Modal versus individually-derived beliefs about condom use: Measuring the cognitive underpinnings of the theory of reasoned action

Several measurement approaches for assessing the belief underpinnings of the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), a cognitive model used extensively to understand the determinants of health behaviors, were compared empirically. Specifically, beliefs about condom use were examined in order to determine (a) whether one's own beliefs or a set of modal beliefs are stronger predictors of global measures of attitude toward behavior, subjective norm, and behavioral intention, and (b) whether measures of the perceived importance, accessibility, or cumulative serial sums of individually-derived behavioral and normative beliefs yield superior predictions of their respective global constructs, as well as behavioral intention, than do the standard modal belief measures. Results suggest that although individually-derived beliefs are marginally stronger predictors than their modal counterparts, practical considerations may outweigh the modest gain in predictive accuracy.