How well can the theory of planned behavior account for occupational intentions

By J. Arnold, John Loan-Clarke, Crispin R. Coombs, Adrian Wilkinson, Jennifer R Park, D. Preston. 2006

151 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We tested the capacity of an extended version of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to account for intentions to work for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) as a nurse, physiotherapist or radiographer amongst three groups: professionally unqualified (N = 507), in professional training (N = 244), and professionally qualified (N = 227). We found strong support for the three core TPB variables attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control as predictors of behavioral intention, and limited support for two additional variables: moral obligation and identification. There were some differences in the relative importance of TPB variables between groups. We conclude that the TPB has utility for more complex behaviors as well as simpler ones that are more frequently researched. However, more attention should be paid to differences in people’s circumstances, particularly regarding past vocational decisions and behavior, and to obstacles to implementing an intention.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3a6c5b4ad466b518f47cfec4abced14c8525edbd

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In Applied Psychology

In Cognitive Neuroscience

E. V. Hooft

In Sociology and Political Science

Citations in the corpus

The Psychology of Careers in Industrial - Organizational Settings: A Critical but Appreciative Analysis (2008, background): “In our work with business and management students over the years, as well as in our research into professional work (Cohen, Arnold, Wilkinson & Finn, 2005), scientific careers (Duberley, Cohen & Mallon, 2006), careers in the UK National Health Service (Arnold, Loan-Clarke, Coombs, Wilkinson, Park & ”
Predicting job seeking for temporary employment using the theory of planned behaviour: The moderating role of individualism and collectivism (2009, methodology): “Previous research on TPB and vocational behaviour (Arnold et al., 2006; Song et al., 2006; Van Hooft et al., 2004b; Wanberg et al., 2005) and on the TPB in general (Conner & Armitage, 1998) has also demonstrated that the TPB-variables are not always sufficient predictors of intentions.”
An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior Model for Tourists (2012, background): “Arnold et al. (2006) insightfully suggested that more attention should be directed to differences in people’s circumstances when using a TPB model to predict behavior, particularly regarding past decisions and behavior, and to obstacles in implementing an intention.”