“Behavioral Intentions, Expectations and

Willingness”

Justin Roudabush

Oregon State University

Gibbons and Gerrard, 1997, National Cancer Institute

Outline

Definition and Significance of Behavioral Intention

Causes of Variance

Moderators

Alternative Proximal Measurements Implementation Intentions Behavioral Expectations Behavioral Willingness

BehavioralBeliefs

Attitude Towards the Behavior

TRA + TPB

Normative Beliefs

Subjective Norm

Control Beliefs

Perceived Behavioral Control

Intention Behavior

The TTI Developmental-Ecological System

P PS S

S

E

P

Eval

Behavior

SNB SelfEfficacy

Att Att

Intentions

Will + Skill ExpMc NB

KnowValue SocialBonds

RoleModels

Self-Control

Com-petence

SNB

ValuesEnvironment

KnowledgeEnvironment

ENVIRONMENT

Situation

PersonE E

Affective/Control Substream

s

Cog

nitiv

e/C

ompe

tenc

e S

ubst

ream

s

DEVELOPMENT & TIME

UltimateUnderlyingCauses

Levels ofCausation

DistalPredisposingInfluences

ProximalImmediatePredictors

Lost in Translation

Most value-expectancy theories contain an Intention element

Explains some variance between Intention and Behavior (HB)

Can account for 20-30% of this variance

Intention

HBHB

HBHB

HB

Definition

“amount of effort one is willing to exert to attain a goal”

“behavioral plans that……enable attainment of a behavioral goal”

“proximal goals”

“intentions can be conceived of as goal states”

Measurement

Aggregation – include multiple items

Compatibility – BI and measures should included exactly the same “action, target, context and time”

Commitment – more important to the individual

Predictability Concerns

Stability – consistency over time

Time Lag – diminishes over time

Emotion – at the time of execution

Moderators

Perceived Behavioral Control

Complexity

Social Desirability

Social Involvement

Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC)

Perceived control over a behavior

Actual Ability to control behavior

When both are high the relationship is more likely to be positive

When one or the other is low then outcome is less predictable

Complexity

Require a series of actions to complete

People overestimate likelihood of completing all actions

Only takes failure on one action to fail completely

“Literal Inconsistency”

Tendency to not do what you said you would do

Say you will do the behavior but don’t follow through

Say you won’t and don’t

Same issue exists for Socially Undesirable Behaviors Health Risks

Social Involvement

Interventions between BI and HB can be most effective when:

Follow up and measurement between BI and HB is earlier

HB includes significant habitual components

Perceived and actual control are low

Health risks are involved under social contexts

DECISIONS/INTENTIONS

SOCIAL SITUATION

BIOLOGY/PERSONALITY

ATTITUDESTOWARD THE

BEHAVIOR

CULTURALENVIRONMENT

SOCIALNORMATIVE

BELIEFS

SELF-EFFICACYBEHAVIORAL

CONTROL

Intrapersonal Stream Social/Normative Stream Cultural/Attitudinal Stream

Values/Evaluations

Knowledge/Expectancies

PerceivedNorms

Information/Opportunities

InterpersonalBonding

SocialCompetence

Interactions w/Social Instit’s

Others’Beh & Atts

Motivationto Comply

Skills:Social+General

Sense ofSelf/Control

SelfDetermination

1 2 3

7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18

4 5 6

PBC, Complexity, Literal Inconsistency, Social Involvement

Alternative Proximal Antecedants

Implementation Intentions

Behavioral Expectations

Behavioral Willingness

Implementation Intentions (II)

Make the abstract more concrete

Create specific goals related BI to HB

Ideal for use with complex behaviors

Good for situational cues/prompts

Behavioral Expectations (BE)

Subjective probability of performance

Prediction versus plan (BI)

Accounts for additional influences: circumstances, past behaviors, anticipated changes

Ideal for undesirable and/or difficult behaviors

Behavioral Willingness (BW)

BI less effective for measuring adolescents and/or behavior involving health risks

HB is not intentional, but a reaction to social circumstances

Openness to risk opportunity

Survey of capabilities of risky behavior if the opportunity is encountered

Ideal for adolescents and risky behaviors

Best Fit

Health promoting behaviors: use BI combined with II

Complex behaviors with control aspects: use BI with PBC

Social Desirability, commitment tenuous, low perceived control: use BE

Health risk, adolescents, social reactions: use BW and BE

P PS S

S

E

P

Eval

Behavior

SNB SelfEfficacy

Att Att

Will + Skill ExpMc NB

KnowValue SocialBonds

RoleModels

Self-Control

Com-petence

SNB

ValuesEnvironment

KnowledgeEnvironment

ENVIRONMENT

Situation

PersonE E

Affective/Control Substream

sC

ogni

tive/

Com

pete

nce

Sub

stre

ams

Intentions(BI, BE, BW)

ProximalAntecedants

Social Context, Maturity, Anxiety, Complexity, Level of Control, etc……..