“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

Behavioral Beliefs Attitude Towards the Behavior TRA + TPB Normative Beliefs Subjective Norm Control Beliefs Perceived Behavioral Control Intention Behavior

The TTI Developmental-Ecological System P SS S E P Eval Behavior SNBSelf Efficacy Att Intentions Will + Skill Exp McNB KnowValue Social Bonds Role Models Self- Control Com- petence SNB Values Environment Knowledge Environment E NVIRONMENT S ituation P erson EE Affective/Control Substreams Cognitive/Competence Substreams DEVELOPMENT & TIME Ultimate Underlying Causes Levels of Causation Distal Predisposing Influences Proximal Immediate Predictors

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 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 S ITUATION BIOLOGY/ P ERSONALITY ATTITUDES TOWARD THE BEHAVIOR CULTURAL E NVIRONMENT SOCIAL NORMATIVE BELIEFS SELF-EFFICACY BEHAVIORAL CONTROL Intrapersonal StreamSocial/Normative StreamCultural/Attitudinal Stream Values/ Evaluations Knowledge/ Expectancies Perceived Norms Information/ Opportunities Interpersonal Bonding Social Competence Interactions w/ Social Instit’s Others’ Beh & Atts Motivation to Comply Skills: Social+General Sense of Self/Control Self Determination 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 SS S E P Eval Behavior SNBSelf Efficacy Att Will + Skill Exp McNB KnowValue Social Bonds Role Models Self- Control Com- petence SNB Values Environment Knowledge Environment E NVIRONMENT S ituation P erson EE Affective/Control Substreams Cognitive/Competence Substreams Intentions (BI, BE, BW) Proximal Antecedants Social Context, Maturity, Anxiety, Complexity, Level of Control, etc……..