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A comparison of three models of attitude–behavior relationships in the studying behavior domain
Author(s) -
Leone Luigi,
Perugini Marco,
Ercolani Anna Paola
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-0992(199903/05)29:2/3<161::aid-ejsp919>3.0.co;2-g
Subject(s) - theory of planned behavior , psychology , predictive power , theory of reasoned action , social psychology , construct (python library) , test (biology) , structural equation modeling , control (management) , statistics , paleontology , philosophy , management , epistemology , biology , mathematics , computer science , economics , programming language
The theory of reasoned action (TRA; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), the theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1985) and the theory of self‐regulation (TSR; Bagozzi, 1992) were applied to Italian undergraduate students' studying behavior. The main focus of the research was to ascertain the predictive power of past behavior on intention and behavior and thus test for the sufficiency of the theories. For theory sufficiency to be demonstrated, past behavior influences on intention and present behavior should be totally mediated by the focal variables of the theories (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and desire). It is argued that past behavior affects intentions and present behavior over and above attitudinal variables and that these effects will be weaker on intention for the TPB and TSR models. A structural equation approach was used to test the construct validity of measures such as the predictive validity of the theories. A total sample of 240 Italian college students participated in the research. A subsample of 90 subjects provided a self‐report behavioral measure one week later. Results show that past behavior is a strong predictor of both intention and behavior in the TRA model, while it is a weaker predictor of intention in the TPB and in the TSR models. Implications for attitude–behavior relationships are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.