The Role of Individual Differences and External Variables in a Test of the Sufficiency of Fishbein's Model to Explain Behavioral Intentions to Conserve Water

The sufficiency of fishbein's attitude model was tested with respect to behavioral intentions to conserve water. Regression analysis showed subjective norms (SN) to be the variable most highly correlated with intentions. It was also found that, contrary to the model, SN and evaluative attitudes (Aact) did not adequately mediate all the variation in intentions accounted for by the variables included in this analysis. Age was found to be an important external variable in explaining water conservation intentions, The equations of the models which predict SN and Aact were also analvzed. Analysis of regressions for dichotomized groups revealed strong individual differences in regression equations. Age, along with SN and Aact, was found to be an important variable in accounting for individual differences. The findings are discussed in relation to the sufficiency of Fishbein's model and the role of individual differences in Understanding water conservation intentions.

[1]  G C Chu,et al.  Fear arousal, efficacy, and imminency. , 1966, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[2]  Shalom H. Schwartz,et al.  A test of a model for reducing measured attitude-behavior discrepancies. , 1972 .

[3]  R. Kaplan.  Some Psycholog Ical Benefits of Gardening , 1973 .

[4]  Murray Aitkin,et al.  Simultaneous Inference and the Choice of Variable Subsets in Multiple Regression , 1974 .

[5]  E. H. Bonfield.  Attitude, Social Influence, Personal Norm, and Intention Interactions as Related to Brand Purchase Behavior , 1974 .

[6]  R. W. Rogers,et al.  A Protection Motivation Theory of Fear Appeals and Attitude Change1. , 1975, The Journal of psychology.

[7]  Jack Arbuthnot,et al.  A Comparison of French and American Environmental Behaviors, Knowledge, and Attitudes , 1975 .

[8]  Michael J. Ryan,et al.  The Fishbein Extended Model and Consumer Behavior , 1975 .

[9]  K. Petersen,et al.  Centrality, Extremity, Intensity Neglected Variables in Research on Attitude-Behavior Consistency , 1975 .

[10]  Martin Fishbein,et al.  Misconceptions about the Fishbein model: Reflections on a study by Songer-Nocks , 1976 .

[11]  James McGuinness,et al.  Attitudinal correlates of recycling behavior. , 1977 .

[12]  R. Loomis,et al.  Perceptions of the Energy Crisis , 1978 .

[13]  Martin Fishbein,et al.  Understanding Public Reaction to Energy Proposals: An Application of the Fishbein Model1 , 1978 .

[14]  P. Bentler,et al.  Models of attitude–behavior relations. , 1979 .

[15]  David Brinberg,et al.  An Examination of the Determinants of Intention and Behavior: A Comparison of Two Models , 1979 .

[16]  K. A. Kiely-Brocato,et al.  An attitude matrix scaling system with relevance for resource management. , 1980 .