FILE: ARCH-LIB-015 / STATUS: PUBLISHED
THE RESEARCH LIBRARY / THE STACKS
Naming the obstacle and planning for it helped children act
Read what the children were taught. Then name the moment your own pattern gets in the way.
Children who named the obstacle and made if-then plans did better at school.
THE SOURCE
Duckworth, Kirby, Gollwitzer and Oettingen (2013). From Fantasy to Action. Social Psychological and Personality Science.
We read the abstract. Open the paper
HOW STRONG THE EVIDENCE IS
EARLY. One small trial with 77 children in one school, placed in groups at random.
“forming implementation intentions (if-then plans) specifying when and where to overcome those obstacles”
Picturing a good future is not enough. This study tested what to add to it.
The Research Library reads one paper at a time and says what it found in plain words. For this note we read the abstract, not the full paper.
What the research found
Seventy-seven fifth graders were placed at random into two groups. One group learned a positive thinking method.
The other group learned two steps. First, set the future you want against what really stands in the way. Then make if-then plans for when and where to get past it.
The second group improved their report card grades, their attendance and their conduct, compared with the first.
How strong the evidence is
Random groups make this a fair test. But it was one small trial in one school, with children.
The authors call the method promising. That is the right word for one trial of this size.
What it means for catching a pattern
Success Sabotage is the pattern of undoing things just as they start to work. You may picture the good outcome often, and still undo it near the end.
This study suggests naming the obstacle helps. With a pattern, the obstacle is often the moment the pattern starts.
So name that moment, then plan for it. If I feel the urge to pull back, I will say one true sentence instead.
That is close to Intercept, the second move: interrupt the usual response and choose a different action before the old pattern completes.
What it does not show
This study did not test The Archivist Method. It studied children's school goals, not adult patterns.
It does not say positive thinking is harmful. It says adding the obstacle and a plan did more.
The free Crash Course, short lessons on your pattern, starts by naming it.
HOW TO CITE THIS PAGE
The Archivist Method (2026). Naming the obstacle and planning for it helped children act. The Research Library. https://thearchivistmethod.com/research/naming-the-obstacle-and-planning-for-it