The theory of planned behaviour: criticisms and developments Flashcards
How does the theory neglect affective factors?
Theory is overly cognitive/rational - emotional factors need to be taken into account. Some attempts to address this, e.g. affective attitudes.
Anticipated regret is a predictor of how people will behave. Impulsivity is a useful predictor that should be considered, e.g. in eating behaviour.
What is the intention-behaviour gap?
Sometimes due to correspondence/compatibility (correspondence between intention and behaviour. Time period can causes differences). Intention stability (people’s attention can change. Have to measure intention and behaviour as close together as possible to reduce that change of inconsistency in this). Lack of control.
What is attitude strength?
Although not well-defined, it tends to embody the idea ‘that whereas some attitudes are indeed stable and consequential, others are quite flexible and have few if any important effects’ (Krosnick and Petty). Important distinction between strong and weak attitudes, e.g. strong attitudes are resilient to persuasion, and therefore their behaviour is less likely to change.
What is ambivalence?
A psychological state in which a person holds mixed feelings (positive and negative) towards some psychological object (Gardner, 1987). Have negative and positive evaluations toward something. The theory of planned behaviour doesn’t allow for the existence of ambivalence. The way these models conceptualise attitudes is simplistic, as it doesn’t allow for conflicting feelings.
What did Sparks, Harris, and Lockwood (2004) find?
Questionnaire, interested in people’s attitudes about attending the health club. She had access to turn stall data. Worked on the assumption that higher levels of ambivalence would lead to weaker correlation with their intentional behaviour to attend the health club. Found as ambivalence went up, intention of behaviour went down.
What is indifferences (non-attitudes)?
People not having attitudes. People who are asked a question about a topic that they do not have an attitude toward. Danger that people feel like they ought to have an attitude, and therefore fill in the survey with some hastily-fabricated affective judgement. Therefore said that when given a survey, should have an option to express indifference so they do not feel obliged to express an opinion.
What are four possible reactions to attitude objects?
Positive attitude (high positive reaction, low negative reaction, top left). Dual attitudes, ambivalence (high positive reaction, high negative reaction, top right). Indifference (low positive reaction, low negative reaction, bottom left). Negative attitude (high negative reaction, low positive reaction, bottom right).
What did Ajzen suggest in response to criticisms?
Ajzen came up with the suggestions that if we can think about something else to add to the theory of planned behaviour, then add it to the model. Various researches have suggested that moral judgements have a big impact on planned behaviours, as do descriptive norms (perception of what other people do), self-identity (people’s perception of the person they are/the person they hope to be) and people’s affect/regret.
What did Fishbein and Ajzen suggest that any additional variable must be?
- Behaviour-specific - have intentions toward behaviour.
- Be a causal factor - still need to be theorised as casual factors.
- Conceptually independent.
- Applicable to a wide range of behaviour.
- Improve prediction.
Is ‘moral norm’ an applicable additional variable?
Ajzen and Fishbein said that this is not applicable to a wide range of behaviours. Studies have shown however that it is a useful predictor across many different behaviour.
Is ‘descriptive norm’ an applicable additional variable?
Ajzen and Fishbein said this was applicable. Descriptive norm is people’s perception of what other people do.
Is ‘self-identity’ an applicable additional variable?
Ajzen and Fishbein said this is not conceptually independent. Not behaviour specific. Sometimes self-identity is a reflection of past behaviour, therefore is not behaviour specific.
Is ‘anticipated regret/anticipated affective reactions’ an applicable additional variable?
Ajzen and Fishbein reject this. Say there are problems of correspondence/compatibility. “Whereas the standard variables in our theory are assessed with respect to performing the behavior of interest, anticipated affective reactions are often measured in relation to not performing the behaviour” (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010).
Can we use past behaviour as a useful predictor of (future) behaviour?
If want to predict people’s behaviour, it has been suggested that it is useful to look at people’s past behaviour. Ajzen and Fishbein said this should not be used because it is not a causal factor. Doesn’t give the kind of explanation you are looking for – doesn’t give a cause of the behaviour. However, Ajzen and Fishbein made the point that the more you carry out a behaviour, the more habitual it becomes.
What is the ‘reasoned action approach’?
Replaced subjective norm with perceived norm. Perceived norm is a mixture of injunctive norm (perception of whether people approve of your behaviour) and descriptive norm (your perception that others important to you are also performing that behaviour).
