COMM 4060-Persuasion

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Chapter 5-OKeefe

Intention Theories: TRA and TPB

Read ch 5

*Theory of Reasoned Action*

I. Founders: Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen (1975,1980)

II. Defined: the most immediate determinant of a person=s behavior is the person=s behavioral intention--what the person intends to do.

III. Main issues/Findings:

A. Uses semantic differential to assess a person=s liklihood of behaving a certain way.

B. Intention is a function of two factors:

1. The individual=s attitude toward the behavior

2. The individual=s subjective norm, (that which represents his/her general perception of whether important others desire the performance or nonperformance of the behavior

C. Intention-Behavior Relationship

1. Although the theory claims that intentions are important deerminants of conduct, it does NOT claim that measures of intention and measures of behavior will ALWAYS be closely related

2. Three conditions where intention DOES NOT predict behavior

a. ...when the measures of intention and behavior do not correspond to one another

b. ...when the intention changes in the period between the assessment of the intention and the assessment of the behavior

c. ...when the behavior is not under volitional control

D. Research/Conclusions

1. Applications--research areas include:

a. Voting behaviors

b. Consumer Purchases

c. Family Planning

d. Seat Belt Use

e. Fast-Food Restaurants

f. Home-energy conservation

g. Seeking Dental Care

h. Using Credit Union Services

I. Jogging

j. Women=s Occupational Orientations

k. Consumer Complaining

2. Correlations using this theory and above applications range from 0.60 to 0.90

3. When tested in research, the ATTITUDE component is more strongly correlated to behavior than the NORMATIVE component

4. Weakness of the theory--researchers have found that they could not distinguish between the two components of the model--Attitude and Norm--that they were not mutually exclusive--that they have a symbiotic relationship (i.e., one cannot be affected without the other also affected)

5. While they may be different conceptually, they are alike empirically

6. The best support is from prior behavior (presumably research indicates that THIS is the single best indicator of intention)

7. Intention versus prior behavior--What are we left with...

Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)
A. Determinants of Intention
(PBC)
PBC can be assessed in several ways:
1. very easy-------very difficult
2. strongly agree--strongly disagree
3. complete control--absolutely no control

B. Determinants of PBC--pp. 114-115
1. PBC=Óc(i)p(i)
c(i)=individual control belief
p(i)=perceived facilitating/inhibiting power of the individual control
c(i)=example---> Very frequently---very rarely (bad weather?)
p(i)=example---> very easy---------very difficult (bad weather makes it_)
C. Research on the TPB
1. heurism is large and includes many topics (p. 116)
2. generally, the TPB is a superior model to the TRA

D. Research on the TPB model
1. heurism large: voting, blood donation, flossing, driving violations, condom use, and exercising
2. WHile mixed, generally the TPB is a superior model to TRA
3. General findings: a. while many studies on TPB, few collect date on PBC--a method issue
b. correlations on PBC and match w/intent are low ranging from 0.10-0.35
c. other measures are more successful when PBC is correlated with variables such as liklihood of occurrence, questions about powerfulness, and questions about perceived importance

E. PBC as a Persuasion Target:
1. remove obstacle to behavior performance;
2. create opportunity for successful behavior; and
3. provide examples of other who perform the behavior successfully
F. Status Quo of PBC
1. influence of PBC on intention: a. could be a necessary condition for the formation of intention
b. when PBC is high, intention is high; when PBC low, intetion lo
2. Additions to the PBC:
a.anticipated effect-anticipate emotional consequences--this can link
b.some suggest that anticipated effect is a strong persuasive target
c. self-identity-perceptions of self can correlated with interest and strength of intent
d. moral norms--person;s concept of moral behavior can influence intent
e. conclusions--most of these three variables are closely related
f. additions afford two advantages and criteria: 1) will it improve predictability
2) will it broaden the breadth of behaviors studied
g. final thoughts:
1) the degree of correlations b/w intent and behavior is strongly related to observed intention-behavior relationship
2) generally, the relationship is affected by a temporal stability of intent
3) needs to be more research and studies on the various forms of intents and their relative stability of each one
4) explicit planning about behavioral performance can strengthen relationship b/w intent and behavior (i.e., palm pilot and daily routine of chores)
5) generally, planning enhances intent -pg. 129