Social Psychology

Lecture 8
Theory of attitudes and
behaviour
(2003)

Jane Clarbour
Room PS/B007 email: jc129

Objectives
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

Individualist

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

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 individualismcollectivism on attitude formation

Values hierarchy designed to
provide information relating to
importance of either individualist
or collectivist values for selfconcept
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 (ie 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

Affect

Cognition

Behaviour

Verbal

Expressions of
feelings towards
attitude object

Expressions of
beliefs about
attitude object

Expression of
behavioural
intentions
towards attitude
object

Non-verbal

Physiological
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

Behaviour:
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 relating beliefs, attitudes, intentions

And behaviours to a given object Fishbein & Ajzen (1975)
Beliefs about
object
X
1
2
3
4
.
.
.
.
N

Influence

Attitude
toward
object X

feedback

Intentions
with respect
to object
X

Behaviours
with respect to
object
X

1
2
3
4
.
.
.
N

1
2
3
4
.
.
.
N

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, its the evaluation of the belief
attitude formation

Stage 3:

Intentions

Attitude to an object is related to

persons 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

Theory of Reasoned Action

Prediction of goal directed behaviour

(from Azjen & Maddson, 1986)

Attitude
towards a
behaviour
Intention

Subjective
norms

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 persons beliefs that key people would
or would not behave that way
A persons 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.

Theory of Reasoned Action

Behavioural
beliefs
Outcome
evaluations

(Fishbein & Azjen, 1975)

Attitude
towards the
behaviour

Relative
importance of
attitudinal and
normative factors

Normative
beliefs
Motivations
to comply

Subjective
norm

Intention

Behaviour

Criticisms of Fishbein & Ajzens

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 & Ajzens model
suggests incomplete

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

Attitudes dont always predict

behaviour
Intention vs behaviour
Factors to consider
Past behaviour
Personal experience
Situational influences
Social pressure / subjective norms
Intensity of normative belief
Motivation to comply

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 behavioural control

(Ajzen & Madden, 1986)

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 behavioural 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