Attitude-behavior Consistency Research Articles

Investigating the attitude-behavior gap through the lens of pandemic:

Research objective: Our research seeks to study the gap between attitude and behavior during the pandemic. Considering the stay-at-home behavior as positive, we believed that all aspects of the attitudes would be unfavorable, since staying at home during the pandemic caused a series of discomfort to citizens, which configures an attitude-behavior gap.
 Theoretical framework: The attitude-behavior gap is a phenomenon widely studied in psychology and marketing. The Theory of Rational Action (Azjen & Fishzbein, 1977) postulates that the individual's behavior derives from his/her attitude. When the individual’s behavior is inconsistent from s/he thinks or feels towards a behavior it is called the attitude-behavior gap. The Theory of Planned Action (Ajzen, 1991) explains the attitude-behavior gap based on the internal or external limitations imposed on the individual. In the present study, the attitude-behavior gap is brought to the context of the new coronavirus pandemic.
 Methodology: We have developed a survey with 789 Brazilian citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and descriptive statistics. Based on confirmatory factor analysis, four factors were extracted from the attitude scale, of which two factors represent affective responses (i.e., negative emotions and worry and fear) and two factors represent cognitive responses (i.e., safety and trust).
 Results: The results confirmed the existence of the gap once individuals presented unfavorable attitudes regarding the behavior on an affective basis. However, the individuals showed favorable attitudes related to the imposed behavior to stay-at-home on a cognitive basis, demonstrating an attitude-behavior consistency, and not an attitude-behavior gap.
 Originality: The investigation of attitudes towards the “stay at home” behavior in the light of the Theory of Rational Action and the Theory of Planned Action, aiming to identify a possible gap between the attitudes of individuals and the mandatory behavior “stay at home”.
 Theoretical and practical contributions: As for managerial implications, the research shows the importance of the communication of governments, authorities, professionals, and policy makers to lower the citizens negative feelings and to inspire trust and safety in the society, especially in hard situations.

When Objective Ambivalence Predicts Subjective Ambivalence: An Affect-Cognition Matching Perspective.

Understanding when people are likely to feel ambivalent is important, as ambivalence is associated with key attitude outcomes, such as attitude-behavior consistency. Interestingly, the presence of conflicting positive and negative reactions (objective ambivalence) is weakly related to feeling conflicted (subjective ambivalence). We tested a novel situation that can influence the correspondence between objective and subjective ambivalence: whether a message and a recipient's topic match in affective versus cognitive orientation. When a person encounters a message with an affective or cognitive match to the topic, conflicting reactions may be more accessible, increasing feelings of ambivalence. Across five studies, greater objective-subjective ambivalence correspondence occurred with an affective-cognitive match between message and topic orientation. Studies 4 and 5 also demonstrated that this primarily occurred when the message was counterattitudinal. This work contributes to the literature explaining the gap between measures of objective and subjective ambivalence as well as how messages can influence attitude strength properties.

Facets of algorithmic literacy: Information, experience, and individual factors predict attitudes toward algorithmic systems

Algorithmic decision-making systems are ubiquitous in digital media, but the public has been largely unable to negotiate the role of algorithms in society. Building from the concept of attitude-behavior consistency for political behavior, we develop a framework for fostering algorithmic literacy to develop well-informed attitudes toward algorithms. As algorithms are increasingly relevant to broad societal effects, an integrative approach is needed for a full account of how the public makes sense of algorithms and their role in society. We designed and tested a novel intervention that combines algorithmic literacy with personalized user experiences to see how each component influenced attitudes toward algorithms. We found these methods jointly informed attitudes, but the intervention’s efficacy was dependent on participants’ individual differences in technology use.

The moral behavior of ethics professors: A replication-extension in Chinese mainland

ABSTRACT The relationship between professional ethical reflection and corresponding moral behavior is an important theme of moral psychology in recent years. Following Schönegger and Wagner’s research in German-speaking countries, through a replication-extension of the original US-based research carried out by Schwitzgebel and Rust, we aim at examining their results in the Chinese context. The previous researchers have shown that ethical reflection generally has no positive effect on moral behavior. A cross validation of this result was conducted in Chinese mainland, and three issues concerning Confucian virtues were added. Through reaching out to 4482 professors and collecting 368 responses altogether, we attempted to explore whether professional ethical reflection can influence normative attitude and the moral attitude-behavior consistency. Unfortunately, the results failed to show a statistically significant difference between ethicists and other professors on most of the moral issues, with the exception of paying academic membership fees and vegetarianism, wherein ethicists do express more stringent normative attitudes, and their moral attitude and self-reported behavior are statistically consistent. Notably, Chinese professors mainly expressed morally neutral attitudes toward the issue of eating meat, and they tended to believe that ethical reflection contributes to more and better moral behaviors.

The effect of ecotourism knowledge on residents' attitudes in Otavalo, Ecuador: the knowledge theory of attitude–behavior consistency

PurposeResidents' supportive attitudes are essential for the successful development of ecotourism. Although existing literature has heavily relied on social exchange theory to explain residents' attitudes, this study explores a new theoretical direction by focusing on the cognitive process of residents' attitude formation. This study adopts the knowledge theory of attitude–behavior consistency that emphasizes the amount, relevance and complexity of ecotourism knowledge in shaping residents' positive attitudes toward tourism development in the regional community.Design/methodology/approachBased on a survey of 394 residents of Otavalo, Ecuador, this study confirmed the reliability and validity of measurements, used PLS-SEM for statistical analysis, and evaluated the effect of ecotourism knowledge on residents' attitudes toward ecotourism.FindingsUnder the control of community attachment and fair distribution of economic benefits supported by existing literature, this study finds that ecotourism knowledge has a positive and significant effect on residents' supportive attitudes toward tourism development.Research limitations/implicationsBy elucidating the cognitive process of residents' attitude formation and change, this paper shows the applicability of a knowledge-based theory to residents' attitudes toward tourism development, and offers practical implications for ecotourism policymakers and educational program developers.Originality/valueThis study adopts the knowledge theory of attitude–behavior consistency and shows the positive influence of ecotourism knowledge on residents' attitudes.

From conflicts and confusion to doubts: Examining review inconsistency for fake review detection

Inconsistency in online consumer reviews (OCRs) may cause uncertainty and confusion to consumers when they make purchase decisions. However, there is a lack of a systematic and empirical investigation of review inconsistency in the literature. This research characterizes review inconsistency from multiple aspects, including rating-sentiment, content, and language, and proposes hypotheses about their effects on fake OCR detection by drawing upon deception and attitude-behavior consistency theories. We characterize review inconsistency with 22 features, and test the hypotheses with machine learning models developed for fake OCR detection. Our empirical evaluation results using real OCRs not only confirm the presence of review inconsistency, but also demonstrate significant positive effects of review inconsistency on the performance of fake OCR detection. The research findings have important implications for improving the effectiveness of consumer decision making and the trustworthiness of OCRs.

Attitudinal and normative influence on behavioral intentions: the moderating role of meta-attitudinal judgments within the Theory of Reasoned Action

The present research investigates the moderating role of meta-attitudinal properties in the Theory of Reasoned Action. Participants reported their attitudes towards voting for a particular political party, as well as their certainty, experienced ambivalence and subjective knowledge. They also reported their subjective norms, voting intentions and, at a later stage, their voting behavior. The results corroborate the predictive value of the theory. They also support the hypothesized moderating role of attitude certainty and subjective knowledge and indicate that individuals who feel certain about their attitudes and think are well-informed are more likely to base their behavioral decisions on these attitudes and less likely to rely on the expectations of important others. These findings are discussed in relation to attitude-behavior consistency and to social influence.

Preventing college student nonmedical prescription stimulant use: Development of vested interest theory-based persuasive messages

Vested interest theory (VIT) predicts that perceived importance and hedonic relevance of an expected behavioral outcome affects attitude-behavior consistency. Applied to college students’ nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NUPS), the theory posits that persuasive information that weakens vested perceptions regarding assumed advantages of stimulant misuse will reduce usage intentions. The current study developed and experimentally assessed persuasive messages that targeted perceptions of vested interest (VI), and examined if message effectiveness varied as a function of users’ risk status. Appeals that focused on the physical harms of misuse served as the comparison condition. College student participants (N = 282) were randomly assigned to one of four message conditions. To examine group differences, data were analyzed in a 2 (VIT-based message: yes, no) × 2 (Physical harms emphasized: yes, no) × 3 (User status: resolute, vulnerable, user) between-subjects factorial design. Analyses showed that messages focused on lowering VI by convincing students that NUPS did not enhance cognitive functioning of non-ADD/ADHD students reduced perceived vested interest (p < .001) and attitude favoribility p = .005. In vulnerable nonusers, these messages also decreased NUPS intentions p = .006. The effect of exposure to the physical harm communication was not significant. Findings support the potential of VIT-guided messages in NUPS prevention, and the lack of effect of messages focused on physical consequences of misuse.

Attitude–behavior consistency in tax compliance: A cross-national comparison

Are individuals’ attitudes about paying taxes consistent with their behavior? A direct link between attitudes (tax morale) and behavior (tax compliance) has long been assumed, despite an extensive social scientific literature attesting to the generally weak congruence between the two. This study builds on an emerging body of work questioning the link between tax morale and compliance. It innovates with a cross-national experimental research design whose results indicate that populations with high levels of tax morale exhibit higher evasion rates than those with low levels of tax morale; thus, the study finds that individual self-reported tax morale cannot predict actual evasion choices. Methodologically, the paper contributes the first results of a laboratory experiment on taxation in Denmark, comparing them to laboratory findings from Italy; while previous research indicates that these two countries lie at opposite extremes in tax compliance and morale, our findings run contrary to “culturalist” explanations. Our results show that Danes are more likely to evade tax than Italians, and that individuals’ attitudes toward tax do not significantly predict their actual evasion choices. Finally, we show that discrepancies in tax behavior between Italian and Danish subjects are affected by gender and risk aversion.

Application of vested interest theory to prevention of non-medical prescription stimulant and marijuana use: Unforeseen benefits of attitude-behavior inconsistency

BackgroundVested interest (VI) has been found to enhance attitude-behavior consistency in several contexts. With an eye toward a potentially novel method of prevention (i.e., reducing perceived VI to minimize attitude-behavior consistency among those positively inclined toward psychotropic substance use), the current investigation explores whether VI moderates attitude-intention consistency regarding nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NUPS) and marijuana. MethodsEmphasizing prevention, the study focused exclusively on non-users. Study 1a assessed college students (N = 310) attitudes, VI, and intentions regarding NUPS among those with no prior NUPS experience. Respondents were sampled using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Study 1b investigated marijuana-abstinent college students (N = 93), recruited from college classrooms. ResultsThe pattern of results was similar in both studies. In addition to an association between attitudes and VI, analysis revealed main effects for attitudes and VI on substance use intentions. Moreover, VI moderated the attitude-intention relationship (p < .01). Attitudes were most weakly associated with usage intentions when perceptions of VI were low (vs. moderate or strong). ConclusionResults of these studies replicate and expand prior findings relating VI to drug use, and suggest a potential path for future prevention efforts. The current study was cross-sectional, however if the causal pathways are as theorized, an intervention that reduces subjective VI has the potential to reduce positive attitudes while simultaneously reducing the influence of favorable attitudes on intentions.

Intention-based electoral forecasting: limits of accuracy of conventional model and its development perspectives with regard to emotional factors

Over the recent years there have been disruptions of the functioning of the conventional model of electoral forecasting. The reason for the disruptions remains unclear, and field-specific studies following the most dramatic mistakes are focused on common accuracy-related issues (samples’ bias, socially desirable responding, etc.). The present article argues that inaccuracy take place as the conventional model fails to take into account emotional factors of voting behavior. Using empirical evidence of the 2016 State Duma and the 2018 presidential elections the author examines the applicability of Rosenberg’s consistency theory to the voting behavior and the influence of an additional filter (affective attitudes of voters towards candidates) on the accuracy of the results. The findings suggest that mismatching attitude towards different electoral alternatives is well fixed and regular. In this respect, adding the factor of affective attitudes as an additional filter in the forecasting model can continuously increase the forecasting accuracy. In full accordance with the proposed model, this phenomenon is well observed in the case of higher political uncertainty and a relative mismatch in attitudes (2016) and least observed in the case of lower political uncertainty and a relative attitude-behavior consistency (2018). The importance of the problem formulated by the author arises from a high probability of significant political uncertainty in the 2021 and 2024 elections. In terms of theory and methodology, the obtained results raise a question about possible improvements essential for the conventional forecasting model.

Do attitudes cause behavior or vice versa? An alternative conceptualization of the attitude-behavior relationship in travel behavior modeling

Attitudes are thought to play an important role in determining people’s travel behavior, although researchers have acknowledged the possibility of a reverse relationship. Given the importance of knowledge about the direction of causation as a basis for policies and programs designed to effect behavioral change, the scarcity of in-depth research on this subject is surprising and problematic. The aim of the present paper is twofold: first to assess the bidirectional relationships between attitudes and behavior (in a transport context) and second to present a new framework to study attitude-behavior (in)consistency over time. To achieve these aims, we use data from a two-wave mobility panel to estimate cross-lagged panel models and latent transition models. Results indicate that use of a mode and the attitude towards using that mode mutually influence each other over time. As expected, we find that people who have dissonant (i.e., non-aligned) attitude-behavior patterns are less stable than those who have consonant patterns. Contrary to conventional wisdom and commonly used model structures, however, the effects of behaviors on attitudes are much larger than vice versa. That is, dissonant travelers are more inclined to adjust their attitudes to align those with their behavior than vice versa. Based on these results, we outline several implications for research and policy.

Demographics, attitudes, and technology readiness

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the cross-cultural validity of the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) (Parasuraman, 2000) and explore how demographics and attitudinal variables may help to explain adoption and use of technology-based products and services.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on surveys conducted with probabilistic samples from two culturally distant countries, the USA and Chile.FindingsResults support the TRI’s cross-cultural validity. They also suggest that demographic variables do matter when explaining people’s willingness to adopt new technology, with education being the most consistent predictor. Moreover, some of the findings seem to challenge the attitude-behavior consistency implied by conventional theory – while attitudinal variables are better predictors of pro-technological behavior in the USA, with technology-related insecurity being the most important of four attitudinal dimensions included in the analysis, demographic variables perform as better predictors in Chile, with educational level outperforming age and gender.Originality/valueThis is the first-ever cross-cultural test of the TRI using actual consumer samples from two culturally very different countries.

Effects of dyadic communication on race-based impressions and memory

In an experimental study, we examined the effects of dyadic communication and implicit racial attitudes on impressions formed of Black versus White individuals. Participants viewed a graduate application of a student depicted as a Black or White male and then had a conversation about the applicant with another student (or not) before individually rendering judgments of him. Subjective impressions were more favorable for the Black than White applicant among participants in the communication condition, conversations about Whites included more negations, and participants wrote longer narratives in which they were less likely to mention race when they had previously communicated than when they had not. Communication also disrupted the association between implicit racial attitudes and memory for the applicant’s Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores: Those with negative racial attitudes remembered the Black applicant as having lower GRE scores than the White applicant, but this effect was eliminated following communication. Findings are discussed with reference to audience tuning, shifting standards, and attitude–behavior consistency models.

A Longitudinal Study of Shop Stewards’ Union Commitment and Perceptions of Union Instrumentality and Support

Although previous studies have hypothesised that union perceptions (e.g. perceived union instrumentality, perceived union support) predict members’ commitment to the union, these relationships have only been tested cross-sectionally. Drawing on attitude–behavior consistency theory, this study hypothesised that union commitment may be an antecedent of union perceptions. Cross-lagged structural equation models with one year separating waves of data collection (N = 676) provided the most support for a model suggesting that commitment precedes perceptions of the union. These results point to the need to consider new models of union commitment for shop stewards and, potentially, union members.

The Effect of Sport Video Gaming on Sport Brand Attitude, Attitude Strength, and the Attitude-Behavior Relationship

This study examined the impact of repetitive sport video gaming on sport brand attitudes, attitude strength (e.g., attitude accessibility and confidence), and the attitude-behavior relationship. An experiment was designed to demonstrate the attitude-behavior consistency in a hypothetical choice context. The results indicated that repeated exposure to sport video games emulating a real-life sport influences sport attitude and its strength, and subsequently hypothetical choice behavior. The sport attitudes formed on virtual sport experience (e.g., playing sport video games repetitively) are as accessible and held with the same degree of confidence as those formed on direct experience (e.g., watching a sport on TV). The findings also confirmed the moderating effect of attitude confidence on the attitude-behavior relationship.

The interplay of emotions, elaboration, and ambivalence on attitude–behavior consistency

AbstractPrevious research on the relationship between attitudinal ambivalence and behavioral prediction mainly focused on the cognitive perspective. This paper introduces the simultaneous roles played by emotions (positive or negative) and elaboration. We find that both emotions and elaboration could moderate the effect of attitudinal ambivalence on attitude–behavior consistency. Furthermore, positive and negative emotions have different psychological mechanisms: positive emotions influence attitude–behavior consistency directly; negative emotions influence attitude–behavior consistency indirectly through elaboration. This article also discusses the theory contribution, marketing implication, and avenues for future research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

"Attitude–behavior consistency, the principle of compatibility, and organ donation: A classic innovation": Correction to Siegal et al. (2014).

"Attitude–behavior consistency, the principle of compatibility, and organ donation: A classic innovation": Correction to Siegal et al. (2014).

Gender Equality Perceptions, Division of Paid and Unpaid Work, and Partnership Dissolution in Sweden

With the increase in female employment and the decrease in gender labor specialization, there has also been a marked change in gender role attitudes. An increasing proportion of women and men has come to prefer gender egalitarianism. Yet a marked gender division of labor persists. Here, we study the interplay between individual gender role attitudes and behavior in terms of sharing paid and unpaid work with one's partner, and implications for partnership stability. We focus on Sweden, a country with long experience of the dual-earner model and policies supporting female labor-force participation while also promoting men's active engagement in family tasks. We test two hypotheses: first, that gender egalitarianism in attitudes and behavior per se strengthens partnership stability (the gender egalitarian model) and second, that consistency in individual attitudes and couple behavior, whether egalitarian or traditional, strengthens partnership stability (the attitude-behavior consistency model). We use data from the Swedish Young Adult Panel Study (YAPS) conducted in 1999, 2003, and 2009. We find no difference in dissolution risk between the consistent egalitarian and the consistent traditional individuals, and both categories exhibit lower dissolution risks than individuals holding gender egalitarian views but dividing workload with their spouse/partner in a gender-traditional way. These results speak in favor of the attitude-behavior consistency model of marriage.

Attitude–behavior consistency, the principle of compatibility, and organ donation: A classic innovation.

The lack of consistency between peoples' attitudes toward organ donation and organ donation registration behavior has long perplexed scholars. Ajzen and Fishbein's principle of compatibility offers a potential explanation for the attitude-behavior discrepancy. This principle states that attitudes will better predict behavior if the specificity of a measured attitude matches the specificity of the behavior under consideration. Two studies, using different samples and different modes of data collection, measured general attitudes toward organ donation and specific attitudes toward registering as a donor, while simultaneously offering a registration opportunity. Compared with general attitudes about organ donation, attitudes specific to organ donor registration were superior predictors of registration intentions and behaviors. Specific attitudes explained at least 70% more variance in registration behaviors than general attitudes. The lack of attitude-behavior consistency in the organ donor domain can be partially explained by limited compliance with the principle of compatibility.