Examination of the predictive validity of CVM using an attitude-behavior framework

The contingent valuation method (CVM) has been used to assign monetary value to goods not normally bought and sold in the marketplace. Sometimes this value is used to make inferences about what a person might actually be willing to pay. The relationship between responses to willingness to pay (WTP) questions and a paying behavior was examined in this study using a conceptual framework from attitude theory. Willingness to pay was considered a behavioral intention to pay, and a mock vote on a sales taw initiative was considered a paying behavior. Two factors known to affect the intention-behavior relationship were varied Subjects were provided different levels of information about the good and were asked about their willingness to pay using different question contexts. Increasing the context correspondence between measures of intention and behavior strengthened the relationship. Information did not significantly increase the consistency between intention and behavior. Determining the meaning in behavioral terms of people's responses to WTP questions may be especially important when these responses are taken at face value.