CATEGORIZING COMMON BEHAVIORAL ANTECEDENTS AS EXPRESSED IN EVERYDAY LANGUAGE

In an effort to explore the meaning of action-relevant constructs and to uncover phenomenological similarities and differences among commonly hypothesized antecedents of people's actions, 222 subjects in two studies categorized a variety of statements expressing motivations for doing things (e.g. I'd like to do it, I will do it, I'll try to do it). Cluster and principal-components analyses yielded an interpretable structural representation consisting of seven different behavioural antecedents. attitudinal determinants of behaviour, social-normative pressures, self-efficacy considerations weak motivational incentives to act, behavioural attempts to reach a goal, intentional influences on behaviour, and volitional considerations reflective of a determination to act. The results are related to previous attempts at specifying distinct antecedents of action, and implications are drawn for future research on the aetiology of human behaviour.