Factors Influencing Intentions and the Intention-Behavior Relation

Communicative and compliance behaviors of subjects working in three-person groups were predicted. Consistent with Fishbein's modified version of Dulany's theory of propositional control, subjects' intentions to perform these behaviors correlated highly with their attitudes toward the behaviors and with their normative beliefs about the behaviors, multiplied by their motivation to comply with the norms. Behavioral intentions correlated significantly with behavior, although intervening events were found to attenuate the intention-behavior relation. Measuring intentions after these intervening events had occurred, or taking the intervening events into account, was shown to improve behavioral prediction. These findings were compared with prediction of behavior from traditional attitude measures.