The Fishbein and Ajzen Theory of Reasoned Action Applied to Contraceptive Behavior: Model Variants and Meaningfulness1

Suggested modifications of the theory of reasoned action, which conceptualize the functional operation of the attitudinal and normative components in intention formation as separate, separate but contingent, and inseparable, are discussed. The model structures are examined with regard to the underlying psychological assumptions (psychological meaningfulness) and with regard to the required scale levels for the model variables, so that the results of model tests are invariant under the admissible scale transformations (formal meaningfulness). Using a procedure that combines “optimal scaling” with hierarchical regression analysis, the model variants are tested for women's (n= 89) and men's (n= 89) intentions to use contraceptive methods (pill, intrauterine device, condom, and natural methods) that require the model variables to be measured on interval scales. The results strongly favored the theory of reasoned action above the other model variants. Only for the subjective norm model was a better model fit found for a belief-only model compared to the original product-sum model. Gender differences were found with regard to the salient belief sets and the explanatory power of the normative model component.     

A Test and Expansion of the Fishbein Model on Religious Attitudes and Behavior in Thailand

Fishbein's reasoned action model of relationships among attitude, subjec- tive norm, intention, and behavior (Azjen & Fishbein, 1980) was tested on a sample of 110 Thai teachers' college students. The behavior investigated was the culturally well-established religious behavior of merit making during Buddhist Lent. The addition of two components to the model was also examined through (a) previous experience with the behavior and (b) a moral or valuative dimension of attitude. Correlational analysis supported the reasoned action model with the inclusion of affective and valuative components to attitude. Sequential multiple-regression analyses showed that subjective norms did not contribute unique variance to the prediction of intention, but previous experience with the behavior and the affective component of attitude both did.     

Predicting Contraceptive Behavior Among University Men: The Role of Emotions and Behavioral Intentions1

This research employed two theories to predict contraceptive behavior (condom use) among university men. The sexual behavior sequence (Byrne, 1977, 1983) hypothesizes that erotophobia-erotophilia (negative to positive emotional response to sexuality) will generalize and mediate avoidance or approach of contraception. The theory of reasoned action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) hypothesizes that condom use behavior (B) is a function of behavioral intentions (BI) to perform this act; BI is hypothesized to be a function of attitudes towards the act (Aact) and relevant subjective norms (SN), and Aact and SN in turn have hypothesized basic determinants (). In addition, the theory of reasoned action holds that variables external to this model (i.e., erotophobia-erotophilia) may only affect behavior indirectly, by affecting the model's components. To test these assumptions, 145 undergraduate males completed measures of erotophobia-erotophilia and BI, Aact, SN, and and with respect to condom use in the coming month; a one month follow-up measure of B was also obtained. Results confirmed each of the hypothesized relationships and showed that for subjects who had sex during the month under study (N= 44), erotophobia-erotophilia and behavioral intentions were related to condom use (r= .33, r= .44, p < .05). Moreover, in contrast to the assumption of the theory of reasoned action, erotophobia-erotophilia and intentions independently predicted condom use; the linear combination of these factors predicted condom use significantly better (R= .57, p < .001) than either factor taken singly. Conceptual and applied implications of these findings are discussed.     

Understanding Public Reaction to Energy Proposals: An Application of the Fishbein Model1

The Fishbein attitude model was applied to voter decision-making on an energy ballot proposal. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of potential voters in Oregon's 1976 general election and dealt with the Nuclear Safeguards Initiative, a measure that would place restrictions on future nuclear power plants. Questionnaire items probed the attitude toward the act of voting “Yes” on the measure (A_act), perceived likelihood of various consequences of voting “Yes” (B_i), evaluations of these consequences (e_i), the subjective norm (SN), normative beliefs (NB_i), motivation to comply with several referents (Mc_i), and voting intention (VI). A follow-up interview determined the actual voting behavior (VB) of persons responding to the questionnaire. The following model predictions were tested and strongly supported by the data: (a) VB=VI; and (e) external variables have a nonsignificant relation to VB once VI is partialled out. It was concluded that the Fishbein model should be extremely useful in understanding public reaction to future energy proposals.     

A Vocabulary Usage Test

This article describes the development of a Vocabulary Usage Test (VUT) for children between the ages of 34 to 63 months. The VUT was adapted from the PPVT, thus allowing direct comparison between vocabulary comprehension and usage. Administration procedures, scoring forms, and tentative normative data are presented.     

Beliefs and Attitudes in a Gubernatorial Primary: Some Limitations on the Fishbein Model1

In order to investigate hypothesized limitations on a portion of the Fishbein expectancy-value model, a three wave panel survey was conducted during the 1978 Texas Democratic gubernatorial primary. The survey elicited respondents' beliefs about the candidates, attitudes toward the candidates, and commitment to the candidates. Analyses revealed that the correlations between evaluative beliefs about candidates (Σe_ib_i) and global attitudes toward them (Ao) were affected to varying degrees by three factors extraneous to Fishbein's model. There was evidence that belief-attitude correspondence was affected by (1) respondent education and income, (2) degree of commitment to the candidates, and (3) familiarity with the candidates (salience).     

Testing a Model of Mammography Intention1

This paper presents the results of a study testing components of the Triandis model of choice to predict intention to obtain screening mammography in the next 2 years. A questionnaire was developed to measure the theoretical components of this model. Analysis was based on 2,521 women, 50 to 65 years old, who received primary care from 1 of 28 participating primary care group practices. Based on the four theoretical components of intention described in the Triandis model-social influence, affect, consequence, and barriers-a set of structural equation models was explored. The sample was split into two equal subsamples: one sample used for model exploration and one used for model confirmation. Results showed that the original intention model was not supported. Instead, the model that best fit the data, and upheld it in the subsample used for model confirmation, was a model in which habit and intention were strongly related. The strongest predictors of habit were barriers and consequences; the strongest predictors of intention were social influences and barriers.     

Predicting the Performance of Dental Hygiene Behaviors: An Examination of the Fishbein and Ajzen Model and Self-Efficacy Expectations1

This study examined the value of the Fishbein and Ajzen model of behavioral intentions and Bandura's concept of self-efficacy expectations as prospective predictors of the dental hygiene behaviors of young adults. All participants (73 males and 58 females) completed self-report measures of the predictor variables and 60% of that group (N = 77) then recorded brushing and flossing behaviors over a four-week period. The Fishbein and Ajzen model accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in intentions to brush (R²= .32) and intentions to floss (R²= .30). Intentions were in turn related to self-monitoring records of brushing and flossing frequency (rs= .52 and .61). Introducing self-efficacy expectations into the Fishbein and Ajzen model failed to improve the prediction of brushing and flossing frequency. However, self-efficacy was predictive of behavioral intentions, adding significantly to the variance accounted for by the attitudinal and subjective norm components of the Fishbein and Ajzen model. These data suggest that self-efficacy expectations are important in understanding protective health behaviors and that the inclusion of a self-efficacy component in the Fishbein and Ajzen model deserves consideration.     

Intention to Migrate: A Psychological Analysis1

A sample of 102 male East Indians intending to immigrate to Canada was compared on several personality and nonpersonality variables with a matched sample of 114 Indians who planned to remain in India. A mail questionnaire procedure was used. Discriminant analyses indicated that personality factors alone accounted for 27% of the variance and that inclusion of nonpersonality factors raised this to 38%. The most important variables separating the groups are occupational satisfaction, sensation seeking, interest in world news, and a locus-of-control component. The findings indicate the sizeable role of personality factors in the decision to migrate and illustrate the utility of a multifaceted approach in understanding complex phenomena such as migration.     

Determinants of Mediator Behavior: A Test of the Strategic Choice Model1

The present study simulated an organizational dispute to test 12 hypotheses about mediator behavior that were derived from the strategic choice model of mediation. This model is based on the assumption that mediators have four basic strategies to resolve disputes: (a) integrate, which involves a search for mutually acceptable outcomes; (b) press, which involves lowering one or both parties' aspirations; (c) compensate, which involves offering positive benefits in exchange for concessions; and (d) inaction, which involves letting the parties handle the dispute by themselves. The major proposition of the model is that two factors, the mediator's assessment of the likelihood of a mutually acceptable agreement and the mediator's concern for the parties' aspirations, interact to predict mediator behavior. Nine of the 12 hypotheses derived from the model were supported. Pressing by mediators occurred most when mediators had a low estimate of the likelihood of agreement in combination with a low concern for the parties' aspirations. Compensating occurred most when mediators had a low estimate of the likelihood of agreement in combination with a high concern for the parties' aspirations. Inaction occurred most when the mediators' estimate of the likelihood of agreement was high and their concern for the parties' aspirations was low. Integrating occurred most when the mediators had a high concern for the parties' aspirations.     

A Test of the Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness1

Randomly formed groups of 160 male students a t St. Francis Xavier University performed both a structured and an unstructured task. Style of leadership and leader position power were experimentally manipulated, while leader member relations were held constant. Although manipulation checks were positive, results failed to support any of the hypotheses derived from Fiedler's contingency theory of leadership effectiveness.     

Understanding Seat-Belt Intentions and Behavior: A Decision-Making Approach1

In an experimental study designed to investigate a decision-making model of seat-belt use, 227 employees of an agrochemical company participated in a health information program in which they watched either a videotape on seat belts or a control videotape and completed questionnaires immediately afterward and at 3 months and 1 year after exposure. In terms of total effects, the seat-belt videotape influenced beliefs, fear, and intentions assessed immediately after exposure, but had no effect on self-reported frequency of belt use at 3 months or 1 year. A full path analysis indicated some support for the decision-making model. In particular, probability difference (the perceived reduction in risk of death or serious injury due to wearing a belt) had a large influence on intentions to wear a belt and partly mediated the effect of the videotape on intentions. Reported frequency of belt use at 3 months was influenced both by post-test intentions and by initial frequency of belt use. Similarly, belt use at 1 year was affected by belt use at 3 months and by initial belt use. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of subjective probabilities and habitual factors in seat-belt use.     

The Psychology of Contraceptive Surprises: Cumulative Risk and Contraceptive Effectiveness1

Two studies investigated young adults' expectations about long-term contraceptive effectiveness. Subjects were told about five hypothetical methods of contraception varying in reported effectiveness, which was expressed in terms of the likelihood of avoiding pregnancy for base periods of 1 year (Experiment 1), 5 years, or 10 years (Experiment 2) of use. For each method, subjects estimated the likelihood that a woman would avoid pregnancy while using it for periods ranging from 1 month to 15 years, and then rated how satisfied they would be with it. For nearly half of the subjects, estimates of cumulative effectiveness did not decline as time period increased. Those subjects who did realize that cumulative effectiveness declined over time estimated rates that declined too slowly for methods of modest and low reliability, and at rates that were too similar for methods differing in effectiveness. Subjects were overly optimistic about effectiveness for time periods longer than the base period, and overly pessimistic about effectiveness for shorter time periods. Not surprisingly given these results, subjects expressed more satisfaction when a method's effectiveness was expressed in shorter base periods. Such faulty understanding of the long-term implications of contraceptive effectiveness information may undermine people's abilities to make informed contraceptive choices.     

Seat Belt Attitudes, Habits, and Behaviors: An Adaptive Amendment to the Fishbein Model

One hundred thirty-four introductory psychology students participatcd in a longitudinal study of seat belt usage. The model of Fishbein and Ajzen was tested, as was the construct of habit within this context. Multiple regression analyses supported the basic Fishhein and Ajzen model predictions. Attitudes and subjective norms predicted intentions, which in turn predicted behavior. Furthermore, habit predicted behavior better than intention. The following nonspurious relationships were observed in cross-lagged panel correlation tests: influence from subjective norm to intention, influence from intention to attitude, influcnce from attitude to subjective norm, influence from behavior to habit, and, of course, influence from attitude to behavior. Discussion included further consideration of the Fishbein and Ajzen model, social adaptation theory, and implications for seat belt usage.     

Counselor Intentions: A Critical Review of the Literature

Researchers have become increasingly interested in the role of counselor intentions in the psy-chotherapeutic process. This interest is rooted philosophically in a recognition that to understand human action, we must also understand motivation and intention. The author traces recent concepts of intentions and proposes a model that locates intentions on a continuum of counselor strategy. Techniques for measuring intentions are discussed, with an emphasis on reliability and validity problems. Published empirical studies are reviewed through 1991; a lack of findings of practical or theoretical significance are traced to methodological and design problems. Implications for practice are discussed, and recommendations for future research are suggested.     

The AIDS Risk Reduction Model: Examining Intentions to Use Condoms Among Injection Drug Users1

This paper uses the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM) to examine psychosocial factors involved in adopting safer sex practices in a sample of Los Angeles injection drug users (IDUs; n= 161) who reported having more than one sex partner in the year preceding the interview. The ARRM hypothesizes that behavior change is a process occurring in three stages: (a) labeling one's behavior as problematic, (b) making a commitment to behavior change, and (c) taking action to accomplish that change. We test the first two stages of the model using a measure of perceived risk of HIV infection (Stage I), and intentions to use condoms always during vaginal or anal sex in the next year (Stage 2). We examine differences in the predictive value of the ARM between IDUs who reported using condoms in the year prior to the interview and those who reported not using them. We identify leverage points in the model-factors which appear to have a major influence on intentions to use condoms and which may be amenable to change through educational or other types of intervention. For both condom users and non-users, susceptibility to AIDS predicted perceived infection risk (Stage I). For condom users, knowledge about AIDS also predicted perceived risk. For both groups, self efficacy, peer norms concerning condom use, and the perceived pleasure of using condoms predicted intentions to use condoms (Stage 2). Our findings do not support either direct or indirect relationships between the Stage 1 and Stage 2 outcome variables for either group.     

Changing Expectancies: A Counseling Model Based on Locus of Control

This article presents counseling and communication techniques for giving external expectancies the internal direction necessary to facilitate behavior change. Locus of control expectancies provide a useful concept for assessing and influencing the behavior of “unmotivated” students and clients.     

即时通讯工具使用体验及其与使用动机和偏好的关系模型

以大学生即时通讯工具（IM）用户为被试,采用因素分析技术探讨了IM使用体验的结构,并建构了IM使用动机与使用偏好和使用体验的关系模型。结果发现：（1）IM使用体验主要包括功能性体验和情感性体验两个基本维度。其中,前者主要涉及控制感、易用感和卷入感等三个因素,而后者则主要涉及乐趣感、愉悦感和互惠感等三个因素;（2）基于上述模型形成的“IM使用体验问卷”具有较理想的项目区分度、内部一致性信度、构想效度和区分效度;（3）基于人际沟通动机的IM用户更关注IM的易用性、可控制性和卷入程度等功能特性,而基于信息获取动机和休闲娱乐动机的IM用户更关注IM的愉悦性、乐趣性和互惠性等情感特性。     

感谢反馈来源对捐赠意愿的影响:有调节的中介效应

本文采用实验法分析在信任缺失的情境下,慈善捐赠过程中感谢反馈有谁传递及如何传递等问题。结果发现,相比较慈善组织传递感谢,受捐者本人感谢更能增加人们的捐赠意愿,感知的社会价值在二者之间起到部分中介作用;事实信息调节感谢反馈来源与感知的社会价值之间的关系。结论表明,相比较慈善组织传递感谢,受捐者本人感谢更有效,只有在感谢反馈中包含事实信息时,受捐者本人感谢才可以增加人们感知的社会价值和捐赠意愿。     

Predicting Contraceptive Efficacy: A Discriminant Analysis of Three Groups of Adolescent Women1

The relationship of knowledge and attitudes to adolescent contraceptive efficacy was investigated in a multivariate study, with demographic and sexual history variables covaried. Subjects were unmarried, sexually active 15- to 19-year-old women. Two studies were conducted: one using a large and representative sample and the second using a smaller, high socioeconomic status sample that is more typical of samples generally used in earlier research. Subjects were classified as effective, ineffective, or nonusers of contraception, based on both frequency of use and effectiveness of the method(s) they used. Two discriminant function analyses were performed to determine (a) whether knowledge and attitudes contributed to discrimination among the groups over and above discrimination attributable to demographic and sexual history variables, and (b) which variables distinguished ineffective users from both other groups. The results of both studies indicate that attitudes, particularly attitudes toward contraception, are strong predictors of patterns of contraceptive use. Ineffective users were distinguished from nonusers by their greater knowledge of contraception, and from both other groups by their greater sexual activity and more positive attitudes toward intercourse. The discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of the results, the usefulness of the effective/ineffective/nonuser categorization, and applications of these findings to design of interventions.