respective health protective and health risk behaviors, we found free will beliefs were more strongly correlated with physical activity and alcohol consumption, respectively. We also found free will beliefs were associated with key social cognition determinants (e.g., attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention). Overall, our results suggest that belief in free will can have important consequences for health behavior. This contributes to current theorizing about the implications of believing in free will.

There have been significant advances in the science of meaning in life (MIL). Researchers have made empirical predictions about the antecedents and consequences of meaning and the best ways it can be enhanced. Yet, it is important that researchers in this area consider the auxiliary assumptions associated with their predictions. Auxiliary assumptions, which traverse the distance from nonobservational theoretical terms to observational terms at the level of the empirical hypotheses, have important implications for the appraisal of empirical victories and defeats. In this paper, we outline the importance of auxiliary assumptions in MIL research. To ensure the validity of findings associated with MIL, we hope this paper encourages researchers to pay close attention to the auxiliary assumptions associated with their predictions.

The study examined the relationship between Theory of Planned Behaviour constructs, past behaviour, habit, and future behaviour relating to students’ participation in gambling. Using a cross-sectional design, theory constructs, past behaviour, and habit were examined at T1 (N = 250), and gambling behaviour was assessed four weeks later at T2 (N = 180). Results showed attitude and perceived behavioural control (PBC) predicted intention, and intention and PBC predicted behaviour. The inclusion of past behaviour and habit attenuated the effects of attitude and PBC on intention and rendered the impact of intention on behaviour non-significant. The relationship between past behaviour and future behaviour was mediated by habit and PBC. Interventions should focus on attitude and PBC to attend to gambling intentions in addition to automatic processes to attend to student gambling behaviour.

The first year of university study provides an ideal opportunity to target student participation in many health behaviors such as recreational sport. The study used the theory of planned behavior to identify the key behavioral, normative, and control beliefs underlying student participation in recreational sport. A cross-sectional design was used with a 4-week follow-up. A purposive sample of 206 participants responded to a theoretically informed questionnaire measuring baseline cognitions. Follow-up behavior was measured using self-report questionnaires. All beliefs correlated with intention, and seven beliefs correlated with behavior. Four key beliefs predicted intention (“enjoyable,” “time consuming,” “friends,” and “family members”) and two key beliefs predicted behavior (“enjoyable” and “time consuming”). Interventions successfully targeting these specific beliefs may lead to a greater number of students participating in recreational sport.

Introduction Many young adults demonstrate insufficient rates of physical activity (PA) to yield health benefits. The study tested the effectiveness of a text messaging intervention targeting key psychological determinants and PA. Methods Participants received either attitude messages, goal priority messages, a combination of these, or generic PA information (control). After confirming that groups were matched at baseline, a 2 (attitude: yes vs. no) by 2 (goal priority: yes vs. no) by 2 (time: immediately post-intervention, four weeks post-intervention) randomized control trial tested main and interactive effects. Results Results showed participants that received attitude messages had significantly more positive attitudes, intentions and rates of PA. Mediational analyses showed the influence of attitude messages on PA to be fully mediated through the serial path via attitude and intention. There were no other main or interactive effects. Conclusion The study provides support for using attitudinal messages delivered via text messaging to influence key psychological determinants and PA.

Background Adolescent gambling can lead to significant harms, yet participation rates continue to rise. Interventions targeting gambling reduction have been implemented in this population. However, it is not clear which behavior change techniques (BCTs) and modes of delivery (MOD) are most effective at reducing gambling. Objective The objective of the study was to identify ‘promising’ BCTs and MODs by systematically reviewing interventions targeting adolescent gambling behavior. ‘Promising’ was defined as those present in at least 25% of all interventions and in at least two effective interventions. Methods Three databases were searched (PsycINFO, Medline, and Scopus) from database inception to May 2021. Interventions were eligible if they were randomized controlled trials; targeting adolescents (aged 10–25 years); and assessing gambling behavior post-intervention. BCTs were identified using the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy v1. Results From the initial 3,315 studies, the removal of duplicates and ineligible articles resulted in sixteen studies included in the review. Eleven of these reported successfully reducing gambling behavior. Eighteen BCTs and six MODs were used across the interventions. The BCTs identified as promising were ‘4.2. Information about antecedents’, ‘4.4. Behavioral experiments’, ‘5.3. Information about social and environmental consequences’, and ‘5.6. Information about emotional consequences’. Promising MODs were ‘face-to-face’, ‘computer’, and ‘playable electronic storage’. Conclusions The study reviewed the content of interventions targeting adolescent gambling behavior. Four BCTs were identified as promising and should therefore be adopted in future interventions. To facilitate the delivery of these techniques, the study also identified three promising MODs. Interventions developed using these BCTs and MODs may successfully reduce adolescent gambling behavior.

Sport can provide many health benefits to transitioning university students. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) has been applied to understand an array of health behaviours. However, past behaviour has been shown to have significant effects on future behaviour. The study examined the relationship between TPB constructs and past behaviour relating to sports participation. A prospective correlation design was used with two waves of data collection. Transitioning students (N = 286) completed assessments of TPB constructs and past behaviour. Four-weeks later measures of sports participation were taken. Two structural equation models were conducted; Model 1 tested the influence of TPB constructs on behaviour and Model 2 included past behaviour. Model 1 accounted for 59% of the variance in intention and 42% in behaviour, which increased to 68% and 43%, respectively, in Model 2. Both models supported TPB propositions. Additionally, in Model 2 past behaviour had a total effect on behaviour and a direct effect on all TPB constructs. The effects of past behaviour on intention and behaviour were mediated by TPB constructs. The study found the TPB explained transitioning students’ participation in sport. Interventions should target the conscious, deliberative factors underlying sport rather than habitual, automatic factors.

Belief in free will has been shown to positively associate with socially desirable behaviors and outcomes, such as meaning and satisfaction. However, studies have not focused exclusively on the beliefs of incompatibilist free will skeptics. Such skeptics may have different interpretations about what it means to disbelieve in free will than participants typically classified as free will disbelievers. Across three studies including a manipulation (total N = 620), the research examined the relationship between belief in free will and meaning and satisfaction in incompatibilist free will skeptics. Studies 1 and 2 found no differences in meaning and satisfaction between incompatibilist free will skeptics and participants believing more strongly in free will. Study 3 found that participants manipulated to disbelieve in free will perceived life to be significantly less meaningful and satisfactory than incompatibilist free will skeptics. Moreover, incompatibilist free will skeptics did not perceive life to be less meaningful and satisfactory than a control condition possessing significantly stronger belief in free will. Therefore, the negative outcomes associated with weaker belief in free will may not be applicable to all free will disbelievers. Although a life full of meaning and satisfaction is important for well-being, believing in free will is not, at least not for some, an important contributor.

Non-conscious processes are important in influencing the performance of a number of behaviors, such as physical activity. One way that such processes can be influenced is through priming. Despite this, approaches within health psychology have predominantly focused on reflective processes with a number of psychological theories dedicated to identifying the predictors of intention. In doing so, critical beliefs and thoughts are first identified and then altered within interventions. Such work has shown limited effectiveness, however, with a gap apparent between what one intends to do and what subsequently ensues. Although there have been attempts to bridge this gap, such as theoretical integration, recent efforts include priming implicit processes. The aim of this commentary is to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of priming non-conscious processes and to suggest that the content of motivation should also succumb to priming influences. This brief review suggests that priming one of the most influential conscious processes, that of self-efficacy, could demonstrate particular effectiveness in promoting physical activity. Thus, the main purpose of the article is to suggest that the content of implicit processes as well their more traditional conscious counterparts may provide useful intervention targets. To achieve this, the article will first introduce the role of non-conscious processes and behavioral priming. Following this, the more common reflective processes will be outlined as well as attempts at theoretical integration. Finally, the article will identify studies priming non-conscious processes and will then suggest priming self-efficacy.

Treatments to depression often take a latent modeling approach whereby depressive symptoms are a common cause of the disorder. However, such an approach is not without problems. For example, covariance amongst indicators are deemed spurious. Network modeling has been proposed as an alternative way of explaining depression. The purpose of this article is to introduce the network approach and outline how it can be used to foster the development of effective treatment packages. Viewing depression as a network may result in a reduction in the number of patients experiencing depressive episodes.

Recent research has suggested self-efficacy measures (i.e., I can) are confounded with motivation (i.e., I will). The study tested whether two measurement conditions can disentangle motivation from self-efficacy in relation to alcohol consumption. Specifically, the study compared a standard self-efficacy measurement condition with a motivation held constant (i.e., including “If I really wanted to” in self-efficacy measures) and a vignette condition (i.e., clarifying the definition of “can” before self-efficacy measurements). A randomized posttest-only design was used. A sample of 259 university students were allocated to one of three conditions (standard; motivation held constant; vignette) and completed measures of self-efficacy and alcohol consumption. Greater self-efficacy towards both consuming and refraining from alcohol was found in the vignette (d = 0.58 & 0.74) and motivation held constant (d = 0.34 & 0.58) conditions. Heavy drinkers in the vignette (d = 1.48) and motivation held constant (d = 0.93) conditions reported greater self-efficacy for refraining from alcohol than the standard condition. Self-efficacy towards refraining from alcohol in the standard condition (r = −.55) was more highly correlated with alcohol behaviour than self-efficacy in the vignette condition (r = −.06). The study adds to the evidence that standard measures of self-efficacy are confounded with motivation. Providing a vignette clarifying the meaning of self-efficacy and including “If I really wanted to” in self-efficacy measures can overcome self-efficacy confounding.

The use of theory in health behavior change interventions has been recently questioned with mixed results found for theory-based intervention effectiveness. But theory testing in intervention depends on not only theoretical assumptions, but on auxiliary assumptions too. Specifically, auxiliary assumptions are required to traverse the distance from nonobservational terms in theories and observational terms at the level of the empirical hypotheses in interventions. We believe intervention failures are often due to flaws in auxiliary assumptions rather than assumptions at the theoretical level. We use the theory of planned behavior to illustrate how the consideration of these auxiliary assumptions is important to appraise the effectiveness of interventions informed by theory. We hope that bringing attention to the importance of auxiliary assumptions provides a more nuanced and accurate appraisal of theory utility.

Whether people possess free will has been a long-lasting philosophical debate. Recent attention in social psychology has been given to the behavioral consequences of believing in free will. Research has demonstrated that manipulating free will beliefs has implications for many social behaviors. For example, free will belief manipulations have been associated with cheating, aggressiveness, and prejudice. Despite this work, some of these findings have failed to replicate. Testing theoretical predictions, such as whether believing in free will influences behavior, depends on theoretical, auxiliary, statistical, and inferential assumptions (TASI). In this paper we apply the TASI category of assumptions to the free will belief debate. In doing so we demonstrate why these assumptions should be considered when appraising the influence of free will belief manipulations on free will beliefs and behavior. To provide a nuanced view of free will beliefs, we believe researchers should pay careful attention to these critical assumptions.

The question of whether free will exists has been debated extensively for centuries. Instead of debating this complex issue, recent work in psychology has sought to understand the consequences of beliefs in free will. That is, how are people’s behaviors influenced when they either believe or do not believe in free will? Amongst many outcomes, research has identified free will beliefs to influence achievement, perseverance, and aggressiveness. We believe that beliefs in free will could also exert influence on health behaviors. Health promotion from a psychological perspective has typically adopted social cognitive models to understand and predict health behaviors. We contend that free will beliefs could be included in these models to understand and change health behavior. We provide examples of how a popular social cognition theory, the theory of planned behavior, could be aligned with beliefs in free will. We suggest that the relationship between free will beliefs and theory constructs (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, intention) could be positive in health enhancing behaviors and negative in health risk behaviors. Experimentally testing these relationships is needed in future research. This may provide further insights into the consequences of free will and contribute to the explanation of health behavior.

Gambling behavior is a prevalent problem requiring the development of effective behavioral interventions targeting reductions in the behavior. Many theories of social cognition can be adopted to identify the specific psychological mechanisms interventions should target and how interventions can be designed to manipulate them. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how the Reasoned Action Approach can be used to achieve these aims. The paper outlines the steps involved in identifying relevant psychological determinants for intervention when adopting the theory. Behavior change is then discussed and the importance of translating intentions and maintaining change is emphasized. It is hoped that the paper encourages the development of a greater number of theory-based interventions targeting reductions in gambling behavior. Doing so may lead to a reduction in the number of people participating in the behavior.

Purpose: This study is the 3rd piece of formative research utilizing the theory of planned behavior to inform the development of a behavior change intervention. Focus groups were used to identify reasons for and solutions to previously identified key beliefs in addition to potentially effective behavior change techniques. Method: A purposive sample of 22 first-year undergraduate students (n = 8 men; Mage = 19.8 years, SD = 1.3 years) attending a university in the North of England was used. Focus groups were audio-recorded; recordings were transcribed verbatim, analyzed thematically, and coded for recurrent themes. Results: The data revealed 14 reasons regarding enjoyment, 11 reasons for friends’ approval, 11 reasons for friends’ own participation, 14 reasons for the approval of family members, and 10 solutions to time constraints. Twelve distinct techniques were suggested to attend to these reasons and solutions. Conclusion: This qualitative research will be used to inform the development of a theory-based intervention to increase students’ participation in university recreational sports.

Beliefs about free will and determinism have been shown to associate with and influence behavior. The present study examined the relationship between these beliefs, key social cognitive constructs, and gambling behavior. A cross-sectional design was used with assessments taken of participants’ (N = 316) past gambling behavior; beliefs in free will and determinism; and attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intention toward gambling. Four weeks after survey completion, participants (N = 218) reported their gambling behavior. A MANOVA examined differences between gambling frequency and constructs. Bivariate correlations and regressions were undertaken to understand the relationships between constructs and gambling behavior. Results showed frequent gamblers had significantly greater positive attitudes and intentions toward gambling compared to infrequent gamblers. Infrequent gamblers also had significantly stronger perceived behavioral control and beliefs in free will than frequent gamblers. Free will significantly predicted attitude and perceived behavioral control, and explained additional variance in intention above attitude and perceived behavioral control. There was no effect for determinism. Finally, gambling behavior was explained by intention and perceived behavioral control, but not beliefs in free will and determinism. The study provides evidence for the association between free will beliefs, key social cognitive constructs, and gambling behavior. Future research should confirm the causal role of these relations.

Participation rates in a number of health-related behaviors, such as physical activity, have shown recent declines. To promote participation, psychological health behavior change theories have been developed to understand and help identify relevant psychological processes. Such processes can then be targeted within interventions utilizing specific behavior change techniques (BCTs). Although the use of these theories and BCTs is useful in facilitating change, such work could be enhanced through the inclusion and consideration of philosophical positions. Existentialism suggests that the absurdity and meaningless of human life allows the individual to create their own meaning within a behavior. This philosophical position thus places meaning and individual purpose at the center of human behavior. The purpose of this article is to connect the theoretical insights and BCTs outlined within health psychological behavior change theories with the philosophical position of existentialism. The integration of this philosophical position, and potentially many others, with psychological ideas may provide useful insights into the promotion of health-related behaviors.

There is no direct way for researchers to test theories. One reason is that theories contain nonobservational terms that refer to unobservable entities. Consequently, researchers add auxiliary assumptions to aid in traversing the distance between theories and empirical hypotheses. The results may confirm the empirical hypothesis, an empirical victory, or the results may disconfirm the empirical hypothesis, an empirical defeat. Either way, it is not clear whether to make an attribution to the theory, the auxiliary assumptions, or both. The present goal is to review techniques researchers have employed, or could employ, that aid in assessing the weight of the evidence with respect to crediting or blaming theories or auxiliary assumptions for empirical victories or defeats.

Individuals managing diabetes are required to adhere to self-management behaviors to ensure the optimal regulation of their blood glucose levels. This study examined the psychological determinants underlying three important diabetes self-management behaviors (e.g., physical activity, diet, and blood glucose monitoring) using the reasoned action approach (RAA) and planning. A cross-sectional design was used, with participants (N = 273) completing measures of RAA constructs (e.g., experiential and instrumental attitude, descriptive and injunctive norm, and capacity and autonomy) and planning (e.g., action and control planning) at time 1 and participation in the behaviors one week later at time 2. Regressions showed that RAA constructs accounted for good variance in intention and behavior in all behaviors. Intention towards diet and blood glucose monitoring was significantly predicted by instrumental attitude, injunctive norm, and capacity. Intention towards physical activity was significantly predicted by instrumental attitude, experiential attitude, injunctive norm, capacity, and autonomy. All behaviors were significantly predicted by intention, action planning, and coping planning. Additionally, capacity significantly predicted physical activity and autonomy significantly predicted diet and blood glucose monitoring. Successfully intervening in the influential psychological constructs identified in the study could ensure optimal blood glucose regulation in those managing diabetes.

Online gambling is emerging as a significant health behaviour of concern at a population level. Mobile applications (apps) are a popular tool to target change in health behaviour. Behaviour change techniques (BCTs) can be included within such apps to change relevant psychological mechanisms along established pathways, yet the content of apps targeting gambling problems specifically is not currently known. The purpose of the review was to identify the BCTs included in gambling prevention apps. Apps were downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in October 2020. Apps were included if they related to gambling problems, were freely downloadable, and available in English. Once downloaded, two researchers independently coded the apps in November 2020 using the behaviour change technique taxonomy version 1 (Michie et al., 2013). The screening led to forty apps meeting the inclusion criteria (12 Apple App Store, 28 Google Play). The analyses identified 32 BCTs (20 Apple apps, 28 Google Play apps), with apps including between 0 and 9 BCTs (mean = 2.82, median = 2). The BCTs included most frequently were “3.1. Social support (unspecified),” “2.3. Self-monitoring of behaviour,” and “7.4. Remove access to the reward.” The review provides important information on the BCTs used in apps developed to reduce gambling-related problems. A limited number of BCTs were adopted within apps. Developers of apps seeking to develop effective gambling reduction products should draw upon a greater variety of BCTs.

Problem gambling can cause significant harm, yet rates of gambling continue to increase. Many individuals have the motivation to stop gambling but are unable to transfer these positive intentions into successful behavior change. Implementation intentions, which are goal-directed plans linking cues to behavioral responses, can help bridge the gap between intention and many health behaviors. However, despite the strategy demonstrating popularity in the field of health psychology, its use in the area of gambling research has been limited. This mini review illustrates how implementation intentions can be used to facilitate change in gambling behavior. Adopting the strategy could help reduce the number of people with gambling problems.

Recent research has examined the consequences that holding views about free will has on social behavior. Specifically, through manipulating people's belief in free will, researchers have tested the psychological and behavioral consequences of free will belief change. However, findings of such manipulations have been shown to be relatively small and inconsistent. The purpose of this paper is to outline four key areas for researchers in this area to consider. We believe considering these areas will give a more nuanced understanding of the role of free will beliefs.

University students demonstrate high rates of gambling behavior, which can have negative health consequences. Mobile gambling has rapidly expanded, and most students own a device. It is therefore important to understand the key psychological factors underlying students’ mobile gambling. This information could be used to inform interventions. Psychological determinants and beliefs were identified using the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA: Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010). Study 1 identified the modal salient behavioral, normative, and control beliefs. Thirty-five participants completed a questionnaire concerning each belief category. Content analysis identified 27 modal salient beliefs; Eleven behavioral, nine normative, and seven control. Study 2 assessed the predictive utility of the RAA and key beliefs using a cross-sectional design. Participants completed questionnaires assessing RAA determinants (N = 473) and mobile gambling behavior (N = 388). Constructs accounted for 66% and 56% of the variance in intention and behavior, respectively. Attitude (affective and instrumental) and injunctive norm significantly predicted intention, and intention and autonomy significantly predicted behavior. A number of key beliefs were identified including “Bonus offers and promotions” and “Access and availability of apps”. The studies provide important information regarding the psychology underlying students’ mobile gambling behavior. Interventions could target the identified key beliefs to change the behavior.

Background: It is important that theoretically informed questionnaires developed using guidelines outlined within the Theory of Planned Behaviour demonstrate reliability. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the reliability of direct and indirect items examining perceptions towards recreational sports participation by university students. Method: A convenience sample of 28 participants undertaking various degree programmes was used (age M = 18.89, SD = 0.62, female n = 18, male n = 10). Participants completed a theory-based questionnaire at time 1 and two weeks later at time 2. Internal consistency between direct items and correlations between indirect items was conducted. Results: Results showed all constructs measured through direct items had Cronbach's alphas over 0.8 and all indirect items measuring beliefs were significantly correlated (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The findings demonstrate the reliability of a questionnaire to be used for a future study aimed at identifying specific belief-based intervention targets. The result of such work provides the foundations for interventions promoting participation in recreational university student sport, an expanding yet under-researched population of study.

The ability to regulate and subsequently change behavior is influenced by both reflective and implicit processes. Traditional theories have focused on conscious processes by highlighting the beliefs and intentions that influence decision making. However, their success in changing behavior has been modest with a gap between intention and behavior apparent. Dual-process models have been recently applied to health psychology; with numerous models incorporating implicit processes that influence behavior as well as the more common conscious processes. Such implicit processes are theorized to govern behavior non-consciously. The article provides a commentary on motivational and volitional processes and how interventions have combined to attempt an increase in positive health behaviors. Following this, non-conscious processes are discussed in terms of their theoretical underpinning. The article will then highlight how these processes have been measured and will then discuss the different ways that the non-conscious and conscious may interact. The development of interventions manipulating both processes may well prove crucial in successfully altering behavior.

Purpose: University sport is recognized by many as a key area of university strategy and one of increasing importance, as seen by universities prioritizing sport within their university strategic plans as well as national funding bodies investing in university sport. Whilst sport is rising on the agenda, engaging all students in sport is a key challenge for universities. This paper examines the factors that enable and inhibit female students' participation in university sport and active recreation using an interpretivist qualitative design. The paper also identified specific behaviour change techniques that could be used within interventions to increase participation rates. Method: Six focus groups were carried out. Data were analysed verbatim using a constant comparative process of analysis. Results: Findings revealed several emergent themes to help inform theorybased interventions to engage more female students in sport. Conclusion: University sport is an important behaviour for students to undertake. The paper identified a number of avenues for universities to pursue in order to achieve this aim.

This chapter outlines the importance of auxiliary assumptions in preregistration practices.

This chapter outlines the importance of auxiliary assumptions in preregistration practices.

Excessive alcohol consumption (EAC), defined as consuming more than 14 units per week, in the university population represents a significant health risk to students. Objective: The present research tested the impact of different attitude-salient messages to reduce the strength of habits towards consuming alcohol. Methods: Seven hundred and fifty-five university students were randomised to one of five conditions that varied in the content of attitude salience: short-term affective, short-term cognitive, long-term affective, long-term cognitive, and no message control. The habitual strength of participants’ alcohol consumption was measured at baseline and at follow-up using the Self-reported Habit Index. Results: ANCOVA controlling for the baseline assessed potential gender differences and several significant interactions were identified, demonstrating that the affective distal message reduced habitual strength towards EAC to a greater extent for men low in Need for Cognition (NfC; 95% CI [0.48, 2.12]), whereas, for women low in NfC, the affective proximal message was most effective. For both men and women high in NfC, the cognitive message was shown to be more effective at reducing the strength of habit towards EAC. Conclusion: The findings point to the value of distinguishing between health messages in terms of several factors, including affective and cognitive outcomes, the temporal nature of these outcomes (short-term or long-term), and gender. This has important ramifications for providing information to modify behaviour.

It has been asserted that the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is better at behavioral prediction than it is behavioral change. However, the performance of a theory depends not only on the theoretical propositions, but the auxiliary assumptions attached to the theory. It is because of such auxiliary assumptions, which are required to bridge the gap between nonobservational terms at the level of theory and the observational terms at the level of the empirical hypothesis, that we believe critiques of the TPB's utility are misguided. We argue that a failure to separate theoretical assumptions from auxiliary assumptions leads to this false assumption. We suggest the importance of distinguishing between the auxiliary assumptions required for prediction studies and the auxiliary assumptions required for intervention studies. We believe that in attaching sound auxiliary assumptions to intervention studies, the TPB is equally effective at facilitating behavior change as it is behavior prediction.

The importance of preregistration has gained recent traction in psychology. To reduce questionable research practices and improve the credibility of research findings, researchers preregister important details before commencing with data collection. However, current preregistration practices miss an important issue when it comes to evaluating predictions. That is because predictions depend not only on theoretical terms but also auxiliary assumptions. Auxiliary assumptions traverse the distance from nonobservational theoretical terms to observational terms at the level of the empirical hypotheses. Because the credibility of study findings depends on the appraisal of auxiliary assumptions, these assumptions should, at least, be considered in preregistration practices. In this paper we outline the need to consider auxiliary assumptions during preregistration, the benefits of doing so, and how current practices can be amended to accommodate them. If the need for researchers to preregister continues to increase and the belief is that doing so will increase the credibility of psychological research, we believe auxiliary assumptions should become part of these practices.

The aim of this study was to identify salient beliefs toward university-provided recreational sport in first-year undergraduate students. A purposive sample of 76 students (36 males, 40 females; mean age: 19.2 ± 1.7 years) undertaking various degree subjects at a higher education institution in the North of England, United Kingdom, was used in the study. The instrument was a theory-based open-ended questionnaire informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, addressing behavioral, normative, and control beliefs. Thematic content analysis and coding was conducted on 30 randomly selected questionnaires followed by a frequency count to identify the modal salient beliefs. The modal set revealed 17 beliefs from a possible 53: six behavioral, five normative, and six control. These beliefs were related to health benefits, enjoyment, friendships, time constraints, study workloads, awareness, and the perception of family, friends, and academics. The results highlight the factors that should be targeted for intervention and provide data to be utilized for a second main quantitative study which will identify more specific belief targets. Due to equivocal intervention success, this formative research can serve to help increase the number of students participating in university recreational sport.