Mediator of moderators: temporal stability of intention and the intention-behavior relation

Intention certainty, past behavior, self-schema, anticipated regret, and attitudinal versus normative control all have been found to moderate intention-behavior relations. It is argued that moderation occurs because these variables produce "strong" intentions. Stability of intention over time is a key index of intention strength. Consequently, it was hypothesized that temporal stability of intention would mediate moderation by these other moderators. Participants (N = 185) completed questionnaire measures of theory of planned behavior constructs and moderator variables at two time points and subsequently reported their exercise behavior. Findings showed that all of the moderators, including temporal stability, were associated with significant improvements in consistency between intention and behavior. Temporal stability also mediated the effects of the other moderators, supporting the study hypothesis.     

Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept

This article examines the association between evaluative and knowledge components of the self. Four studies tested the hypothesis that the self-concepts of low-self-esteem (LSE) people are characterized by less clarity or certainty than those of high-self-esteem (HSE) people. LSE Ss exhibited less extremity and self-reported confidence when rating themselves on bipolar trait adjectives (Study 1), less temporal stability in their trait ratings over a 2-month interval (Study 2), less congruence between their self-concepts and their subsequent perceptions of situation-specific behavior and memory for prior behavior (Study 3), and less internal consistency, lower self-rated confidence, and longer reaction times when making me/not me responses to pairs of opposite traits (Study 4). Alternative accounts of the results and the implications of self-concept clarity for understanding the pervasive impact of self-esteem on behavior are discussed.     

Assessing Sexual Orientation–Related Obsessions and Compulsions in Italian Heterosexual Individuals: Development and Validation of the Sexual Orientation Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (SO-OCS)

Sexual Orientation–Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (SO-OCD) is characterized by intrusive thoughts, images, and urges related to one’s sexual orientation, and by consequent avoidance, reassurance seeking, and overt and covert compulsions. Currently there is no short self-report measure that assesses SO-OCD symptoms. The current article describes two studies that develop and evaluate the first version of the Sexual Orientation Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (SO-OCS), a 14-item Italian self-report measure targeted towards heterosexual individuals. In Study 1, the SO-OCS was developed and refined through item analysis and exploratory factor analysis from an initial pool of 33 items administered to 732 Italian nonclinical participants. The SO-OCS showed a unidimensional structure and an acceptable internal consistency. In Study 2, the factor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, construct and criterion validity, and diagnostic sensitivity of the SO-OCS were investigated in three samples of Italian participants (294 from the general population, 52 OCD patients who reported sexual orientation-related symptoms or concerns as a primary complaint, and 51 OCD patients who did not report these symptoms as primary complaint). The SO-OCS was again found to have a unidimensional structure and good internal consistency, as well as to exhibit strong construct validity. Specifically, the SO-OCS showed an excellent criterion validity and diagnostic sensitivity, as it successfully discriminated between those with SO-OCD and all other groups of participants. Finally, evidence of temporal stability of the SO-OCS in a nonclinical subsample was found. The SO-OCS holds promise as a measure of SO-OCD symptoms in heterosexual individuals.     

Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: Relationship with Personality,Prosociality and Well-Being

Appreciation of beauty and excellence (ABE) is one of the least studied character strengths. Therefore, this study aims at advancing the knowledge in this area by (1) developing a scale that measures the three categories of appreciation (i.e., beauty, moral excellence, and non-moral excellence), (2) assessing many of its psychometric properties, and (3) examining the relationship of ABE with personality, prosociality, and well-being. In Study 1, we create and assess an initial set of items measuring ABE. In Study 2, we examine the dimensionality of ABE, and test the internal consistency and validity of the scale. Moreover, we assess the relationships between ABE and personality, prosociality and well-being. In Study 3, we test the temporal stability of the scale. Results revealed that a three-dimensional model of ABE showed the best fit to the data. The scale showed good validity (construct, factorial, incremental) and reliability (internal and temporal). Finally, ABE yielded positive associations with prosociality and well-being, and demonstrated to be more than a linear combination of the Big Five factors of personality.     

Implementation intentions for physical activity in supportive and unsupportive environmental conditions: An experimental examination of intention–behavior consistency

The primary objective of this investigation was to examine the joint influences of intention strength, executive control resources (ECRs) and implementation intentions on physical activity performance in differentially supportive environmental conditions. In two studies, participants were randomly assigned to implementation intentions or control conditions. Individual differences in ECRs, intention strength and physical activity behavior were measured at baseline in the laboratory; follow-up physical activity was measured via an online questionnaire 7 days after the baseline laboratory session. Study 1 was conducted under activity-supportive environmental conditions (i.e., warm weather, little precipitation), whereas Study 2 was conducted under non-supportive environmental conditions (i.e., cold weather, moderate precipitation). In Study 1, a two-way interaction between ECR and intention strength was observed, such that those with relatively stronger ECR demonstrated stronger intention–behavior relationships than those with relatively weaker ECR; this effect was invariant across experimental conditions. In Study 2, a significant 3-way interaction was observed, such that those with lower ECRs showed greater intention–behavior correspondence in the experimental group compared to the control. Together these findings suggest that the beneficial effects of implementation intentions on intention–behavior correspondence for physical activity may be more potent under challenging environmental conditions, and that they may be of special benefit for those with initially low ECRs.     

Self-predictions overweight strength of current intentions

We suggest that people’s predictions of their future behavior overweight the strength of their current intentions, and underweight situational or contextual factors that influence the ease with which intentions are translated into action. As expected by this account, we find that self-predictions closely follow ratings of current intention strength, and that the actual probability of the behavior being predicted does not increase with intention strength to the extent implied by self-predictions (Study 1). We also find that manipulations designed to strengthen intentions to carry out a behavior have a larger impact on self-predictions than on the behavior being predicted (Studies 1 and 2), whereas a manipulation designed to influence the ease with which intentions are translated into behavior has a larger impact on actual behavior than on self-predictions (Study 2). Observers’ predictions of another’s behavior do not follow the same pattern (Study 3).     

Losses Induce Consistency in Risk Taking Even Without Loss Aversion

It is posited that because of the attentional effect of losses, individuals would show more behavioral consistency in risk‐taking tasks with losses, even in the absence of loss aversion. In two studies, the consistency of risky choices across different experience‐based tasks was evaluated for gain, loss, and mixed (gain loss) tasks. In both studies, losses facilitated the consistency across tasks: the correlation between risk‐taking choices in different tasks increased when the tasks involved frequent losses. Study 2 also showed a positive effect of losses on temporal consistency. Losses increased the correlation between risk‐taking levels across two sessions that were 45 days apart. Also in Study 2, losses induced consistency between experiential risk‐taking choices and self‐reported ratings of risky behavior. In both studies, the positive effect of losses on consistency was observed even when the average participant did not exhibit loss aversion. Taken together, the results indicate that losses increase the consistency of risk‐taking behavior and suggest that this is due to the effect of losses on attention. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting Voting Behavior of Young Adults: The Importance of Information,Motivation, and Behavioral Skills

The information–motivation–behavioral skills (IMB) model has been shown reliably to predict and change a number of behaviors ( Fisher & Fisher, 2000 ). In light of low voter turnout among young adults, the present research examines the utility of the IMB model to predict voting behavior among this population. The predictive validity of the IMB model for voting behavior was tested, as well as its unique contribution to explaining voting behavior, over and above the theory of reasoned action ( Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980 ) and the theory of planned behavior ( Ajzen, 1985 ). As expected, the variables specified by the IMB model uniquely predicted intention to vote (Study 1) and voting behavior (Study 2), over and above the 2 other models.     

Adolescents’ and their friends’ sexual behavior and intention: Selection effects of personality dimensions

Using simulation investigation for empirical network analyses (in RSiena) we examined how personality and sexual behavior and intention were related to peer processes in Dutch adolescents. Our main research questions were: (a) do adolescents cluster together in friendship networks based on personality, sexual behavior, and/or sexual intention? And (b), do adolescents influence each other in their sexual behavior and intention? Results showed that adolescents clustered together based on dissimilarity in agreeableness, and similarity in gender and sexual intention. Further, we found that adolescents with lower levels of emotional stability had friends with more similar levels of sexual intention. The limited variance and low base rates of sexual behavior and intention did not allow us to explicitly test socialization effects.     

Implications of ongoing neural development for the measurement of the error‐related negativity in childhood

Event‐related potentials (ERPs) have been proposed as biomarkers capable of reflecting individual differences in neural processing not necessarily detectable at the behavioral level. However, the role of ERPs in developmental research could be hampered by current methodological approaches to quantification. ERPs are extracted as an average waveform over many trials; however, actual amplitudes would be misrepresented by an average if there was high trial‐to‐trial variability in signal latency. Low signal temporal consistency is thought to be a characteristic of immature neural systems, although consistency is not routinely measured in ERP research. The present study examined the differential contributions of signal strength and temporal consistency across trials in the error‐related negativity (ERN) in 6‐year‐old children, as well as the developmental changes that occur in these measures. The 234 children were assessed annually in kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade. At all assessments signal strength and temporal consistency were highly correlated with the average ERN amplitude, and were not correlated with each other. Consistent with previous findings, ERN deflections in the averaged waveform increased with age. This was found to be a function of developmental increases in signal temporal consistency, whereas signal strength showed a significant decline across this time period. In addition, average ERN amplitudes showed low‐to‐moderate stability across the three assessments whereas signal strength was highly stable. In contrast, signal temporal consistency did not evidence rank‐order stability across these ages. Signal strength appears to reflect a stable individual trait whereas developmental changes in temporal consistency may be experientially influenced.     

The Role of Self‐Identity,Past Behavior,and Their Interaction in Predicting Intention to Purchase Fresh and Processed Organic Food1

This study examined the impact of moral norms, self‐identity, and past behavior on intention to buy organic tomatoes and organic tomato sauce, using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The questionnaire, which included measures of attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, moral norms, past behavior, and self‐identity was completed by approximately 500 people for each food. Multiple regressions showed that for both foods, moral norms and self‐identity added significantly to the prediction of intention over and above the other variables, even when the effect of past behavior was included. There was some evidence of past behavior moderating the self‐identity/intention relationship for processed organic tomato sauce, but not for fresh organic tomatoes. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

From chump to champ: people's appraisals of their earlier and present selves

The authors present and test a theory of temporal self-appraisal. According to the theory, people can maintain their typically favorable self-regard by disparaging their distant and complimenting their recent past selves. This pattern of appraisals should be stronger for more important attributes because of their greater impact on self-regard and stronger for self-ratings than for ratings of other people. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that participants are more critical of distant past selves than of current selves, and Study 3 showed that this effect is obtained even when concurrent evaluations indicate no actual improvement. Studies 4 and 5 revealed that people perceived greater improvement for self than for acquaintances and siblings over the same time period. Study 6 provided support for the predicted effects of temporal distance and attribute importance on people's evaluation of past selves.     

The Temporal Consistency of Personality Effects: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey

Personality traits have been posited to function as stable influences on political attitudes and behavior. Although personality traits themselves exhibit high levels of temporal stability, it is not yet known whether the effects of these traits are marked by comparable temporal consistency. To address this question, this research note examines data from Wave 13 (2003–2004), Wave 15 (2005–2006) and Wave 17 (2007–2008) of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). Twenty‐seven behavioral and 14 attitudinal dependent variables are studied. Consistency of effects is gauged via a series of multilevel models in which personality effects are permitted to vary by year. High levels of temporal consistency are observed for personality traits as represented by the Big Five framework.     

Re-examining Citizenship: How the Control of Measurement Artifacts Affects Observed Relationships of Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Organizational Variables

We examined the impact that measurement artifacts (antithetical items that overlap counterproductive work behavior (CWB), agreement response, halo in supervisor ratings) in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) measures has on observed relationships between OCB and 15 predictors. Respondents were 146 employees and their supervisors who completed surveys that included OCB measures with and without artifacts. Predictors (conscientiousness, emotional stability, empathy, distributive justice, procedural justice, role ambiguity, role conflict, leader–member exchange, affective organizational commitment, job satisfaction, negative and positive emotion, turnover intention, CWB, and task performance) were chosen that related to OCB in prior meta-analyses. Results with the OCB scale with artifacts were consistent with meta-analyses, whereas results with the artifact-controlled OCB scale were not, suggesting that accepted conclusions about OCB’s relationships with many other variables should be reexamined.     

On the investigation of primed and chronic autonomous and heteronomous motivational orientations

Four studies examined primed and chronic autonomous and heteronomous motivations. Study 1 showed that autonomy and heteronomy can be primed and influence perceptions and behavior in a way consistent with consciously regulated motives. In Study 2, a measure of chronic motivation was developed and its construct validity and reliability were assessed. In Study 3, the chronicity measure predicted behavior while consciously regulated motives predicted intention but not behavior. Results of Study 4 replicated results of the priming manipulation in Study 1. However, this effect was moderated by level of motivational chronicity. The priming effect was found to be stronger for non-chronics than for chronics. Overall, the findings suggest that autonomous and heteronomous motivations can be regulated automatically as well as consciously.     

Self–other differences in multiattribute decision making: Compensatory versus noncompensatory decision strategies

When making decisions where options involve multiple attributes, a person can choose to use a compensatory, utility maximizing strategy, which involves consideration and integration of all available attributes. Alternatively, a person can choose a noncompensatory strategy that extracts only the most important and reliable attributes. The present research examined whether other‐oriented decisions would involve greater reliance on a noncompensatory, lexicographic decision strategy than self‐oriented decisions. In three studies (Mturk workers and college students), the difference in other‐oriented versus self‐oriented decisions in a medical decision context was explained by a subsample of participants that chose the death minimizing operation on all 10 decisions (Study 1) and a subsample of participants who self‐reported that they used a strategy that minimized the chance of death on every decision (i.e., a lexicographic mortality heuristic; Study 2). In Study 2, tests of mediation found that self‐reported use of the mortality heuristic completely accounted for the self–other effect on decisions. In Study 3, participants were more likely to report prospectively that they would adopt the mortality heuristic when making decisions for others than for themselves, suggesting that participants were not mistakenly inferring a lexicographic decision strategy from their past behavior. The results suggest that self–other effects in multiattribute choice involve differential use of compensatory versus noncompensatory decision strategies and that beyond this group difference, individual differences in the use of these strategies also exist within self‐oriented and other‐oriented decisions.     

The impact of motivation on temporal comparisons: coping with traumatic events by perceiving personal growth

Four studies were conducted to investigate the impact of self-enhancement motivation on the temporal comparisons of victims of stressful life events. Study 1 revealed that (a) victims were more likely than acquaintances of victims to report greater improvement in their personal attributes after traumatic life events than after mild negative life events and (b) victims perceived improvement by derogating their pre-event attributes. In Studies 2 and 3, an experimental approach was used to study the impact of threatening experiences on perceptions of personal growth, and similar findings were obtained. Study 4 confirmed that threatening self-relevant feelings play a causal role in prompting self-enhancing temporal comparisons. Taken together, the findings of these studies support the view that perceptions of personal improvement reflect, at least in part, motivated illusions that are designed to help people cope with threatening life experiences.     

Cognitive and affective predictors of academic achievement in schoolchildren

The ability of the theory of planned behaviour to predict objectively measured outcomes was tested in school‐age children. Study 1 (N=71) showed that the theory of planned behaviour accounted for significant proportions of the variance in intention and that the intentions predicted scores in a science test; study 2 (N=175) replicated these effects across a broader range of subjects. In addition, study 2 explored the mechanism by which intention was translated into action and demonstrated that intention stability moderated the intention‐academic achievement relationship. Moreover, controlling for a range of cognitive and affective variables, intention and positive affect were independent predictors of intention stability. These findings suggest that although positive affect did not influence intention directly, it did influence intention stability, the mechanism by which intentions are translated into action. Future educational interventions should therefore influence both cognitive and affective factors to promote sustained motivation.     

Predicting Intention to Save Water: Theory of Planned Behavior,Response Efficacy,Vulnerability, and Perceived Efficiency of Alternative Solutions1

These 2 studies attempted to predict people's intention to save water. Study 1 used a model based on Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) and other variables: vulnerability, 2 collective efficacy variables, and subjective effectiveness of alternative solutions (SEAS) to ease drought impact. Study 2 tested a model similar to that of Study 1, but with 2 personal efficacy variables added. Respondents in both studies were residents of Taiwan (Ns= 166 and 210). Analysis indicated that the modified models (R²>.32) were better than the TPB model (R²<.19), and SEAS and response efficacy had crucial effects on people's intentions to retrofit. The studies also found some significant but inconsistent effects of income, dwelling, and education.     

自我控制可以抵御不良示范性规范对初中生环保行为的影响吗?

本研究检验不良示范性规范对初中生环保行为的影响是否受其自我控制的调节。研究1通过假设情境操纵示范性规范,测量初中生的自我控制能力和环保意愿;研究2在实验室情境下同时操纵示范性规范和初中生的自我控制状态,并测量其环保行为。结果表明,不良示范性规范显著降低初中生的环保意愿及环保行为;特质性和状态性自我控制水平越高,初中生的环保意愿就越高,其环保行为也越多;更重要的是,自我控制并不能有效抵御不良示范性规范对初中生环保意愿和环保行为的消极影响。