PSY2001 W3 Reading

Question 1

Why do some theories believe that intnetins cause behaviour?

Answer 1

Mot tests involve correlational studies that preclude (exclude) causal inference.
Reviews of intention– behavior rela-tions to date have relied on correlational evidence and do not affordclear conclusions about whether intentions have a causal impact onbehavior.

Question 2

What should we do to determine whether changes in behavioural intention engender behaviour change?

Answer 2

Participants should be assigned randomly to a treatment that significantly increases the strength of respectiveintentions relative to a control condition, and differences in subsequent behavior should be compared

Question 3

What does the thoery of reasoned action propose?

Answer 3

2 additional constructs are needed to explain the relationship between attitude and behavior.
1-favorable attitude toward a behavior might not be translated into action because of social pressure from significant others not to perform the behavior. Subjective norm (e.g.,Most people whoare important to me think that I should/should not do X) should betaken alongside attitude measures in order to capture both socialand personal influences on behavior.
2-attitudes and subjective norms affect behavior bypromoting the formation of a decision or intention to act.

Question 4

What are the problems with making inferences about causation on the basis of correlational studies?

Answer 4

Use cross-sectional desgins that render reports of intention andbehavior liable to consistency or self-presentational biases.

Cross-sectional studies cannot rule out the possibility that behaviour caused intention.

Inferring causation: because correlational designs (cross-sectional, longitudinal, or cross-lagged panel studies) are subject to the “third variable problem” or “spuri-ousness” - a third— unmeasured—variableis the potential cause of both intention and behavior.

Question 5

How can you deal with the third variable problem?

Answer 5

(a) randomly assigned participants to experimental and control groups
(b) generated a significant difference in intention scoresbetween the groups
(c) followed up behavior.