Editor's Choice: Consistency tendency and the theory of planned behavior: a randomized controlled crossover trial in a physical activity context

Abstract

This study examined the effects of consistency tendency on the predictive power of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in relation to physical activity behavior. Methods: In this randomized controlled cross-over trial, we recruited 770 undergraduate students from Indonesia who were randomly assigned into two groups. Participants completed physical activity versions of TPB measures at T1 (baseline) and T2 (post 1 week), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire at T3 (post 1 month). At T1 and T2, the TPB questions were either presented in ensemble-order (i.e., consistency tendency supressed) or alternate-order (i.e., consistency tendency facilitated). Results: The parameter estimates of the model (CFI > .92, TLI > .90, SRMR < .08, RMSEA < .08) aligned with the tenets of TPB. As compared to ensemble-order, a TPB measured in alternate-order yielded stronger cross-sectional relationships, but this pattern did not appear in the prospective relationships in TPB (i.e., intention/ perceived behavioral control and behavior). Conclusions: Consistency tendency inflated the factor correlations of cross-sectionally measured TPB variables, but the inflation was not observed in the prospective prediction of behavior. Health psychology questionnaires with items presented in ensemble order may represent a viable means of reducing the confounding effect of consistency tendency.

Applying the trans‐contextual model to promote sport injury prevention behaviors among secondary school students

“…69 For example, the use of psychometric scales to measure study variables might lead to consistency tendency in responses which artificially inflates the covariance of participants’ responses. 42 , 70 Therefore, we would encourage researchers to measure students’ sport injury prevention behavior using non‐self‐report measures (eg, observation) and include other indicators such as sport injury rate, severity, and types of prevention techniques adopted in future studies. Since the current intervention focused on promoting students’ sport injury prevention behaviors, sport injury outcomes (ie, sport injury rate and severity) were not recorded.…”

“…Nevertheless, the possibility of self‐serving bias and socially desirable responding is still a threat to study validity 69 . For example, the use of psychometric scales to measure study variables might lead to consistency tendency in responses which artificially inflates the covariance of participants’ responses 42,70 . Therefore, we would encourage researchers to measure students’ sport injury prevention behavior using non‐self‐report measures (eg, observation) and include other indicators such as sport injury rate, severity, and types of prevention techniques adopted in future studies.…”

Why do Hong Kong parents have low intention to vaccinate their children against COVID-19? testing health belief model and theory of planned behavior in a large-scale survey

“…Of note, some demographic variables, such as whether the child had received influenza vaccines, occupation of parents, and sources of information about COVID-19 vaccine, have been found to be related to parents’ intention (e.g., [19] ; Yoda & Kstsuyama, 2020), but these variables were not controlled for in this study. The main reason was that including these measures would substantially increase the length of our survey, which might lead to issues of the response burden and other methodological concerns that might be heightened in an extended survey [11] . In our large scale survey, we aimed to keep our survey at an optimal length to avoid exhausting participants’ attention at the end of the survey.…”

The Effectiveness of Sequentially Delivered Web-Based Interventions on Promoting Physical Activity and Fruit-Vegetable Consumption Among Chinese College Students: Mixed Methods Study

“…Despite the methodological merits and profound implications of the study findings, several limitations need to be addressed. First, all the research data were obtained via self-report measures or narratives, which may lead to recall bias and social desirability effects [61]. Furthermore, although a physical education course at a university in China provided a convenient setting for the RCT design, spillover and contamination could not be ignored [62].…”