Intention—Behavior Relations: A Conceptual and Empirical Review

This chapter addresses two questions; how big is the “gap” between intentions and behavior, and what psychological variables might be able to “bridge” the intention–behavior gap? A meta-analysis of meta-analyses is used to quantify the gap and a conceptual analysis of intention–behavior discrepancies is presented. Research is described on the extent to which four groups of variables—behavior type, intention type, properties of intention, and cognitive and personality variables—moderate intention–behavior relations. Finally, the scope of the intention construct is discussed in the light of recent evidence concerning the role of habits and automaticity in human behavior.