Intentional action and action slips

The main assumption in this article is that actions are guided by mentally represented intentions. Intentions are subdivided into goal intentions and their contingent instrumental intentions. The latter are generated to overcome anticipated difficulties in three problem areas: initiation, implementation, and termination of an intended action. The action-guiding intention can be identified at various goal levels that relate to the alternative modes of implementation-imminent or wide-spanned goal representations. An ongoing action is controlled by a wide-spanned mode whenever implementation consists of automatized acts that require little or no conscious control. A wide-spanned goal representation facilitates the simultaneous execution of related or unrelated activity. The 2 control modes of narrow and wide goal span set the stage for the occurrence of action slips. A collection of various action slips can be categorized according to the 3 problem areas in the enactment of goal intentions: initiation, implementation, and termination slips. This categorization helps to elucidate the various types of action slips, and it highlights the effectiveness of instrumental intentions.