Testing variations of Fishbein's behavioral intention model within a consumer behavior context.

Tested variations of M. Fishbein's (1967, 1975) extended behavioral intention model across 4 brands of beer for 172 males and across 5 brands of soft drinks for 184 females. Respondents were members of the University of South Carolina Consumer Panel. Multiple regression and correlation analyses were employed to assess the hypothesized relationships between behavioral intentions, attitudes, normative beliefs, and beliefs toward brand attributes and evaluations. An attempt was made to assess the relative influence of the model's attitudinal and normative components on consumer choice across all brands. The attitudinal component was operationalized as both a simple affective state and a summated score of attribute beliefs and evaluation scores. Both measures of brand attitudes were consistently found to be more influential than normative beliefs in the explanation of intentions. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theories of reasoned action and planned behavior as models of condom use: A meta-analysis.

To examine how well the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior predict condom use, the authors synthesized 96 data sets (N?=?22,594) containing associations between the models' key variables. Consistent with the theory of reasoned action's predictions, (a) condom use was related to intentions (weighted mean r.?=?.45), (b) intentions were based on attitudes (r.?=?.58) and subjective norms (r.?=?.39), and (c) attitudes were associated with behavioral beliefs (r.?=?.56) and norms were associated with normative beliefs (r.?=?.46). Consistent with the theory of planned behavior's predictions, perceived behavioral control was related to condom use intentions (r.?=?.45) and condom use (r.?=?.25), but in contrast to the theory, it did not contribute significantly to condom use. The strength of these associations, however, was influenced by the consideration of past behavior. Implications of these results for HIV prevention efforts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-generated validity and other effects of measurement on belief, attitude, intention, and behavior.

Drawing from recent developments in social cognition, cognitive psychology, and behavioral decision theory, we analyzed when and how the act of measuring beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors affects observed correlations among them. Belief, attitude, or intention can be created by measurement if the measured constructs do not already exist in long-term memory. The responses thus created can have directive effects on answers to other questions that follow in the survey. But even when counterparts to the beliefs, attitudes, and intentions measured already exist in memory, the structure of the survey researcher's questionnaire can affect observed correlations among them. The respondent may use retrieved answers to earlier survey questions as inputs to response generation to later questions. We present a simple theory predicting that an earlier response will be used as a basis for another, subsequent response if the former is accessible and if it is perceived to be more diagnostic than other accessible inputs. We outline the factors that determine both the perceived diagnosticity of a potential input, the likelihood that it will be retrieved, and the likelihood that some alternative (and potentially more diagnostic) inputs will be retrieved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extending overjustification: The effect of perceived reward-giver intention on response to rewards.

The perceived intention model incorporates a new moderator, beliefs about reward-giver intention, into the overjustification paradigm. In 2 simulated shopping studies featuring products paired with promotional rewards, consumers who believed the marketer was promotion focused (reward used to encourage purchase) reported lower purchase intentions and brand attitudes for promoted products after promotion, whereas,consumers who believed the marketer was reward focused (promotion used to distribute the reward) showed no attitude change. Promotion-focus beliefs lowered attitudes by heightening the contingency between the promotion and purchase and thereby increasing the perceived causal role of the reward. This effect was contingent on initial behavior—postpromotion attitude change occurred for consumers who actively engaged in product decisions but not for consumers who passively observed the choice sets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quality of parental caregiving and security of attachment.

The assumption that qualitative differences in parental behavior are associated with attachment security was examined in a sample of 62 children (M age?=?21.5 mo) who were seen separately with their mothers and fathers. Multiple measures of parental caregiving were used, including 2 qualitative behavioral rating scales and a self-report measure of attitudes and beliefs about childrearing. Analyses of the relation between these measures and maternal and parental Strange Situation classifications of attachment security revealed effects only for mothers and only with 1 parent measure. These results add to a fairly impressive body of evidence indicating inconsistent and often weak associations between parental behavioral and attachment security. Conceptual and methodological issues relevant to the parent–attachment association were identified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intention to commit driving violations: An application of the theory of planned behavior.

Assessed the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to account for drivers' intentions to commit 4 specific driving violations: drinking and driving, speeding, close following, and overtaking in risky circumstances. A stratified sample of drivers (N?=?881) was surveyed with a questionnaire constructed to measure attitudes toward behaviors, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions, the key constructs in TPB. Results showed that the addition of perceived behavioral control led to significant increments in the amount of explained variance in intentions, thereby supporting the theory. The relation between subjective norms and behavioral intentions was consistently stronger than that between attitudes toward behaviors and behavioral intentions. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) differentiated demographic subgroups of drivers in terms of behavioral beliefs, outcome evaluations, normative beliefs, motivation to comply, and control beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sorting through chickens and eggs: A longitudinal examination of the associations between attitudes, norms, and sexual risk behavior.

Objective: Health behavior theories posit that health-relevant attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral skills drive subsequent actions people take to protect themselves from health threats. Within the realm of HIV-related sexual risk behavior, much of the research in support of this notion is cross-sectional, rather than longitudinal, particularly in studies of gay and bisexual men. Other psychological theories (e.g., self-perception or cognitive dissonance theories) suggest that the opposite could be true—that health-relevant attitudes and beliefs might change as a function of previous risk or precautionary behavior. Appreciating the complex nature of these associations is essential for modifying theory and developing appropriate interventions. Design: Using longitudinal data from gay and bisexual men (n = 1465), we used structural equation modeling to examine three possibilities—that perceived norms and attitudes about sexual risk would be (a) related to unprotected anal intercourse cross-sectionally, (b) related to unprotected anal intercourse at a subsequent time point, and/or (c) predicted from previous instances of unprotected anal intercourse. Results: Safe-sex norms and attitudes were related to unprotected anal intercourse cross-sectionally, but did not predict unprotected sex longitudinally. Rather, perceived norms and attitudes changed as a function of previous risk behavior. Conclusions: These results raise the possibility that modified theoretical models might be necessary to adequately describe sexual risk behavior among gay and bisexual men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocal relation between attitudes and behavior recall: Committing people to newly formed attitudes.

Reports 3 studies that used a total of 195 male and female undergraduates. Exp I showed that shifts in attitude were accompanied by shifts in the recall of the more qualitative rather than quantitative aspects of past behaviors. Exps II and III assessed the effects of recall on Ss' commitment to newly formed attitudes. On the premise that behavior recall is biased so as to be consistent with salient attitudes, it was hypothesized that recall would serve to increase Ss' commitment to their attitudes. In Exp II it was assumed that degree of commitment to an attitude would be reflected in the persistence of the attitude, behavioral intention, and actual behavior. As anticipated, Ss' intentions were more consistent with their attitudes when they had been prompted to recall attitudinally relevant behaviors. However, recall did not affect attitude persistence or actual behavior. In Exp III, commitment was measured by resistance to an attack on an attitude. Ss were more likely to maintain an attitude in the face of an attack if they had been induced to recall attitudinally relevant behaviors. The data support the hypothesis that attitudes can affect recall, which in turn affects commitment to the attitudes. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective-cognitive consistency and the effect of salient behavioral information on the self-perception of attitudes.

85 undergraduates with well or poorly defined prior attitudes toward being an environmentalist/conservationist were identified by assessing the structural consistency between the affective and cognitive components of their attitudes. After Ss completed 1 of 2 versions of a questionnaire designed to make salient either past pro- or anti-ecology behaviors, their final attitudes were assessed. The hypothesis that the self-perception account of attitude expression holds primarily for individuals with poorly defined prior attitudes was supported: Low-consistency Ss, with presumably poorly defined attitudes, expressed postmanipulation environmentalist attitudes that were congruent with the pro- or anti-ecology behaviors made salient by the questionnaire manipulation. The additional finding that high-consistency (vs low-consistency) Ss' beliefs on 5 ecology-related issues were more highly intercorrelated supports the assumption that the consistency construct appropriately indexes the degree to which individuals possess well-defined attitudes. A comparison of theory and research on self-schemata with research on the affective–cognitive consistency variable suggested that the latter may be a useful measure of attitude schematicity. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotogenicity and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonism: implications for neuroprotective pharmacotherapy

PURPOSE: Study purpose was to develop a theoretical framework that will explain pharmacists' behavior relative to the provision of pharmaceutical care. The model was developed from four attitude models by testing their predictive validity relative to pharmaceutical care implementation. Four hypotheses and one research question were investigated to identify determinants of behavioral intention and behavior. METHODS: 617 community pharmacists in the state of Florida, U.S.A., were surveyed twice using mail survey methodology to collect data. The first survey assessed community pharmacists' attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, past behavior recency, self-efficacies, instrumental beliefs and affect. The second survey assessed pharmacists' behavior relative to the implementation of pharmaceutical care. After establishing reliability and validity of measures, regression analysis was used to test hypotheses and research question investigated. RESULTS: The Pharmacists' Implementation of Pharmaceutical Care (PIPC) model developed postulates that (i) behavior is directly determined by past behavior recency, behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control; (ii) psychological appraisal processes-instrumental beliefs, self-efficacies, and affect toward means-influence behavior through past behavior recency; and (iii) behavioral intention is determined by attitude, social norm and perceived behavioral control. CONCLUSIONS: The PIPC model provides a formal scientifically validated theoretical framework which can be used to design successful intervention for pharmaceutical care implementation.     

Prediction of behavior from beliefs: An extension and test of a subjective probability model.

Tested a model for the prediction of behavior from beliefs in the context of voting behavior in the 1976 presidential election. A 2-wave panel design was used in a field survey in which voting behavior was predicted from beliefs about candidates in accord with a recent subjective probability model. Ss were 119 23–56 yr old Democrats, Republicans, and independents. Results support the model, yielding an average correlation between predicted and obtained voting behavior of .75. The average correlation between predicted and obtained voting intention was .84. The ability of the model to predict behavior and behavioral intentions was relatively unaffected by the educational level of the respondent and the type of beliefs under consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of marital quality in toddler development.

Examined associations among contemporaneous measures of marital quality, parenting attitudes and behavior, and toddler development in 75 2-parent families with a 20-mo-old child. Child–mother and child–father attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation procedure, and child task behavior was rated during a problem-solving task. Parents completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and questionnaires concerning parenting attitudes and perceptions. Independent observations were conducted for parental behavioral sensitivity and couple marital harmony. Findings support the hypothesis that good marital quality would be associated with optimal toddler functioning and sensitive parenting. The magnitude of effect was greater for marriage–parenting associations than for marriage–child associations. Differences in patterns of intercorrelation for mothers and fathers were found and direct and indirect associations between marital quality, parenting, and child development are discussed. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding smoking cessation: The role of smokers' quit history.

Many studies have found smokers' quit history to correlate with quitting smoking, but little is known about the psychological processes explaining this relationship. This study uses the integrative model of behavioral prediction to examine how quit history affects quit intention. Data from 3,428 Dutch smokers demonstrate that quit history affects (a) beliefs about quitting and (b) the degree to which self-efficacy predicts quit intention. It seems that a relatively unsuccessful history of prior quit attempts reduces self-efficacy over quitting and strengthens the relationship of self-efficacy with the intention to quit. The results are used to call for more process-oriented research in order to advance our understanding of the relationship between quit history and quit intention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The morphological assessment of bone marrow infiltration in neuroblastoma]

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between breastfeeding intention among socioeconomically disadvantaged pregnant women and maternal demographics, previous breastfeeding experience, and social support. METHODS: A cross-sectional, convenience sampling strategy was employed for data collection. Low-income women (n = 1001) in a public hospital completed a six-page questionnaire about their infant feeding plans, demographics, and social support. Simple regression analyses were conducted to compare maternal breastfeeding intention with the hypothesized correlates. RESULTS: Breastfeeding intention was positively correlated with older maternal age, higher education, more breastfeeding experience, Hispanic ethnicity, and hearing about breastfeeding benefits from family members, the baby's father, and lactation consultants, but not from other health professionals. Health professionals' attitudes were less influential on women's infant feeding decisions than the attitudes and beliefs of members of women's social support networks. When controlling for breastfeeding experience (none vs any), some findings, varied, indicating a need for breastfeeding interventions tailored to women's level of experience. CONCLUSION: Use of peer counselors and lactation consultants, inclusion of a woman's family members in breastfeeding educational contacts, and creation of breastfeeding classes tailored to influential members of women's social support networks may improve breastfeeding rates among low-income women, especially those with no breastfeeding experience, more effectively than breastfeeding education to pregnant women that is solely conducted by health professionals.     

From automatic antigay prejudice to behavior: The moderating role of conscious beliefs about gender and behavioral control.

Two experiments tested whether the relation between automatic prejudice and discriminatory behavior is moderated by 2 conscious processes: conscious egalitarian beliefs and behavioral control. The authors predicted that, when both conscious processes are deactivated, automatic prejudice would elicit discriminatory behavior. When either of the 2 processes is activated, behavioral bias would be eliminated. The authors assessed participants' automatic attitudes toward gay men, conscious beliefs about gender, behavioral control, and interactions with gay confederates. In Experiment 1, men's beliefs about gender were heterogeneous, whereas women's beliefs were mostly egalitarian; men's responses supported the predictions, but women's responses did not. In Experiment 2, the authors recruited a sample with greater diversity in gender-related beliefs. Results showed that, for both sexes, automatic prejudice produced biased behavior in the absence of conscious egalitarian beliefs and behavioral control. The presence of either conscious process eliminated behavioral bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of persuasive arguments in changing affirmative action attitudes and expressed behavior in higher education.

The research reported in this article examined the conditions under which persuasive arguments are most effective in changing university students' attitudes and expressed behavior with respect to affirmative action (AA). The conceptual framework was a model that integrated the theory of reasoned action and the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. Studies 1 and 2 established effective manipulations of positive-negative AA information, and peripheral-central routes of processing. Study 3 implemented these techniques, and a path analysis was carried out testing the differential effects of valence of information processed via different routes on AA evaluative beliefs, attitudes, intention, and expressed behavior. Results indicated that positive AA messages processed centrally (i.e., for meaning) resulted in significantly more positive evaluative beliefs. Modifications to the original model resulted in a final model with excellent fit to the data that supported the mediating role of intention in the AA attitude-behavior relationship, as predicted by the theory of reasoned action. The findings highlight potential benefits of interventions for improving support for AA policies, provided that positive information is processed at a central, evaluative level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral obligation and attitudes: Their relation to behavioral intentions.

I. Ajzen and M. Fishbein (1969) have shown that behavioral intention can be viewed as a function of attitudes and subjective norms; however, moral values also may influence behavioral intentions in morally relevant situations. When a component measuring moral obligation was added to Ajzen and Fishbein's model in an experiment with 113 adults (mean age 42 yrs) in Baptist Sunday school classes who were exposed to 2 morally relevant and 2 not morally relevant hypothetical situations, it added significantly to prediction of behavioral intention. In the 2 "moral situations" (as defined independently by 3 criteria—importance, immunity from deliberate change, and form of moral pressure), moral obligation was more highly correlated with intention than attitude or social norms, but in 2 "nonmoral" situations it was not. Hence, moral considerations are necessary to predict behavioral intentions in moral situations. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determinants of exercise intention and behavior during and after phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation: An application of the theory of planned behavior.

Objective: To evaluate the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a framework for understanding exercise motivation during and after Phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Design and Participants: Patients (57 men and 24 women) completed a TPB questionnaire that included attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and exercise intentions pre- and post-Phase 2 CR. Results: During Phase 2 CR, regression analyses indicated that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) explained 38% of the variance in exercise intention while intention explained 23% of the variance in exercise adherence. At postrehabilitation follow-up, attitudes, subjective norm, and PBC explained 51 % of the variance in exercise intention while intention explained 23% of the variance in exercise adherence. Conclusion: The TPB is a useful framework for understanding exercise intentions and behavior both during and after Phase 2 CR. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting contraceptive behavior from attitudes: A comparison of within- versus across-subjects procedures.

Within- vs across-Ss procedures for predicting behavior from attitudes were contrasted. Each procedure required a comparison among attitudes to generate a prediction; the comparison was either among the same attitudes held by different people (across Ss) or among different attitudes held by the same person (within Ss). It was hypothesized that the within-S model would provide a more adequate explanation of behavior from attitudinal constructs and, hence, more accurate prediction of behavior from attitudes than the across-Ss model. 349 married couples were administered a questionnaire containing measures of 3 attitudinal components—affect, cognition, and conation—toward each of 4 contraceptive methods—oral contraceptives, intrauterine device, diaphragm, and condom. Contraceptive behavior was assessed 1 yr later. In support of the hypothesis, the within-S predictions bore a significantly stronger relation to the behavioral criteria than did the across-Ss predictions. This effect was consistent for each of the 3 components of attitude, for the prediction of behavior and behavioral intention, for male and female Ss, and for a variety of contraceptive behaviors. In addition, both the within- and the across-Ss analyses demonstrated a clear rank ordering in the predictive validity of the 3 attitudinal components: Conation was a better predictor of behavior than was the affect, which, in turn, was better than cognition. (2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)