Attitudinal and normative influence on behavioral intentions: the moderating role of meta-attitudinal judgments within the Theory of Reasoned Action

Abstract

The present research investigates the moderating role of meta-attitudinal properties in the Theory of Reasoned Action. Participants reported their attitudes towards voting for a particular political party, as well as their certainty, experienced ambivalence and subjective knowledge. They also reported their subjective norms, voting intentions and, at a later stage, their voting behavior. The results corroborate the predictive value of the theory. They also support the hypothesized moderating role of attitude certainty and subjective knowledge and indicate that individuals who feel certain about their attitudes and think are well-informed are more likely to base their behavioral decisions on these attitudes and less likely to rely on the expectations of important others. These findings are discussed in relation to attitude-behavior consistency and to social influence.