Biomedical subjects

Paschal Sheeran

Publications and source records attributed to Paschal Sheeran.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Does changing behavioral intentions engender behavior change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence.

Numerous theories in social and health psychology assume that intentions cause behaviors. However, most tests of the intention- behavior relation involve correlational studies that preclude causal inferences. In order to determine whether changes in behavioral intention engender behavior change, participants should be assigned randomly to a treatment that significantly increases the strength of respective intentions relative to a control condition, and differences in subsequent behavior should be compared. The present research obtained 47 experimental tests of intention-behavior relations that satisfied these criteria. Meta-analysis showed that a medium-to-large change in intention (d = 0.66) leads to a small-to-medium change in behavior (d = 0.36). The review also identified several conceptual factors, methodological features, and intervention characteristics that moderate intention-behavior consistency.

Attitude↗

PubMed2006

Social-cognitive determinants of hoist usage among health care workers.

Injuries caused by unsafe manual handling of patients are a major source of ill health in health care workers. The present study evaluated the ability of 4 classes of variable to predict use of a hoist when moving a heavily dependent patient. Variables examined were occupational role characteristics, such as hours of work and type of shift worked; biographics, including age and height; aspects of occupational context, such as number of hoists available and number of patients; and motivational variables specified by the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985) and protection motivation theory (Rogers, 1983). Regression analyses showed that background and social-cognitive variables were able to account for 59% of variance in intention to use a hoist and 41% of variance in use of the hoist assessed 6 weeks later. Height, hoist availability, coworker injunctive norm, perceived behavioral control, response cost, response benefits, and social and physical costs of not using the hoist each explained independent variance in motivation to use a hoist at work.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Augmenting the theory of planned behaviour with the prototype/willingness model: predictive validity of actor versus abstainer prototypes for adolescents' health-protective and health-risk intentions.

OBJECTIVES: The present research tested: (a) whether prototype perceptions and descriptive norms from the prototype/willingness model (PWM; Gibbons, Gerrard, Blanton, & Russell, 1998) enhance the prediction of adolescents' intentions to engage in health-protective and health-risk behaviours after variables from the theory of planned behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) and past behaviour have been taken into account and (b) whether images of the type of person who engages in a health behaviour (actor prototypes) and images of the type of person who does not engage in a health behaviour (abstainer prototypes) have equivalent predictive validity. DESIGN: An experimental design with a single between participants factor (actor versus abstainer prototype) was employed. METHOD: Participants in this study were 247 school pupils who completed measures of TPB variables, PWM variables and past behaviour in relation to three health-protective and three health-risk behaviours. RESULTS: Findings indicated that PWM variables accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in behavioural intentions after TPB variables and past behaviour had been taken into account (Mean deltaR2=.05). Perceived similarity to prototypes was the most consistent additional predictor of intention. Actor and abstainer prototypes exhibited equivalent predictive validity. CONCLUSIONS: The present research suggests that variables from the PWM, especially prototype similarity, enhance the predictive validity of the TPB. The findings also provide new evidence that acquiring the characteristics of both health and risk images may be goals among adolescents and suggest that both healthy and risky prototypes constitute useful cognitive targets for interventions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The interplay between goal intentions and implementation intentions.

Two studies tested whether action control by implementation intentions is sensitive to the activation and strength of participants' underlying goal intentions. In Study 1, participants formed implementation intentions (or did not) and their goal intentions were measured. Findings revealed a significant interaction between implementation intentions and the strength of respective goal intentions. Implementation intentions benefited the rate of goal attainment when participants had strong goal intentions but not when goal intentions were weak. Study 2 activated either a task-relevant or a neutral goal outside of participants' conscious awareness and found that implementation intentions affected performance only when the relevant goal had been activated. These findings indicate that the rate of goal attainment engendered by implementation intentions takes account of the state (strength, activation) of people's superordinate goal intentions.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2005

Bridging the intention-behaviour 'gap': the role of moral norm.

This research examined whether intentions aligned with moral norms better predict behaviour compared with intentions aligned with attitudes. Six data sets predicting behaviours in the health domain (smoking, driving over speed limit, applying universal precautions, exercising) were analysed. Moderated regression analysis indicated that participants whose intentions were more aligned with their moral norm were more likely to perform behaviours compared with participants whose intentions were more aligned with their attitude. However, further analysis indicated that this moderation effect was only present when participants construed the behaviour in moral terms. The findings suggest that the theory of planned behaviour should more clearly acknowledge the importance of internalized norms and self-expectations in the development of one's motivation to adopt a given behaviour.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The goal-dependent automaticity of drinking habits.

In recent treatments of habitual social behaviour, habits are conceptualized as a form of goal-directed automatic behaviour that are mentally represented as goal-action links. Three experiments tested this conceptualization in the context of students' drinking (alcohol consumption)habits. Participants were randomly assigned to conditions where either a goal related to drinking behaviour (socializing) was activated, or an unrelated goal was activated. In addition, participants' drinking habits were measured. The dependent variable in Experiments 1 and 2 was readiness to drink, operationalized by speed of responding to the action concept 'drinking' in a verb verification task. Experiment 3 used the uptake of a voucher to measure drinking behaviour. Findings supported the view that when habits are established, simply activating a goal related to the focal behaviour automatically elicits that behaviour. These findings are consistent with a goal-dependent conception of habit. Possibilities for interventions designed to attenuate undesirable habitual behaviours are considered.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Stages of change or changes of stage? Predicting transitions in transtheoretical model stages in relation to healthy food choice.

Relatively little research has examined factors that account for transitions between transtheoretical model (TTM) stages of change. The present study (N = 787) used sociodemographic, TTM, and theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables, as well as theory-driven interventions to predict changes in stage. Longitudinal analyses revealed that sociodemographic, TPB, and 1 of the interventions predicted transitions between most stages of change. In fact, only progression from the preparation stage was not predictable. However, given that this change of stage marks the transition between cognition and actual behavior, the identification of variables that bridge this gap is crucial for the development of interventions to promote stage transitions.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Affective and cognitive control of persons and behaviours.

Three studies assessed the relative contribution of affect and cognition to determining behavioural intentions for a variety of behaviours using both between-participants and within-participants analyses. The between-participants analyses showed that affect tends to make more of a contribution than does cognition for more behaviours. However, the within-participants analyses indicated that there are strong individual differences among people. Some people are more under affective control, across behaviours, whereas other people are more under cognitive control. The most interesting finding was that, despite the potential independence of between-participants and within-participants analyses (Mischela, 1990), between-participants analyses on subsamples created from the within-participants analyses showed significant dependence. The predictive validity of affect vs. cognition depended upon whether participants were affectively or cognitively controlled.

Affect↗

PubMed2004

Moderation of cognition-intention and cognition-behaviour relations: a meta-analysis of properties of variables from the theory of planned behaviour.

Meta-analysis was used to quantify the moderating effects of seven properties of cognitions-accessibility, temporal stability, direct experience, involvement, certainty, ambivalence and affective-cognitive consistency-on cognition-intention and cognition-behaviour relations. Literature searches revealed 44 studies that could be included in the review. Findings showed that all of the properties, except involvement, moderated attitude-behaviour consistency. Similarly, all relevant moderators improved the consistency between intentions and behaviour. Temporal stability moderated PBC-behaviour relations, certainty moderated subjective norm-intention relations, and ambivalence, certainty, and involvement all moderated attitude-intention relations. Overall, temporal stability appeared to be the strongest moderator of cognition-behaviour relations.

Affect↗

PubMed2004

Does perceived behavioural control mediate the relationship between power beliefs and intention?

OBJECTIVES: In order to determine whether the relationship between power beliefs (Sigma(p)) and health-related behavioural intentions is mediated by perceived behavioural control (PBC) we used structural equation modelling of eight cross-sectional data sets. METHOD: Eight studies that examined health-related behaviours and employed representative samples totalling N = 4663 participants were analysed. All studies involved power belief items derived from pilot testing and employed standard multi-item measures of power beliefs, PBC and intention that were highly reliable. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the discriminant validity of power beliefs, PBC and intention. Structural equation modelling of relevant paths indicated that PBC only partially mediated the relationship between power beliefs and intention (Z(Sobel) = 5.15, p < .001; Z(Baron&Kenny) = 5.16, p < .001). Power beliefs had a significant direct relationship with intention even after PBC had been taken into account. CONCLUSION: The findings undermine Ajzen's contention that PBC mediates the power beliefs-intention relationship and suggests that it is important to employ measures of power beliefs in addition to measures of PBC in order to enhance the prediction of intentions to perform health-risking, or health-promoting, behaviours.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Deciding to exercise: the role of anticipated regret.

OBJECTIVES: Two studies tested (a) whether anticipated regret (AR) qualifies as an additional predictor of intentions to engage in a health-enhancing behaviour (exercise) after variables from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and past behaviour have been controlled, and (b) whether a manipulation that induces participants to focus on AR causes stronger intentions to exercise. DESIGN: Study 1 employed a cross-sectional questionnaire design; Study 2 employed a between-participants experimental design (AR focus vs. no AR focus). METHOD: Participants (N = 385) completed standard, multi-item, reliable measures of TPB constructs and AR and also reported their past behaviour (Study 1). Participants in Study 2 (N = 70) completed measures of AR and intention; salience of AR was manipulated by means of item order. RESULTS: Study 1 showed that even though TPB variables and past behaviour were reliable predictors of intention, and explained 51% of the variance, AR contributed a substantial increment in the variance (5%) even after these predictors had been taken into account. Study 2 showed that participants who were induced to focus on AR prior to intention formation had significantly stronger intentions to exercise compared to controls. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that AR predicts a health-enhancing behaviour (as well as the health-risk behaviours examined in previous research) and that effects of AR are independent of TPB variables and past behaviour. The findings also indicate that a simple and inexpensive manipulation of the salience of AR can be used to promote exercise intentions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Evaluation of three interventions to promote workplace health and safety: evidence for the utility of implementation intentions.

This article evaluates a motivational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior, a volitional intervention based on implementation intentions, and a combined motivational plus volitional intervention in promoting attendance at workplace health and safety training courses in the UK. Intervention manipulations were embedded in postal questionnaires completed by participants (N=271). Subsequent attendance over a 3-month period was determined from course records. Findings showed that the volitional and combined interventions doubled the rate of attendance compared to the motivational and control conditions (rates were 39%, 32%, 12%, and 16%, respectively). The effects of the volitional intervention were independent of the effects of previous attendance, demographic variables, employment characteristics, and variables from the theory of planned behavior.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Mediator of moderators: temporal stability of intention and the intention-behavior relation.

Intention certainty, past behavior, self-schema, anticipated regret, and attitudinal versus normative control all have been found to moderate intention-behavior relations. It is argued that moderation occurs because these variables produce "strong" intentions. Stability of intention over time is a key index of intention strength. Consequently, it was hypothesized that temporal stability of intention would mediate moderation by these other moderators. Participants (N = 185) completed questionnaire measures of theory of planned behavior constructs and moderator variables at two time points and subsequently reported their exercise behavior. Findings showed that all of the moderators, including temporal stability, were associated with significant improvements in consistency between intention and behavior. Temporal stability also mediated the effects of the other moderators, supporting the study hypothesis.

Humans↗

PubMed2003

Predicting behaviour from perceived behavioural control: tests of the accuracy assumption of the theory of planned behaviour.

The theory of planned behaviour assumes that the accuracy of perceived behavioural control (PBC) determines the strength of the PBC-behaviour relationship. However, this assumption has never been formally tested. The present research developed and validated a proxy measure of actual control (PMAC) in order to test the assumption. In two studies, participants completed measures of intention and PBC, and subsequently completed measures of behaviour and the PMAC. Validity of the PMAC was established by findings showing; (a). that the PMAC moderated the intention-behaviour relation, and (b). that PMAC scores did not reflect attributions for participants' failure to enact their stated intentions. Accuracy was operationalized as the difference between PBC and PMAC scores. Consistent with theoretical expectations, several analyses indicated that greater accuracy of PBC was associated with improved prediction of behaviour by PBC.

Feeding Behavior↗

PubMed2003

Acting on intentions: the role of anticipated regret.

Three studies tested the hypothesis that anticipated regret (AR) increases consistency between exercise intentions and behaviour. Study 1 employed a longitudinal survey design (N = 384). Measures specified by the theory of planned behaviour, past behaviour, and AR were used to predict self-reported exercise behaviour 2 weeks later. AR moderated the intention-behaviour relationship such that participants were most likely to exercise if they both intended to exercise and anticipated regret if they failed to exercise. Study 2 used an experimental design to examine the effect of focusing on AR prior to reporting intentions (N = 229). Exercise was measured 2 weeks later and the AR-focus manipulation was found to moderate the intention-behaviour relationship in a similar manner to that observed in Study 1. In Study 3 (N = 97), moderation was replicated and was shown to be mediated by the temporal stability of intention.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Evidence that perceived behavioural control is a multidimensional construct: perceived control and perceived difficulty.

Four studies were performed to test whether Ajzen's (1988, 1991) concept of perceived behavioural control is really an amalgamation of two variables, which we term 'perceived control' and 'perceived difficulty'. Perceived control refers to the extent to which people consider the performance of a behaviour to be under their voluntary control. Perceived difficulty refers to whether people consider a behaviour to be easy or difficult to perform, Findings from Studies 1 to 4 demonstrate that it is possible to perform manipulations that affect perceived control more than perceived difficulty, or that affect perceived difficulty more than perceived control. Studies 2-4 used a variety of paradigms to show that people distinguish between beliefs that are presumed to underlie perceived control and perceived difficulty. Finally, we performed a meta-analysis in Study 5 to determine whether perceived control or perceived difficulty is more important for predicting behavioural intentions and behaviours. Taken together, the findings support the distinction between perceived control and perceived difficulty, and also suggest that perceived difficulty is a better predictor of most behavioural intentions and behaviours than is perceived control.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2002

Evidence that the type of person affects the strength of the perceived behavioural control-intention relationship.

This study examined the role of person type in explaining the relationship between perceived behavioural control and behavioural intentions. Participants (N = 187) completed measures of the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) variables regarding 30 behaviours. Within-participants analyses demonstrated that intentions were more strongly predicted by perceived behavioural control (PBC) than a combination of attitudes and subjective norms among a minority of the sample. When these 'PBC controlled' participants were considered separately, the effects for perceived behavioural control obtained in previous between-participants analyses were augmented. Conversely, when these participants were excluded from the sample, the effects of perceived behavioural control were reduced. PBC control was also modestly associated with dispositional measures of perceived controllability. Overall, the findings indicate that the strength of the perceived behavioural control-intention relationship depends not only on the type of behaviour but also on the type of person.

Humans↗

PubMed2002

Combining motivational and volitional interventions to promote exercise participation: protection motivation theory and implementation intentions.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared a motivational intervention based on protection motivation theory (PMT, Rogers, 1975, 1983) with the same motivational intervention augmented by a volitional intervention based on implementation intentions (Gollwitzer, 1993). DESIGN: The study had a longitudinal design, involving three waves of data collection over a 2-week period, incorporating an experimental manipulation of PMT variables at Time 1 and a volitional, implementation intention intervention at Time 2. METHOD: Participants (N=248) were randomly allocated to a control group or one of two intervention groups. Cognitions and exercise behaviour were measured at three time-points over a 2-week period. RESULTS: The motivational intervention significantly increased threat and coping appraisal and intentions to engage in exercise but did not bring about a significant increase in subsequent exercise behaviour. In contrast, the combined protection motivation theory/implementation intention intervention had a dramatic effect on subsequent exercise behaviour. This volitional intervention did not influence behavioural intention or any other motivational variables. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that supplementing PMT with implementation intentions strengthens the ability of the model to explain behaviour. This has implications for health education programmes, which should aim to increase both participants' motivation and their volition.

Clinical Trial↗