The Prediction of Behavior from Different Types of Beliefs

Abstract

Summary The present study investigated the relative weights of four types of beliefs in predicting overt behaviors. The four types of beliefs were defined on the basis of the theory of Kreitler and Kreitler (1976) who maintain that behaviors are predicted from general beliefs, beliefs about self, beliefs about norms, and beliefs about goals. Six behaviors ware measured: punctuality, conformity, assertiveness, orderliness, pain-tolerance, and honesty. For each behavior, a questionnaire consisting of the four types of beliefs was constructed. The six questionnaires were administered to 48 undergraduates and the six overt behaviors were measured either in the laboratory or in real life situations. The results indicate that norm beliefs were the best single predictor of orderliness; that beliefs about self were the best single predictor of punctuality; and that general beliefs were the best single predictor of assertiveness, pain tolerance, and conformity. Honesty was not significantly predicted from the belief scores. The results suggest that different types of beliefs predict different types of behaviors.

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