An investigation into the relationship between perceived control, attitude variability and the consumption of two common foods

Abstract The study reported here takes its lead from the literatures which emphasize the importance of attitude variability and the role of perceived control over action. Within‐person variability and perceptions of control are investigated in the context of people's attitudes towards the consumption of two common foods. The role of attitude ambivalence is also examined. The findings indicate that higher attitude variability is associated with weaker relationships between the components of the theory of reasoned action and that attitude variability is negatively related to perceived control. Moreover, perceived control is shown to be related to different sorts of control problem for different behaviours. It is advocated that a more in‐depth assessment of attitude variability and the perceived control construct is merited and that recent calls for more serious examination of attitude ambivalence are well‐founded.