The temporal stability and predictive validity of affect‐based and cognition‐based intentions

Abstract

Recent research has revealed individual differences in the extent to which people base their intentions on affect and cognition. Two studies are presented that assess whether such differences predict the strength of individuals' intention–behaviour relationships. Participants completed measures of affect, cognition, intention, and behaviour regarding a range of health behaviours. Study 1 (N = 300) found that the strength of the intention–behaviour relationship was significantly related to the extent to which individuals based their intentions on affect, but not to the extent they based them on cognition. Study 2 (N = 387) replicated the findings of the first study. In addition, Study 2 revealed that intention stability mediated the relationship between the degree people based their intentions on affect and the strength of the intention–behaviour relationship. Thus, individuals who base their intentions strongly on affect have more stable intentions, and are therefore more likely to enact them.

Feel good now or regret it later? The respective roles of affective attitudes and anticipated affective reactions for explaining health‐promoting and health risk behavioral intentions

“…First, when affective attitudes were included in models along with other TPB constructs (anticipated affective reactions excluded), all constructs were significantly associated with intentions to perform health-promoting and health risk behaviors, respectively (see Table 3). These results largely replicate prior work (e.g., Conner et al, 2011; French et al, 2005; Keer, Conner, Putte, & Neijens, 2014; Lawton et al, 2009, 2007; McEachan et al, 2016) suggesting that affective attitudes are distinct from, and predict unique variance from, cognitive attitudes about health-promoting and health risk behaviors. Additionally, we also found evidence to support our hypothesis that anticipated affective reactions would be distinct from affective attitudes and other cognitive predictors (i.e., PBC, norms, and cognitive attitudes), and would be associated with intentions to engage in health-promoting behaviors.…”

“…Conversely, affective attitudes, sometimes referred to as “experiential” attitudes (McEachan et al, 2016), describe hedonically how one feels about the target behavior, for instance, smoking cigarettes is “pleasantunpleasant,” “enjoyable-unenjoyable,” or “satisfying-unsatisfying” (Crites, Fabrigar, & Petty, 1994). When attitudes are separated in this way, prior research suggests how one feels about the target behavior (i.e., affective attitudes) is often more strongly associated with one’s behavior than what one factually knows or believes about a behavior (i.e., cognitive attitudes; Brown-Kramer & Kiviniemi, 2015; Conner et al, 2013, 2015; Conner, Rhodes, Morris, McEachan, & Lawton, 2011; French et al, 2005; Keer, Conner, Van den Putte, & Neijens, 2014; Kiviniemi & Duangdao, 2009; Kiviniemi, Voss-Humke, & Seifert, 2007; Lawton, Conner, & McEachan, 2009; Lawton, Conner, & Parker, 2007; McEachan et al, 2016). …”

Basis of intentions as a moderator of the intention–health behavior relationship.

“…Keer et al (2014) suggest that most affective consequences are generally experienced immediately or shortly after engaging in a behavior and as such may be especially salient in binding individuals to their intentions (Trope & Liberman, 2010).…”

“…An exception is Keer et al (2014) who show that the moderating effect of basing intentions on affective attitude was partly explained by impacts on the stability of intention. Individuals who based their intentions on their affective attitudes also had more stable intentions and more stable intentions were more predictive of behavior.…”

The Intention–Behavior Gap

“…Consistent with self‐determination theory (SDT; e.g., Deci & Ryan, ), evidence suggests that intentions based on personal beliefs about the outcomes of acting (attitudes) better predict behavior than intentions based on social pressure to act (norms) (Sheeran & Orbell, ). Intentions based more on feelings about performing the behavior (affective attitudes) than on thoughts about the likely consequences of acting (cognitive attitudes) are also associated with improved prediction of behavior (Conner et al, ;Keer, Conner, Putte & Neijens, ). Findings also indicate that greater feelings of moral obligation and anticipated regret about failing to act increase the likelihood that intentions are enacted (Abraham & Sheeran, ; Conner et al, ; Godin, Conner, & Sheeran, ; Godin et al, ; Sheeran & Abraham, ; Sheeran & Orbell, ).…”