Objectives Show an understanding of how cultural differences in social norms effect social influence on attitudes Specify the relationship between: –Beliefs and attitudes –Attitudes and behavioural intentions –Behavioural intentions and behaviour Demonstrate an understanding of the differences between: –The Theory of Reasoned Action –The Theory of Planned behaviour

Collectivist vs. Individualist cultures Collectivist Identity based on social system and given by group Socialised to be emotionally dependent on organisations/ institutions Consistency between group goals and personal goals Social behaviour thought to be more determined by social norms and roles than by personal attitudes

Individualist Identity based in the individual Socialised to be emotionally independent Personal and group goals are inconsistent Social behaviour thought to be more determined by attitudes than social roles or norms

Influence of individualism- collectivism on attitude formation ‘Values’ hierarchy designed to provide information relating to importance of either individualist or collectivist values for self- concept –If individualist values are more central they will have greater influence in shaping attitudes and behaviour (Franzoi, 2000).

Attitudes as explanation for social behaviour Attitudes have three main functions: 1.They help define social groups 2.Help to establish personal identity 3.Mediate thinking and behaviour –i.e Mandela is famous for his attitude towards apartheid. Explanation for social motivation –But what is meant by attitude…?

Diversity of ‘attitude’ definitions Definitions of attitude are ambiguous and may include reference to: –Attribution of dispositions –Behavioural intentions –Evaluations

Attitudes as learned predisposition Fishbein & Ajzen (1975) ‘A learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable or unfavourable manner with respect to a given object’ –Predisposition –Associationist implication of attitude development through repeated experience of behavioural consequence

Attitudes as expressed evaluations Eagly & Chaiken (1993) ‘ Attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour’ –More cognitive than Fishbein & Ajzen –More emphasis on evaluation (favour/disfavour) –Less emphasis on how gained (i.e. learned) –More social

Attitudes and behaviour LaPiere (1934) racial prejudice –Attitudes to Chinese “Will you accept members of the Chinese race as guests in your establishment?” –Inconsistency between attitude and behaviour –Concluded attitudes should be studied from behaviour in actual social settings

Review of attitude-behaviour relationship (Wicker, 1969) No attitude-behaviour relationship (mean.15) –Psychometric inadequacies (1 item measure) –Principle of aggregation LaPieres poor prediction of behaviour used a general measure of attitude to try to predict a specific action rather than a general action.

Diversity of measurement (Ajzen, 1988) Response categories AffectCognitionBehaviour VerbalExpressions of feelings towards attitude object Expressions of beliefs about attitude object Expression of behavioural intentions towards attitude object Non-verbalPhysiological responses to attitude object Perceptual responses (e.g. reaction times) to attitude object Overt behavioural responses to attitude object

Ambiguity of definition Attitudes are… learned Attitudes …predispose action –Actions are consistently favourable or unfavourable towards the object

Three types of consistency 1.Stimulus-response consistency 2.Response-response consistency 3.Evaluative consistency

Theory of reasoned action ( Fishbein & Azjen, 1975) Problems arise from lack of clarity of which aspects are most important in definition of attitude and how should be measured –Must distinguish between Attitude Beliefs Behaviour

Theory of reasoned action ( Fishbein & Azjen, 1975) Attitude: –Main feature is its evaluative (or affective) nature –Measurement should be bipolar in relation to affect Beliefs: –The information a person has about an object –Measurement should be dimensional in relation to subjective strength of belief Behavior: –The observable acts that are studied in their own right –Measurement of behaviour should not be taken to infer attitude

Relationships between these distinctions: Stage 1.Beliefs: –Links an object to some attribute E.g. “China is a totalitarian state” Object attribute “Small dogs are snappy“

Conceptual structure Beliefs as foundations for attitudes –Knowledge about object Determines attitudes, intentions & behaviour –Used for Making judgements Forming evaluations Decision making

Stage 1: 3 main sources of beliefs 1.Primary sources –Direct observation 2.Inference –e.g. person with negative attitude towards communist China and who positively values freedom of religion may infer that China has no religious freedom, even though no direct information on this point 3.Information from a secondary source –e.g. peers, newspapers, parents, books

Stage 2: Attitudes Attitude to object is based on salient beliefs –(a) That the object has certain attributes –(b) How the person evaluates the particular attributes Evaluation of specific belief to object –(not beliefs in general) –So, it’s the evaluation of the belief  attitude formation

Stage 3: Intentions Attitude to an object is related to person’s intention to perform a variety of behaviours with respect to the object –Intention relates to belief in respect of evaluation of behavioural consequences rather than attributes of object –Not just one behaviour, but whole set So, might expect consistency –Based upon ‘subjective norms’

Behavioural beliefs Outcome evaluations Attitude towards the behaviour IntentionBehaviour Subjective norm Normative beliefs Motivations to comply Relative importance of attitudinal and normative factors Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Azjen, 1975)

Theory of Reasoned Action Prediction of goal directed behaviour (from Azjen & Maddson, 1986) Attitude towards a behaviour Subjective norms Intention Behaviour

Intention-behaviour relationship Intentions and behaviours must be measured at same level of specificity –Behaviour, target, situation, time The closer the correspondence of these factors the greater the correlation between intention and behaviour

Subjective norms A person’s beliefs that key people would or would not behave that way A person’s motivation to comply with what these people think –So includes process of conformity as mediator against attitude and behaviour

Stage 4:Behaviour Each intention is viewed as related to the corresponding behaviour –Assumption that most social behaviour is volitional A person should perform the behaviour that they intend to perform –Note, no direct link between attitude and behaviour Model assumes that to predict behaviour, need access to intention, not attitude.

Criticisms of Fishbein & Ajzen’s model (Bentler & Speckart, 1979) Structural equational modelling techniques demonstrated that both attitude and past behaviour contribute strongly to future behaviour (when measured 2 weeks later) Behavioural intent mediates predictive capacity of subjective norms on future behaviour –Conclusion that factors other than intentions also are predictive of behavioural intent –Limits value of Fishbein & Ajzen’s model

Summary Theory of Reasoned Action Attitudes do not predict single behaviours Attitudes are related to multiple behaviours (behavioural patterns) –Questionnaires with a multiplicity of behavioural statements are likely to predict attitudes Intentions are the better predictors of single behaviours –Need to understand psychological process relating to beliefs and attitudes in order to understand intention-behaviour relationship

Recap… Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen,1975) –People rationally think about or evaluate the consequences of their behaviour prior to acting Cognition is the primary process of attitude development Behaviour is intended to achieve particular outcomes By discovering intentions in a particular situation it becomes possible to predict behaviour Attitudes influence behaviour by their influence on intentions

Limitations of the Theory of Reasoned Action Assumes rational evaluation of consequence –People also act: on their emotion without any thought of consequence irrationally according to own morals rather than social norm –Based on individualist assumptions –Ignores individual differences in the need to evaluate

Theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen & Madden, 1986) Theory of Reasoned Action developed in relation to volitional behaviour –Not all behaviour is volitional Deeply ingrained habits Lack of resources External obstacles Introduction of additional factor of PERCIEVED CONTROL to the earlier Theory of Reasoned Action

Theory of planned behaviour (2) Perceived control Additional set of beliefs relating to control –Presence or absence of resources and opportunities As not all behaviour is under voluntary control Greater perception of control with –increased perception of resources or opportunities –Fewer obstacles or impediments

Theory of planned behaviour (Azjen & Madden, 1986) Attitude to behaviour Subjective norm Perceived behavioural control Behavioural intention Behaviour

Perceived behavioral control (Ajzen & Madden, 1986) Theory of reasoned action assumes control over behaviour Factors other than intention may mediate control –Internal factors: Perception of skills, abilities, knowledge and planning… –External factors: Perception of time, opportunity, other people…

Theory of Planned Behaviour: Prerequisites for behavioral intention – behaviour relationship The measure of intention must match the specificity of the behaviour –i.e. to be able to predict attendance of Social lectures must measure intention to attend Social lectures, rather than just lectures more generally Time –The measure of intention should be as close as possible to measure of behaviour to avoid change of intention Volitional control –The behaviour should be perceived to be performable and not reliant upon external variables

Conclusions Attitudes do not predict single behaviours Attitudes are related to multiple behaviours (behavioural patterns) Attitudes influence behaviour through influencing intention Intention is the better predictor of behaviour In order to understand intentions and behaviours, need to know about beliefs and attitudes –This is essential in relation to attitude change