Guidelines for assessment of affect-related constructs

Research on affect-related constructs as determinants of health behavior is increasing. The Affect and Health Behavior Framework (AHBF) provides a schematic structure to label, organize, and integrate affect-related constructs. To further facilitate research and theory development in health behavior science, the purpose of the present paper is to provide a critical review and guidelines for assessment of the affect-related constructs in the AHBF. The paper is organized based on the categories of constructs in the AHBF: Affective response to health behavior, incidental affect, affect processing, and affectively charged motivation. Future research should work toward parsing constructs where possible as well as identifying overlap. Researchers are advised to consider conceptual underpinnings and methodological nuances when assessing affect-related constructs in order to build a cumulative science of affective determinants of health behavior.

Investigating the Role of Goals and Motivation on Waste Separation Behavior Through the Lens of the Theory of Reasoned Goal Pursuit

Nowadays the prediction and change of waste-related behaviors represent a key topic for scholars and policy makers. The theoretical mainstays applied to waste separation behavior, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Norm Activation Model and the Value Belief Norm, do not include the construct of goal in their formulation. Other goal-focused theories, such as the Goal Systems Theory (GST), lack applications on separation behavior. Recently, Ajzen and Kruglanski (2019) have proposed the Theory of Reasoned Goal Pursuit (TRGP) which combines TPB and GST. Considering TRGP has the potential to offer further insights on human behavior and, to our knowledge, there is no application of TRGP to recycling behavior yet, this paper analyses waste separation behavior of households in Maastricht and Zwolle (The Netherlands) under the lens of TRGP. Although waste separation behavior represents a kind of habitual behavior, this paper highlights the influence of goals and motivation on intention to separate waste. Furthermore, it offers some indications to promote behavior change and some suggestions for future research directions.

Would You Rather Be Safe or Free? Motivational and Behavioral Aspects in COVID-19 Mitigation

This work investigates the relationship between goals and mitigation behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Study 1 (pilot) identified goals ascribed to following and violating mitigation-related indications. Study 2 investigated the structure of and link between COVID-related goals and behaviors in a large community sample (N = 995, 301 men). Our results showed substantial relationships between goals and behaviors. Goals were best described by a bi-dimensional structure (being safe vs. being free), whereas behaviors clustered into a three-component structure (hygiene, distancing, going out). Hierarchical multiple regressions demonstrated the incremental validity of goals in the prediction of behaviors. Network analysis suggested that goals imbued with social content were more directly related to both risky and preventive behaviors. Motivational aspects emerged as important contributors to the organization of behaviors in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can’t always get what you want: The role of change goal importance, goal feasibility and momentary experiences for volitional personality development

Most adults want to change aspects of their personality. However, previous studies have provided mixed evidence on whether such change goals can be successfully implemented, perhaps partly due to neglecting the goals’ importance and feasibility as well as the experience of trait-relevant situations and states. This study examined associations between change goals and changes in self-reported Big Five traits assessed four times across two years in an age-heterogeneous sample of 382 adults (255 younger adults, Mage = 21.6 years; 127 older adults, Mage = 67.8 years). We assessed trait-relevant momentary situations and states in multiple waves of daily diaries over the first year ( M = 43.9 days). Perceived importance and feasibility of change goals were analysed as potentially moderating factors. Contrary to our hypotheses, the results demonstrated that neither change goals nor goal importance or feasibility were consistently associated with trait change, likely due to inconsistent associations with momentary situations and behaviours. The results suggest that wanting to change one’s traits does not necessarily lead to changes without engaging in trait-relevant situations and behaviours. These findings provide novel insights into the boundary conditions of volitional personality development.

Environmentally Sustainable Food Consumption: A Review and Research Agenda From a Goal-Directed Perspective

The challenge of convincing people to change their eating habits toward more environmentally sustainable food consumption (ESFC) patterns is becoming increasingly pressing. Food preferences, choices and eating habits are notoriously hard to change as they are a central aspect of people's lifestyles and their socio-cultural environment. Many people already hold positive attitudes toward sustainable food, but the notable gap between favorable attitudes and actual purchase and consumption of more sustainable food products remains to be bridged. The current work aims to (1) present a comprehensive theoretical framework for future research on ESFC, and (2) highlight behavioral solutions for environmental challenges in the food domain from an interdisciplinary perspective. First, starting from the premise that food consumption is deliberately or unintentionally directed at attaining goals, a goal-directed framework for understanding and influencing ESFC is built. To engage in goal-directed behavior, people typically go through a series of sequential steps. The proposed theoretical framework makes explicit the sequential steps or hurdles that need to be taken for consumers to engage in ESFC. Consumers need to positively value the environment, discern a discrepancy between the desired versus the actual state of the environment, opt for action to reduce the experienced discrepancy, intend to engage in behavior that is expected to bring them closer to the desired end state, and act in accordance with their intention. Second, a critical review of the literature on mechanisms that underlie and explain ESFC (or the lack thereof) in high-income countries is presented and integrated into the goal-directed framework. This contribution thus combines a top-down conceptualization with a bottom-up literature review; it identifies and discusses factors that might hold people back from ESFC and interventions that might promote ESFC; and it reveals knowledge gaps as well as insights on how to encourage both short- and long-term ESFC by confronting extant literature with the theoretical framework. Altogether, the analysis yields a set of 33 future research questions in the interdisciplinary food domain that deserve to be addressed with the aim of fostering ESFC in the short and long term.

Encouraging young adults with a disability to be independent in their journey to work: A segmentation and application of Theory of Planned Behaviour approach

This study investigates how young adults with disabilities can be encouraged to be independent in their travel to work and thus, transition more smoothly into the workforce. Using cluster analysis, we identify three segment groups of young adults with physical disabilities. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is then applied to examine differences and identify strategies that could provide assistance and support to these groups of workers in their travel to work. This study is the first to segment this group of workers and identify strategies to mitigate the often-unique challenges they face in their physical journey to work.

Factors influencing the journey to work for young people with physical and/or neurological conditions

PURPOSE

This study examined the challenges young people with a physical and/or neurological condition experience in their journey to work. This includes both their physical commute to work and transition to the workforce.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Insight was established through the development and testing of a model which extended the model of goal directed behavior. A survey was distributed to 200 young people with a physical and/or neurological condition. PLS-SEM analysis was conducted to identify factors which influence a young person with a physical and/or neurological disability's journey to work.

RESULTS

The results suggest subjective norms, attitudes, anticipated negative emotions, and risk aversion underpin a young person's desire to journey to work (both physical commute to work and transition to workforce). This desire then encourages an individual's intentions to travel independently. Past behavior and perceived behavioral support are seen to encourage intentions, while employer support and social support lead to increased perceived behavioral control directly and intentions indirectly.

CONCLUSIONS

The study highlights the importance of mental preparedness, having support available from employers, friends, and families, and access to transport that supports independence in encouraging and facilitating the journey to work for young adults with a neurological and/or physical disability.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONfPositive attitude, risk aversion, and expected negative emotions are key factors in the decision to commute to work independently for a young person with a physical and/or neurological disability.The more support a young person with a physical and/or neurological disability feels from their employer and social circle, the more likely they feel in control of their actions and to plan to journey to work independently.Encouraging social norms are likely to impact the desire and intention to journey to work independently for young people with a physical and/or neurological disability.Feeling in control and having successful previous transport experiences is likely to help predict whether young people with a physical and/or neurological disability will plan on commuting to work independently in the future.

How agriculture contributes to reviving the endangered ecosystem of Lake Urmia? The case of agricultural systems in northwestern Iran

As the efficient utilization of water resources in the agricultural systems of northwest Iran is an indispensable issue for achieving the conservation of Lake Urmia (LU), this study is intended to examine the determinants of water-saving behavior (WSB), desire and intention to revive LU. The theoretical framework of the study consists of the incorporation of the theory of goal-directed behavior and the theory of capacity building. The data were gathered from a face-to-face farm-level survey of 367 farmers who were selected by the method of stratified random sampling. The first-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) serves to ensure that the acceptable values of internal consistency for research indices are obtained, the respective measures are assessed in the form of the factor loading and Cronbach's alpha (.83≤α≤.98). Using SPSS software, the qualitative data were refined and provided for path analysis, which was performed in AMOS software. The goodness of fit test provides evidence that the proposed model fits with data well. The results disclose that attitude towards water saving has a positive impact on the intention to revive LU and WSB. Furthermore, PBC, the performance of NGOs in executing the water interventions and desire to participate in NGOs influence WSB indirectly via desire and intention to revive LU. In conclusion, management implications are delivered to make practical contributions to the revivification of LU in accordance with research findings.

The Role of Prevolitional Processes in Video Game Playing: A Test of the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior and the Extended Model of Goal-Directed Behavior

The aim of the current study is to investigate the relationship between prevolitional processes and video game playing. Models of attitude, the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB) and the extended model of goal-directed behavior (EMGB) are tested with structural equation models to analyze the process that leads to video game playing. More specifically, the roles of affective, motivational, habitual processes in video game playing and the goal underlying video game playing are examined. The participants were 210 video game players who completed measures of Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioral Control, Behavioral Desire, Anticipated Emotions, Intention to Play, intensity of actual and past video game playing (Playing Behavior and Past Playing Behavior) and Goal Desire. The results showed that the initial MGB did not achieve a satisfactory fit and thus, a revised model with more acceptable fit was proposed. It was found that anticipated emotions and attitude are significant predictors of desire to play; desire to play, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and attitude are significant predictors of intention to play and intention is a significant predictor of playing behavior (actual playing time). Moreover, past playing is a stronger significant predictor of behavior itself than of prevolitional processes in video game playing. Goal desire within the EMGB is a significant predictor of desire to play and the relationship of goal to playing behavior is indirect. Nevertheless, goal desire has an important role in the prevolitional processes of video game playing. In the discussion, potential explanations are further explored.

An empirical examination of the ecological and cognitive active commuting framework

Purpose

Evidence indicates that active school travel (AST) including walking can effectively lower levels of obesity among school-age children. Yet Queensland has been identified as one of the most inactive states in Australia where only 5 per cent of Years 1 and 5 children engaged in AST on a daily basis. The purpose of this paper is to explain walking to school behaviour among Queensland children by investigating the explanatory potential of the ecological and cognitive active commuting (ECAC) model.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey of 537 carers in Queensland, Australia was conducted to collect data about demographics and the variables in the ECAC model. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the ECAC model and the pathways between variables.

Findings

The results indicate that the ECAC model explained 53.4 per cent of the variance in walking to school. Social norms are the dominating factor in the model. Distance to school affects how the ECAC model works by moderating the associations among walking to school behaviours, perceived risks, and social norms.

Practical implications

Changing carers’ social norms and lowering the perceived risks they associate with walking to school should increase the incidence of walking to school in Queensland.

Originality/value

Although the ECAC model was proposed as a comprehensive framework to explain walking to school behaviour, to date, it has not been tested empirically. Informed by a modified ECAC framework this study aims to empirically explore the factors that may be preventing or facilitating Queensland children from walking to school.

Tracing How Normative Messages May Influence Physical Activity Intention

Normative messages have been shown to increase intention to do physical activity. We traced how "positive" and "negative" normative messages influenced physical activity intention by comparing constructs of the model of goal-directed behavior with descriptive norms (MGDB + DNs) across control and treatment groups in an experiment. For this purpose, 16-24-year-old respondents (n = 1,200) in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania were asked about their age, sex, and levels of physical activity before being exposed to positive and negative normative messages and completing a questionnaire with MGDB + DNs scales. Different MGDB + DNs constructs were influenced by the normative messages: compared with the control, the negative message group showed stronger attitudes (p = .003) and the positive message group showed higher positive anticipated emotions (p = .005). The positive message's effect is consistent with the literature on conformity to social norms. The negative message's effect lends itself to interpretations based on social identity and deviance regulation theories.

The Effect of Goal Conflict on Performance

The authors investigated the motivational effects of goal conflict in a complex goal performance setting. Goal conflict was found to have an indirect influence on performance through its relationship with goal commitment. Goal conflict was negatively associated with goal commitment when controlling for the other antecedents, including expectancy, self-efficacy, and need for achievement. As predicted, goal commitment and self-efficacy were related to goal-directed behaviors and goal-directed behaviors were related to performance. Performance was positively related to positive outcome emotions and negatively related to negative outcome emotions. The authors discuss the implications for the professional practitioner, theory development, and future research.

The Bases of Goal Setting in the Self-regulation of Hypertension

We apply a new methodology to investigate goal setting by hypertensive patients that uncovers the reasons why people have a goal to manage hypertension or not (e.g. to reduce/maintain one’s current blood pressure). The reasons are found to consist of superordinate goals in support of one’s focal hypertension goal and the hierarchical mental network underlying the superordinate goals. We show that, not only do such superordinate goals influence patients’ beliefs, feelings and decisions, but the relationships among superordinate goals are particularly efficacious in the formation of beliefs and attitudes, as well as intentions to self-regulate hypertension and actual efforts in doing so. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 219 patients at a university-based hypertension clinic.

Applying the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior, Including Descriptive Norms, to Physical Activity Intentions: A Contribution to Improving the Theory of Planned Behavior

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) has received its fair share of criticism lately, including calls for it to retire. We contribute to improving the theory by testing extensions such as the model of goal-directed behavior (MGDB, which adds desire and anticipated positive and negative emotions) applied to physical activity (PA) intention. We also test the inclusion of a descriptive norms construct as an addition to the subjective norms construct, also applied to PA, resulting in two additional models: TPB including descriptive norms (TPB + DN) and MGDB including descriptive norms (MGDB + DN). The study is based on an online survey of 400 young adult Internet users, previously enrolled in a subject pool. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that TPB and TPB + DN were not fit for purpose, while MGDB and MGDB + DN were. Structural equation modelling (SEM) conducted on MGDB and MGDB + DN showed that the inclusion of descriptive norms took over the significance of injunctive norms, and increased the model's account of total variance in intention to be physically active.

Management accounting use and financial performance in public health-care organisations: evidence from the Italian National Health Service

Reforms of the public health-care sector have emphasised the role of management accounting (MA). However, there is little systematic evidence on its use and benefits. To fill this gap, we propose a contingency-based model which addresses three related issues, that is, whether: (i) MA use is influenced by contextual variables and MA design; (ii) top-management satisfaction with MA mediates the relationship between MA design and MA use; and (iii) financial performance is influenced by MA use. A questionnaire was mailed out to all Italian public health-care organisations. Structural equation modelling was performed to validate the research hypotheses. The response rate was 49%. Our findings suggest that: (i) cost-containment strategies encourage more sophisticated MA designs; (ii) MA use is directly and indirectly influenced by contingency, organisational, and behavioural variables; (iii) a weakly significant positive relationship exists between MA use and financial performance. These findings are relevant from the viewpoint of both top managers and policymakers. The former must make sure that MA is not only technically advanced, but also properly understood and appreciated by users. The latter need to be aware that MA may improve performance in ways and along dimensions that may not fully translate into better financial results.

Understanding how adherence goals promote adherence behaviours: a repeated measure observational study with HIV seropositive patients

BACKGROUND

The extent to which patients follow treatments as prescribed is pivotal to treatment success. An exceptionally high level (> 95%) of HIV medication adherence is required to suppress viral replication and protect the immune system and a similarly high level (> 80%) of adherence has also been suggested in order to benefit from prescribed exercise programmes. However, in clinical practice, adherence to both often falls below the desirable level. This project aims to investigate a wide range of psychological and personality factors that may lead to adherence/non-adherence to medical treatment and exercise programmes.

METHODS

HIV positive patients who are referred to the physiotherapist-led 10-week exercise programme as part of the standard care are continuously recruited. Data on social cognitive variables (attitude, intention, subjective norms, self-efficacy, and outcome beliefs) about the goal and specific behaviours, selected personality factors, perceived quality of life, physical activity, self-reported adherence and physical assessment are collected at baseline, at the end of the exercise programme and again 3 months later. The project incorporates objective measures of both exercise (attendance log and improvement in physical measures such as improved fitness level, weight loss, improved circumferential anthropometric measures) and medication adherence (verified by non-invasive hair analysis).

DISCUSSION

The novelty of this project comes from two key aspects, complemented with objective information on exercise and medication adherence. The project assesses beliefs about both the underlying goal such as following prescribed treatment; and about the specific behaviours such as undertaking the exercise or taking the medication, using both implicit and explicit assessments of patients' beliefs and attitudes. We predict that i) the way people think about the underlying goal of their treatments explains medication and exercise behaviours over and above the effects of the behaviour-specific thinking and ii) the relationship between adherence to exercise and to medical treatment is stronger among those with more favourable views about the goal. Results from this study should identify the key contributing factors to inform subsequent adherence research and afford a more streamlined assessment matrix. The project also aims to inform patient care practices. UK CLINICAL RESEARCH NETWORK REGISTRATION NUMBER: UKCRN 7842.

Not doing is not the opposite of doing: implications for attitudinal models of behavioral prediction

This study argues for and tests the prediction that cognitions about not performing a behavior are not simple opposites of cognitions about performing the same behavior because they rely on separate goals. Three behaviors (i.e., eating meat, doing vigorous physical activity, and breastfeeding) are examined, for which performing and not performing are means to different goals. In the context of the theory of planned behavior, the discriminant validity of constructs related to performing and not performing behaviors is tested. Moreover, the simultaneous validities of perceived behavioral control over doing and not doing for the prediction of both intentions and the incremental validity of both intentions in predicting behavior are investigated. Results show that the constructs related to performing and not performing a behavior independently contribute to the prediction of intentions and behaviors. Implications of considering separable motivational systems underlying doing and not doing are discussed.

The Role of Desire in The Prediction of Intention

This paper is based on the notion that desire represents an important motivational aspect of the decision-making process. Thus, we examined the hypotheses that desire (1) predicts behavioral intentions and (2) mediates the effects of theory of planned behavior (TPB) components and past behavior on an individual’s intention to quit smoking. The analysis is based on three separate conditions in which the intention to quit smoking during the next 1, 4, or 6 months, respectively, was measured; the three conditions contained identical variables. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis show that there are sufficient grounds for including desire as an additional predictor in the TPB model. The results also show that desire mediates the effects of attitudes, norms, and past behavior on intention. However, the mediating role of desire was not obtained for the relationship between PBC and intention. Theoretical implications and recommendations for future research are suggested.

Role of prevolitional processes in aggressive behavior: the indirect influence of goal

The central aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between prevolitional processes and aggressive behavior. More specifically, the role of the goal underlying aggressive behavior was examined. A model of attitude, the Extended Model of Goal-directed Behavior, was tested with structural equation models to analyze the process that leads to the verbally aggressive behavior of calling someone names. Results showed that Goal Desire was a significant predictor but its relation to behavior is indirect, through desire toward and intention of calling someone names. Moreover, the results indicated that the positive emotions one anticipates if successful in calling someone names and the control one has over calling someone names play a significant role in the desire to call someone names. The discussion emphasizes the necessity of considering prevolitional processes when studying deliberative processes involved in the emergence of aggressive behavior.

Predictive models of implicit and explicit attitudes

Explicit attitudes have long been assumed to be central factors influencing behaviour. A recent stream of studies has shown that implicit attitudes, typically measured with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), can also predict a significant range of behaviours. This contribution is focused on testing different predictive models of implicit and explicit attitudes. In particular, three main models can be derived from the literature: (a) additive (the two types of attitudes explain different portion of variance in the criterion), (b) double dissociation (implicit attitudes predict spontaneous whereas explicit attitudes predict deliberative behaviour), and (c) multiplicative (implicit and explicit attitudes interact in influencing behaviour). This paper reports two studies testing these models. The first study (N = 48) is about smoking behaviour, whereas the second study (N = 109) is about preferences for snacks versus fruit. In the first study, the multiplicative model is supported, whereas the double dissociation model is supported in the second study. The results are discussed in light of the importance of focusing on different patterns of prediction when investigating the directive influence of implicit and explicit attitudes on behaviours.

First- and higher-order models of attitudes, normative influence, and perceived behavioural control in the theory of planned behaviour

The present study examined the validity of an augmented version of Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behaviour (TPB), adopting second-order latent factors to explain relationships between the differentiated components of the theory constructs. This model was tested on data from two independent samples, for exercise and dieting behaviours, respectively. The affective and instrumental attitude, injunctive and descriptive norms, and perceived controllability and self-efficacy constructs all exhibited discriminant validity in the first instance. First- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses exhibited satisfactory fit with the observed data from both samples. There were no substantial differences in the fit indices across the first- and second-order models, and the second-order models exhibited the most optimal parsimony-corrected fit indices. The higher-order models could therefore not be rejected on the grounds of inferior fit or parsimony. First- and second-order structural equation models accounted for significant variance in intentions and behaviour. These results corroborate Ajzen's (2002a) and Bagozzi, Lee, and van Loo's (2001) premise that recent augmentations of the TPB that differentiate the model components can be subsumed by global, higher-order factors while still making the distinction at the subordinate level.

The addition of anticipated regret to attitudinally based, goal-directed models of information search behaviours under conditions of uncertainty and risk

Social science attempts to incorporate emotions into models of judgment and decision making have faced significant theoretical challenges, as well as produced conflicting empirical results. The following study first contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a theoretical explanation for the observed conflicting results from such models. In fact, both extant theory and the results reported herein suggest that a certain amount of variability in results should be expected from empirical investigations based on such models, particularly related to differences in respondents' level of affective versus cognitive involvement. Second, an argument is presented for considering a special case of Perugini and Bagozzi's (2001) Model of Goal-directed Behaviours (MGBs) when investigating these issues using attitude-based explanations of goal-related behaviours. Specifically, empirical evidence is presented for broadening the MGB model by including anticipated regret as an explanatory variable independent of other anticipated emotions, and deepening the theory by calling for multidimensional conceptualizations of the attitude and perceived behavioural control constructs. The implications of the reported study are presented and discussed.

Shopping-Related Attitudes: A Factor and Cluster Analysis of Northern California Shoppers

This paper presents an analysis of general shopping and travel-related attitudes collected from a custom-designed Internet-based survey conducted in the spring of 2006, of randomly selected residents of two communities in Northern California. These and other data collected in the survey will eventually lead to models of shopping mode (channel) choice, intention, and frequency among other analyses. In this early examination of the data ( N = 966), exploratory factor analysis is performed to identify the conceptual constructs underlying a group of forty-two general shopping-related attitudinal statements, with which respondents agreed or disagreed on a five-point Likert-type scale. From the nineteen potential constructs identified in the design stage, thirteen dimensions emerged empirically: shopping and store enjoyment, price and time consciousness, impulse buying, materialism, trust, caution, trendsetting, and opinions with respect to credit card usage, technology, exercise, and the environment. Cluster analysis is then conducted to identify seven market segments having different attitudinal profiles: store shopaholics (15%), bichannel shopaholics (14%), time-starved worriers (16%), nonmaterialistic greens (16%), unwired antishoppers (14%), practical and leisure-oriented (13%), and technoconservatives (11%). These segments differ significantly, in logical ways, on a number of sociodemographic and other characteristics, including shopping channel choices. Thus, more detailed investigations of choice behavior using these market segments should prove fruitful.

Goal desires moderate intention-behaviour relations

Models such as the Extended Model of Goal-Directed Behaviour and the Theory of Planned Behaviour imply that the impact of one's goals on behaviour is mediated by more proximal determinants. We hypothesize that goals can have a broader and more dynamic impact on behaviour and, specifically, that goal desires can moderate the effect of intentions on behaviour. Four studies addressed this issue by examining the direct and moderated effects of goal desires on behaviour. All of the studies required participants to complete baseline measures and then a follow-up indicator of behaviour. In Study 1 (N=119) that focused on fruit intake, Study 2 (N=123) and Study 3 (N=96) concerned with drinking alcohol and Study 4 (N=109) regarding snack consumption, behavioural intentions were more reliably related to behaviour when goal desires were strong. The results of Study 3 suggested that goal desire stability increases the likelihood of this moderator effect emerging and Study 4 revealed that this effect was not suppressed by intention stability. The findings suggest that goals and behavioural intentions can operate simultaneously and jointly influence action, a view that contradicts predictions that the effects of goals are fully mediated by more proximal behavioural determinants.

Decision making and effort in the self-regulation of hypertension: testing two competing theories

We compare the ability of two social psychological models to explain self-regulation decisions to control hypertension by 208 patients at a hospital clinic: the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the model of goal-directed behaviour (MGB). The sample was drawn from patients at a large research hospital in North America. The findings show that the MGB not only explains significantly more variance in decision making than the TPB, but it provides an account for how reasons for acting become integrated and transformed into intentions to act, which the TPB does not address. The MGB does this in part by introducing the variable, desire, as an essential mediator between reasons for acting and intentions. The MGB also incorporates the effects of anticipated emotions on decision making, which are forms of forward-looking counterfactual thinking with respect to goals. In addition, the present study reconceptualized instrumental behaviour to encompass how hard one tries to act in the senses of (1) devoting time to planning with respect to reducing/maintaining blood pressure, (2) expending mental/physical energy to reduce/maintain blood pressure, (3) maintaining will power to reduce/maintain blood pressure, and (4) sustaining self-discipline (e.g. in overcoming obstacles) to reduce/maintain blood pressure. Key differences, as well as commonalities, in decision making are pointed-out between men and women and between people whose goal is to reduce versus maintain blood pressure.