How Do People Form Behavioral Intentions when Others Have the Power to Determine Social Consequences?

Abstract

Much literature has suggested that people who are discriminated against or are in collectivist cultures are particularly susceptible to the social consequences of society. In the present study, the authors conducted 3 experiments to test how this factor influences attitudinal versus normative control over behaviors. First, they measured males' and females' attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral intentions with respect to a large number of behaviors. Although between-participants analyses were mostly uninformative, within-participants analyses uncovered strong evidence that behaviors are more under attitudinal control for females than for males. Similar analyses in a crosscultural experiment involving participants from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Mexico support the hypothesis that behaviors are more under attitudinal control for collectivists than for individualists. Finally, experimental data collected in the United States and Saudi Arabia further support this conclusion. Taken together, the findings suggest that although social consequences are both "social" and "consequences", the latter is more important than the former.

Neuroticism and Attitudes Toward Action in 19 Countries

“…The moderation was significant for individuals’ self-reported individualism-collectivism but not countries’ mean levels of these traits, suggesting that individual differences rather than geographic variation were primarily responsible for this pattern of results. The moderation by individualism-collectivism is consistent with the idea that individuals who are more collectivistic and thus more interdependent are more likely to elaborate on their emotionally unstable behavior patterns and therefore endorse attitudes that are consistent with those behaviors (Trafimow et al, 2010). …”

“…Individualism-collectivism is an individual difference that varies widely across countries and may moderate the link between Neuroticism and inaction, particularly in international samples (Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, & Gelfand, 1995). Interdependence, the cornerstone of collectivism, requires considering the social consequences of one's behavior before acting (Trafimow, Clayton, Sheeran, Darwish, & Brown, 2010). Behavioral consequences are an important determinant of attitudes (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005), and elaborating on behavioral consequences results in more elaborated attitudes that may then be more predictive of behaviors (Fabrigar, MacDonald, & Wegener, 2005).…”

Health Behavior Change: Moving from Observation to Intervention

“…Similarly, there is a long-standing distinction between injunctive norms (beliefs about what other people think one should do) and descriptive norms (beliefs about what other people themselves do) (see Deutsch & Gerard 1955), but most health behavior theories focus on either injunctive norms (e.g., the theory of planned behavior) or descriptive norms (e.g., the prototype/willingness model), and no theory discusses both types of norms. Several theories (e.g., social cognitive theory) appear to construe norms as mere social consequences (e.g., doing X will lead to approval from others), although evidence suggests that beliefs about social consequences do not capture the impact of norms (e.g., Trafimow et al 2010). Decisions about whether constructs are equivalent or distinct encompass larger questions about how to update health behavior theories with new constructs and what evidence is needed to warrant theoretical development.…”

Burger or yogurt? Indulgent consumption in impression management contexts

“…Research has shown that the presence of others can affect individuals' attitudes, intentions and behaviour (Huang, Wu, Chuang, & Lin, ). When others are present, individuals may act in keeping with others' expectations (Froming, Walker, & Lopyan, ; Trafimow, Clayton, Sheeran, Darwish, & Brown, ). Depending on how much other people eat, the presence of others may facilitate or inhibit individual food intake (Herman, Roth, & Polivy, ).…”