It was hypothesized that subjects would expect others to complete questionnaires which measured the components of the theory of reasoned action in ways that are consistent with Fishbein's (1980) model. In order to test this hypothesis 96 subjects were asked to rate how honestly they felt that a set of questionnaires which measured the components of the theory of reasoned action had been completed by a group of male university students. It is shown that those questionnaires which were inconsistent with the predictions of Fishbein's theory were seen as being the most unbelievable. In addition, it is demonstrated that the subjects were aware of the rules they used when attributing dishonesty to particular questionnaires and that these rules were consistent with the main predictions of Fishbein's theory. It is argued that Fishbein's theory forms part of the lay‐person's intuitive psychology of intention, and that this intuitive psychology may act as a source of response bias which motivates people to create consistency between the components of the theory of reasoned action when completing questionnaires which measure the model's constructs.
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Budd et al. (1986) studied this question.