From Willingness to Intention: Experience Moderates the Shift From Reactive to Reasoned Behavior

Abstract

Three studies compared the predictive validity of three proximal antecedents to risk behavior: behavioral intention (BI), behavioral expectation (BE), and behavioral willingness (BW). In Study 1, BW was the only significant predictor of change in substance use in early adolescence (age 13), whereas only BI was significant in middle adolescence (age 16). In Study 2, BW was a better predictor of change in smoking among young adolescents than was BE, but BE became predominant by middle adolescence. By late adolescence, previous behavior surpassed both BE and BW. When only smoking initiation was examined, BW was a better predictor than was BE. In Study 3, BI, BW, and BE independently predicted class skipping. However, BI was a better predictor for students more experienced with the behavior, whereas BW was superior for less experienced students. The findings provide evidence of a developmental shift from more reactive to more reasoned processing, as experience with the behavior increases.

Age differences in alcohol prototype perceptions and willingness to drink in UK adolescents

“…Previous studies suggest a shift from reactive to planned behaviour with age and experience (Pomery, Gibbons, Reis-Bergan, & Gerrard, 2009), and that the PWM is better at explaining adolescent drinking than young adult drinking (Todd, Kothe, Mullan, & Monds, 2014). Our findings indicate that the social reaction pathway in the PWM may be better able to explain alcohol consumption in younger compared to older adolescents in the UK who have less experience of drinking.…”

Whether or not to ride with an intoxicated driver: Predicting intentions using an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour

“…Pomery, Gibbons, Reis-Bergan and Gerrard (2009) found that willingness was a stronger predictor of risky behaviour among young adolescents (13 years) with little experience with the behaviour, i.e., substance use, than among middle aged adolescents (aged 16 years) and that intentions became stronger predictors as experience with the behaviour increased. Nevertheless, Gibbons et al (1998b) demonstrated that both willingness and intention are useful predictors of drink driving behaviour, and Rivis et al (2011) showed that applying both the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) and the TPB provided useful information about the motivational determinants of willingness to drink and drive.…”

Using Prototype Willingness Model to Predict Waterpipe Smoking among High School Adolescents in Birjand, Iran

“…The results of this study showed that both behavioral willingness and behavioral intention could affect waterpipe smoking and explain 0.55 of the variance, and that behavioral intention was a stronger predictor than behavioral willingness. In most studies of the risky behaviors in adolescents, both the behavioral willingness and behavioral intention constructs had a strong relationship with unhealthy behaviors (10,19,(22)(23)(24). However, the fact that which path could be a stronger predictor of the behavior was different in various studies.…”