title: Resolving the theory of planned behaviour's 'expectancy-value muddle' using dimensional salience.
abstract: The theory of planned behaviour is one of the most widely used models of decision-making in the health literature. Unfortunately, the primary method for assessing the theory's belief-based expectancy-value models results in statistically uninterpretable findings, giving rise to what has become known as the 'expectancy-value muddle'. Moreover, existing methods for resolving this muddle are associated with various conceptual or practical limitations. This study addresses these issues by identifying and evaluating a parsimonious method for resolving the expectancy-value muddle. Three hundred and nine Australian residents aged 18-24 years rated the expectancy and value of 18 beliefs about posthumous organ donation. Participants also nominated their five most salient beliefs using a dimensional salience approach. Salient beliefs were perceived as being more likely to eventuate than non-salient beliefs, indicating that salient beliefs could be used to signify the expectancy component. The expectancy-value term was therefore represented by summing the value ratings of salient beliefs, an approach that predicted attitude (adjusted R2 = 0.21) and intention (adjusted R2 = 0.21). These findings suggest that the dimensional salience approach is a useful method for overcoming the expectancy-value muddle in applied research settings.
authors: School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Caulfield Campus, Monash University, P.O. Box 197, Caulfield East, Victoria 3145, Australia.
authors: Joshua D
authors: JD
authors: Newton
authors: Michael T
authors: MT
authors: Ewing
authors: Sue
authors: S
authors: Burney
authors: Margaret
authors: M
authors: Hay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D037022:Posthumous Conception; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012945:Social Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement