Evidence that intentions based on attitudes better predict behaviour than intentions based on subjective norms (original) (raw)
Related papers
Individual differences in attitudinal versus normative determination of behavior
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1986
Previous research has identified certain dispositional variables that might moderate the relationship between attitudes and behaviors. Building on this work, the present study predicted that individuals who are both aware of their own attitudes (high in private self-consciousness) and unconcerned with the opinions of others (low in self-monitoring) would display high attitude-behavior correspondence. In contrast, individuals with other combinations of these traits were expected to display high norm-behavior correspondence. To test these predictions, attitudes, norms and behaviors relevant to spending time on school work were measured for 226 college students. The results showed clear support for the predicted personality differences in attitude-behavior and norm-behavior correspondences. In addition, other findings showed that attitudes and norms are distinct rather than redundant constructs. Alternative interpretations and theoretical implications of the findings were discussed. Q 1986 Academic Press. I~C.
Attitudinal Variables and Behavior: Three Empirical Studies and a Theoretical Reanalysis
1970
Three experiments attempting to predict overt behavior from attltudlnal variables are described. In the first two experiments an attempt was made ". to predict an individual's 9 communicative and compliance behaviors toward his group members from knowledge of (a) his attitudes toward (i.e., affect for) the p.roup members; (b) his beliefs about their expertness on the group task* and (c) his general behavioral intentions toward them (i.e, intentions to subordinate oneself, intentions to show social acceptance). No consistent, and very few significant relations between these attltudlnal variables and behaviors were obtained. Further, three often proposed explanations for this lack of relationship (i.e., the attitude measure is incomplete; the attitude measure is inappropriate; the attitude-behavior relationship is moderated by reinforcement) were also not supported. Thus, the conclusion was reached that traditional attltudlnal approaches are ineffective in predicting overt behavior. In the third study, an alternative approach, based on a newly-developed theory ol behavioral intention and behavior was r attempted. Consistent with the theory, an individual's specific intentions to communicate or comply with the other group members were predicted with high accuracy from (a) the individual's attitudes toward performing these behaviors (i.e., communlcatinp and complying) and (b) his beliefs about the norms governing these behaviors, weighted by his motivation to comply with the norms. Overt behaviors on the task were significantly related to the specific Intentions, and thus, the theory led to the significant prediction of overt behaviors. The degree of predictability was determined by the strength of the relationship between Intentions and behavior, and this latter relationship was itself shown to be contingent upon the occurrence of events that took place between the measurement of intentions and the observation of behavior.
The Social Science Journal, 2001
We proposed a hypothesis that not only can people be under attitudinal or normative control across a large number of behaviors (Trafimow & Finlay, 1996), but behaviors can be under attitudinal or normative control across a large nuumber of people. Further, both types of findings can be obtained using the same sets of people and behaviors. To test the hypothesis, a large number of participants were asked to indicate their attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions towards performing 30 behaviors. On the basis of within-participants multiple regression analyses, participants were deemed to be generally under attitudinal or normative control across the 30 behaviors. In addition, consistent with previous research (Trafimow & Finlay, 1996), the unique variance in intentions accounted for by attitudes and subjective norms was highly dependent upon whether attitudinally or normatively controlled participants were used. Finally, however, attitudes accounted for more variance in intenitions than did subjective norms for somre behaviors, even when normnatively controlled participants were analyzed! 'hus, the hypothesis was strongly supported. (D
European Journal of Social Psychology, 1976
A bstract Discusses the current status of the controversy about the relationship between individual's attitudes and subsequent behavior. It is suggested that one step toward the resolution of the existing controversy is the construction of a formal theory, specifying and integrating variables other than attitude into the framework. To this end, a model (in propositional form) is advanced focusing on attitude, centrality and salience as determinants of action. The model was partiall y tested through reanalysis of survey data dealing with attitudes and behaviors of 221 individuals with regard to halting air pollution. The data confirmed that subjects for whom the attitude object was central exhibited a higher level of nttitude-behavior consistency than subjects for whom the attitude object was of tow centrality. It is argued that the use of the proposed model clarifies relationships which otherwise might incorrectly be interpreted and provides a practical logic for determining when a comparison may be reliable and when one should beware of probable measurement difficulties. The nature of the relationship between attitudes and behavior has long been a major issue in social science. Research supporting a close correspondence between behavior and attitudes has been appearing since the 1920s (Thomas and
Attitudinal qualities relating to the strength of the attitude-behavior relationship
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1978
A study was conducted to examine the relation between each of several attitudinal qualities and attitude-behavior consistency. Subjects' attitudes toward volunteering to participate in psychological research were assessed. The number of experiments in which each subject volunteered to participate was employed as the measure of behavior. Attitude-behavior consistency was significantly related to (1) the amount of direct experience upon which the subject's attitude was based (specifically, the number of experiments in which the subject had previously participated), (2) the degree of certainty with which the attitude was held, and (3) how well-defined the subject's attitude was, as measured by the width of his latitude of rejection. These three attitudinal qualities were significantly intercorrelated, suggesting that direct experience with an attitude object may produce an attitude that is both better defined and more confidently held than an attitude formed through more indirect means.
British Journal of Social Psychology, 2003
The theory of planned behaviour assumes that the accuracy of perceived behavioural control (PBC) determines the strength of the PBC-behaviour relationship. However, this assumption has never been formally tested. The present research developed and validated a proxy measure of actual control (PMAC) in order to test the assumption. In two studies, participants completed measures of intention and PBC, and subsequently completed measures of behaviour and the PMAC. Validity of the PMAC was established by ndings showing; (a) that the PMAC moderated the intention-behaviour relation, and (b) that PMAC scores did not re ect attributions for participants' failure to enact their stated intentions. Accuracy was operationalized as the difference between PBC and PMAC scores. Consistent with theoretical expectations, several analyses indicated that greater accuracy of PBC was associated with improved prediction of behaviour by PBC.
Descriptive norms as an additional predictor in the theory of planned behaviour: A meta-analysis
Current Psychology, 2003
This study used meta-analysis: (a) to quantify the relationship between descriptive norms and intentions, and (b) to determine the increment in variance attributable to descriptive norms after variables from the theory of planned behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) had been controlled. Literature searches revealed twenty-one hypotheses based on a total sample of N = 8097 that could be included in the review. Overall, there was a medium to strong sample-weighted average correlation between descriptive norms and intentions (r+ = .44). Regression analysis showed that descriptive norms increased the variance explained in intention by 5 percent after attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control had been taken into account. Moderator analyses indicated that younger samples and health risk behaviours were both associated with stronger correlations between descriptive norms and intentions. Implications of the findings for the conceptualization of social influences in the TPB are discussed.
Attitude-action relationships*
Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie, 2008
La prksente ktude a pour objet la relation qui existe entre une attitude verbale a I'kgard de la lkgalisation de la marijuanaet la faqon de se comporter manifestement opposee acette attitude. Le sujet principal de I'ktude avait donc pour but de dkterminer si oui ou non le comportement d'une personne reste le m&me lorsque, dans la cas d'une situation d'intkrraction, on ajoute des donnkes varikes de participation sociale et certaines attitudes dictCes par les convenances. Est abordke aussi la question de savoir si oui ou non le besoin d'une personne de se sentir approuvke a quelque effet sur la constance des rksultats. En conclusion, on s'aperqoit que la participation sociale, les attitudes de convenance et le besoin d'aquiescement, influent fortement sur les relations: 'attitudecomportement. '
Variables that moderate the attitude-behavior relation: Results of a longitudinal survey
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1979
The following factors were hypothesized to moderate the attitude-behavior relation: (a) the behavioral sequence that must be successfully completed prior to the occurrence of the behavior, (b) the time interval between the measurement of attitudes and behavior, (c) attitude change, (d) the respondent's educational level, and (e) the degree of correspondence between attitudinal and behavioral variables. The behaviors investigated were having a child and using oral contraceptives. A stratified random sample of 244 married women in a midwestern urban area was studied during a three-wave, 2-year longitudinal study. Selection of attitudinal and belief measures was guided by the Fishbein model of behavioral intentions. Consistent with the hypotheses, the relations between behavior and both intention and the model's attitudinal and normative components were substantially attenuated by (a) events in the behavioral sequence not under the volitional control of the actor, (b) an increase in the time interval between the measurement of attitudes and behavior from 1 to 2 years, and (c) changes in the model's attitudinal and normative components during the first year. The respondent's educational level did not affect attitudebehavior consistency. Finally, the attitude-behavior correlation increased significantly as the degree of correspondence between the two variables increased. Wicker (1969) concluded his comprehen-and behavioral measures. By assessing both sive review of the attitude-behavior relation variables at corresponding levels of specificity, with the suggestion, "It is considerably more that is, measuring attitude toward the act for likely that attitudes will be unrelated or only the prediction of a specific behavior or measlightly related to overt behaviors than that suring a global attitude toward an object for attitudes will be closely related to actions" the prediction of a multiple-act behavioral (p. 76). Rather than signaling a decrease in criterion, a reasonable degree of predictive research on this topic, pessimistic reviews by accuracy can be obtained (Ajzen & Fishbein,