Lecture 5: How do attitudes influence behavior? Flashcards
History attitudes
100 y ago Allport said that attitudes are important but 60 y ago Wicker said that it is not related to behavior.
What question should you ask if it is about attitudes and behavior?
Not whether attitudes are related to behavior but when attitudes are related to behavior.
Fishbein & Ajzen attitude toward religion
Measure 100 behaviors (or
behavioral intentions) relevant to
religiosity (pray before dinner,
donate money to religious
organization, etc.). All five measures of attitudes were strongly correlated.
single vs multiple behaviors and attitude
Attitude and multiple behaviors: r > .60 and singled: r < .15. Zowel retro- als prospective behavioral intentions.
Principle of compatibility
NIET: Global attitude –> specific behavior or specific attitude –> global behavior.
WEL: Specific attitude –> specific behavior or Global attitude –> Global behavior.
Does attitude correlate with behavior
Yes but effect size bigger when corrected.
Theory of reasoned action
Attitude towards the behavior and subjective norm –> behavioral intention –> behavior
Theory of planned behavior
Behavioral beliefs –> attitude towards the behavior +
Normative beliefs –> subjective norms +
Control beliefs –> perceived behavioral control (–> behavior)
—>
intention –> behavior
What is the conclusion of theory of planned behavior?
Whether you think you can do it influences that you actually do it.
Theory of reasoned goal pursuit
Heel complex model waarbij active procurement goals –> attitude towards behavior + Active approval goals –> subjective norm
–> motivation –> intention –> behavior
+ behavioral control –> behavior
Ongeveer dit wel iets complexer nog.
How well do intentions predict behavior?
Sometimes there is a change in intentions but not in behavior, because people fail to keep up with their intentions, even start wit them, forget them or not know how to. For example eat healthy.
Do intentions cause behavior?
Yes
What is the intention behavior gap?
Behavior is not the same as intention and is not only predicted by intentions.
What causes the gap between intentions and behavior?
4 groups: Inclined actors, inclined abstainers, disinclined actors and disinclined abstainers.
Key point 1: disconnect between intentions and behavior can be due to failing to act on positive intention (inclined abstainer), but also due to acting when intention is negative (disinclined actor).
Key point 2: there are more inclined abstainers than disinclined actors (at least for the behaviors studied here).
Inclined actor
Postive intention and acted
Inclined abstainer
positive intention but did not act
Disinclined actor
Negative intention and acted. Small group.
Disinclined abstainer
Negative intention but did not act
Is the shape of attitude-behavior relation linear?
Majority research says yes but research from Christopher et all. (2021) says its not linear.
Classic perspective
Linear relation
Categorical perspective
Does not matter if its extremely negative or negative (same category), both the same behavior. It is as S shape, neutral is thresshold. Means that change between valence is seen as larger than change within valence.
Attitude-strength perspective
Stronger attitudes have more impact on behavior. More extreme attitudes are stronger. More extreme attitudes have a bigger effect on behavior.
Study 1 shape of intention and behavior
Voting in US 2018 midterm election for congress. Self-report attitude towards all candidates in their district (1 = extremely against, 9 =
extremely in favor). The shape was categorical.
Study 3 shape of intention and behavior
Behavioral intentions: Hypothetical purchases–> Imagine moving into a new home, and you want to
decorate the living room. How many [candles, books, sculptures, plants] would you buy? Attitude toward object rated on scale from Extremely negative (1) to Extremely positive (7). The shape was categorical.
Study 4 shape of intention and behavior
- Hypothesis: Categorical perspective applies only to valenced behaviors , but not to nonvalenced
behaviors. Shape valence behavior = categorical, nonvalenced behavior n= quadritic
Study 5 shape of intention and behavior
Analysis of online reviews from online shop. S shape = categorical. Implication: some attitude changes have more effect on behavior: When recommending a x-box game you have to convince people who dont have a x-box. It is recommend instead of behavior.
Nonvalenced behavior
action that relates to an attitude object, but does not imply a positive or negative attitude toward that object (e.g., leaving review, voting at all).
Valenced behavior
Something where you have an attitude about (e.g., purchase of product, voting for specific candidate).
Implications for persuasion and behavioral change
- Pas the persuasive message aan op welke factor (attitudes, norms, control) de beste voorspeller is voor behavior.
- Identify specific beliefs that are basis of behavior and target those.
- Estimate shape of relation
- Consider what attitude change has most impact on behavior.
