The effect of implementation intentions on use of dental chewing gum.

This study examined the effect of implementation intentions on use of dental chewing gum. A total of 80 participants reported intentions to chew gum, read information about the benefits of dental gum, reported intentions again, and formed implementation intentions relating to gum use (experimental group) or solved word puzzles (control group). Seven days later, they reported the amount chewed. Results showed that among those motivated to chew gum, implementation intentions significantly increased the total amount chewed. Time 1 intentions were more highly correlated with behaviour than time 2 intentions. Further research is needed to establish the effectiveness of implementation intentions in dental settings

The role of brand loyalty and social media in e-commerce interfaces: survey results and implications for user interfaces

This paper explores the role of brand loyalty and social media in e-commerce interfaces. A survey consisting of 118 respondents was contacted to address the questions relating to online shopping and brand loyalty. Link between the frequency of access and time spent on an e-commerce user interface, and brand loyalty, gender and age profile differences, and the role of social media to branding and on-line shopping was analyzed. It was found that online loyalty differs from offline loyalty and loyalty also differed across genders, showing men were more loyal than women when shopping online. Information shared about products on social media by friends and family played an important role in purchase decision making. Website interface and ease of navigation were also key aspects for online shopping. The research concluded with recommendations to create multimodal websites which are more interactive and targeted so customer experience is enhanced and loyalty is achieved through the use of interactivity and social media

Patterns of Individual Shopping Behavior

Much of economic theory is built on observations of aggregate, rather than individual, behavior. Here, we present novel findings on human shopping patterns at the resolution of a single purchase. Our results suggest that much of our seemingly elective activity is actually driven by simple routines. While the interleaving of shopping events creates randomness at the small scale, on the whole consumer behavior is largely predictable. We also examine income-dependent differences in how people shop, and find that wealthy individuals are more likely to bundle shopping trips. These results validate previous work on mobility from cell phone data, while describing the unpredictability of behavior at higher resolution.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Childbearing intentions in a low fertility context: the case of Romania

This paper applies the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to find out the predictors of fertility intentions in Romania, a low-fertility country. We analyse how attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control relate to the intention to have a child among childless individuals and one-child parents. Principal axis factor analysis confirms which items proposed by the Generation and Gender Survey (GGS 2005) act as valid and reliable measures of the suggested theoretical socio-psychological factors. Four parity-specific logistic regression models are applied to evaluate the relationship between the socio-psychological factors and childbearing intentions. Social pressure emerges as the most important aspect in fertility decision-making among childless individuals and one-child parents, and positive attitudes towards childbearing are a strong component in planning for a child. This paper also underlines the importance of the region-specific factors when studying childbearing intentions: planning for the second child significantly differs among the development regions, representing the cultural and socio-economic divisions of the Romanian territory

Consumer responses to corporate social irresponsibility: The role of moral emotions, evaluations, and social cognitions

We investigate the mediating roles of moral emotions and attitudes between perceptions of corporate irresponsible actions, on the one hand, and consumer responses, on the other hand, and further examine their contingencies based on consumer social cognitions. Our findings show that, for corporate transgressions, multiple social cognitions (moral identity, relational and collective self‐concepts, and affective empathy) moderate the elicitation of negative moral emotions (contempt and anger) and overall evaluations (attitudes), which, in turn, lead to negative responses toward the company (negative word of mouth, complaint behaviors, and boycotting). Our study adds to extant research on corporate social irresponsibility by examining three generic reactions people have toward corporate social irresponsibility and demonstrating important boundary conditions. In addition, hypotheses are tested on a sample of adult consumers. Implications for communication by firms are considered.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149212/1/mar21197.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149212/2/mar21197_am.pd

With a little help from my goals : integrating intergoal facilitation with the theory of planned behaviour to predict physical activity

Reproduced with permission from British Journal of Health Psychology © The British Psychological Society 2010.Peer reviewedPostprin

Using the theory of planned behaviour as a process evaluation tool in randomised trials of knowledge translation strategies : A case study from UK primary care

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Predicting and explaining transtheoretical model stage transitions in relation to condom-carrying behaviour

Objectives: The stages of change component of the transtheoretical model has been applied to safe sex behaviours in cross-sectional analyses, but have not yet been subject to prospective analysis. It was predicted that: (a) cross-sectional analyses would demonstrate good discrimination between the stages of change, (b) prospective analyses would allow for the identification of predictors of stage transitions, and (c) implementation intentions would explain progression from the preparation stage. Design: This study employed an experimental longitudinal design. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental (implementation intention) or control conditions and completed questionnaires at baseline and at 2-months follow up. Methods: 525 adolescents who were broadly representative of the UK population completed questionnaires at baseline and follow up (n = 393) measuring: demographic variables, stage of change, theory of planned behaviour constructs, anticipated regret and moral norm in relation to condom carrying behaviour. The experimental condition completed a self-generated implementation intention to carry condoms at the end of the baseline questionnaire. Results: Discriminant function analyses indicated that the stages of change could be accurately discriminated from one another cross-sectionally and that, longitudinally, the measured variables were able to predict transitions between most stages. Implementation intentions caused people to progress from the preparation stage. Conclusions: Transitions between most stages were reliably predicted thereby providing potential targets for intervention. The brief implementation intention intervention was effective and could easily be utilised and expanded to encompass a broader range of sexual health behaviours.</p

Behavioral determinants as predictors of return to work after long-term sickness absence: an application of the theory of planned behavior

Background The aim of this prospective, longitudinal cohort study was to analyze the association between the three behavioral determinants of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model-attitude, subjective norm and self-efficacy-and the time to return-to-work (RTW) in employees on long-term sick leave. Methods The study was based on a sample of 926 employees on sickness absence (maximum duration of 12 weeks). The employees filled out a baseline questionnaire and were subsequently followed until the tenth month after listing sick. The TPB-determinants were measured at baseline. Work attitude was measured with a Dutch language version of the Work Involvement Scale. Subjective norm was measured with a self-structured scale reflecting a person's perception of social support and social pressure. Self-efficacy was measured with the three subscales of a standardised Dutch version of the general self-efficacy scale (ALCOS): willingness to expend effort in completing the behavior, persistence in the face of adversity, and willingness to initiate behavior. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to identify behavioral determinants of the time to RTW. Results Median time to RTW was 160 days. In the univariate analysis, all potential prognostic factors were significantly associated (P < 0.15) with time to RTW: work attitude, social support, and the three subscales of self-efficacy. The final multivariate model with time to RTW as the predicted outcome included work attitude, social support and willingness to expend effort in completing the behavior as significant predictive factors. Conclusions This prospective, longitudinal cohort-study showed that work attitude, social support and willingness to expend effort in completing the behavior are significantly associated with a shorter time to RTW in employees on long-term sickness absence. This provides suggestive evidence for the relevance of behavioral characteristics in the prediction of duration of sickness absence. It may be a promising approach to address the behavioral determinants in the development of interventions focusing on RTW in employees on long-term sick leave

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf: a prospective paradigm to test Rachman's indirect pathways in children

Rachman's theory [The conditioning theory of fear insition: a critical examination. Behav. Res. Ther. 15 (1977) 375–387] of fear acquisition suggests that fears and phobias can be acquired through three pathways: direct conditioning, vicarious learning and information/instruction. Although retrospective studies have provided some evidence for these pathways in the development of phobias during childhood [see King, Gullone, & Ollendick, Etiology of childhood phobias: current status of Rachman's three pathway's theory. Behav. Res. Ther. 36 (1998) 297–309 for a review], these studies have relied on long-term past memories of adult phobics or their parents. The current study was aimed towards developing a paradigm in which the plausibility of Rachman's indirect pathways could be investigated prospectively. In Experiment 1, children aged between 7 and 9 were presented with two types of information about novel stimuli (two monsters): video information and verbal information in the form of a story. Fear-related beliefs about the monsters changed significantly as a result of verbal information but not video information. Having established an operational paradigm, Experiment 2 looked at whether the source of verbal information had an effect on changes in fear-beliefs. Using the same paradigm, information about the monsters was provided by either a teacher, an adult stranger or a peer, or no information was given. Again, verbal information significantly changed fear-beliefs, but only when the information came from an adult. The role of information in the acquisition of fear and maintenance of avoidant behaviour is discussed with reference to modern conditioning theories of fear acquisition