Attitudinal specificity and the prediction of behavior in a field setting.

Abstract

The hypothesis that specific attitudes are more highly correlated with behavior than general attitudes was tested in a field setting. The current study was designed to eliminate several potentially confounding factors in previous experiments. Sampling from the customers of a major oil company in early 1973, actual purchase behavior was observed for 147 lead-free gasoline customers and for 156 regular gasoline buyers, and the buyers' attitudes and beliefs about gasoline and air pollution were ascertained by a mailed questionnaire for these buyers; this questionnaire response represented 68% of the initially observed buyers. Eight attitude scales were constructed and ranked empirically into four levels of specificity. Scales contained three to six items, and reliabilities ranged from .58 to ,87 (Cronbach's alpha). As predicted, the attitude-behavior correlation for the most general scale was the lowest (r = .118, p < .05); the next level of correlations ranged from .147 to .214; the two more specific scales on the following level had still higher correlations with behavior (r = .364, r -.385); and the two scales on the most specific attitude level had the highest correlations with behavior (r -A9<), r = .594). This pattern held when correlations were corrected for unreliability in the attitude measures. The results provide a confirmation of the hypothesis, which removes some of the restrictions of earlier studies.

Ecological Behavior, Environmental Attitude, and Feelings of Responsibility for the Environment

“…Some data suggest that the ascription of responsibility (i. e., responsibility judgment; see Kaiser & Shimoda, in press) is the most relevant concept (Guagnano et al, 1995;Hallin, 1995;, while others have found the personal sense of obligation (i. e., feeling of responsibility; e. g., Kaiser & Shimoda, in press) to be crucial (Hopper & Nielsen, 1991;Vining & Ebreo, 1992). Beyond the normactivation model, several others also attest to the significance of responsibility feelings as a predictor of ecological behaviors (e.g., Arbuthnot, 1977;Fridgen, 1994;Granzin & Olsen, 1991;Heberlein & Black, 1976;Hines et al, 1986/87;Kals & Montada, 1994;Kantola et al, 1983).…”

Temporal instability as a moderator of the attitude–behavior relationship.

“…Specific attitude questions predict specific behavior better than general attitudes do (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977;Heberlein & Black, 1976), probably because specific attitude questions draw attention to more of the contingencies that become salient in the action situation, when the behavioral plan takes shape. A specific attitudinal variable was therefore used to predict behavior here-the strength of moral obligation people expressed to agree to tutor blind children.…”

Préférences énoncées et comportement effectif : réflexions sur un débat à partir du cas du camping

“…On a en effet observé que plus l'attitude est spécifique, plus elle est corrélée au comportement (Dollard, 1949;Crespi, 1971;Liska, 1974;Heberlein et Black, 1976). Mais à trop limiter l'objet d'étude, on aboutit à des résultats peu généralisables et on néglige l'influence qu'une attitude plus générale peut avoir sur d'autres plus spécifiques.…”