Various reasons likely exist for individual participation or nonparticipation in social gatherings after work hours, especially when the social gatherings often involve a moderate to heavy consumption of alcohol. Obtaining information useful for work and talking openly with coworkers can be reasons for participating in these gatherings. Wanting to go home on time or not wanting to get drunk can be reasons for not participating in these gatherings. Normative pressure from coworkers also can be a reason for either participation or nonparticipation.The current study has two main purposes. First, with a sample of Korean working adults, this study tests the utility of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) for predicting two related behaviours (here, joining versus not joining alcohol-related social gatherings). Second, considering that the attitudinal component of TPB is behavioural-outcome-based, the current study asks which types of attitudes are important for intentions to join or to not join alcoholrelated social gatherings.
The Theory of Planned BehaviourThe theory of planned behaviour (TPB) delineates attitudes toward behaviours, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control that contribute to intentions and behaviours (Ajzen, 1988). TPB assumes that people examine the likelihood of outcomes that can result from the behaviour in question and evaluate importance of those outcomes. The behavioural outcomes and the evaluation of the outcomes are multiplied together to form attitudes toward behaviours. TPB postulates that people hold normative beliefs about what their important others (i.e., reference groups) think about performing behaviours and different degrees of motivation to comply with what their important others prefer. Normative beliefs and motivation to comply are multiplied with each other to form subjective norms. The third component, perceived behavioural control, refers to the extent to which individuals feel that they can engage in the behaviour. In other words, perceived behavioural control indicates individual efficacy levels in performing the behaviour. T wo studies are reported using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to examine Koreans' intentions and self-reported behaviour of joining and not joining alcohol-related social gatherings with work colleagues after work hours. Study 1 showed that group-related attitudes and perceived behavioural control of the TPB components regarding joining were significantly associated with intentions to join. Study 2 examined TPB components regarding not joining and intentions to not join. Study 2 found that although none of the TPB components was directly related to intentions, subjective norms from work colleagues moderated the effect of group-related attitudes on intentions to not join. The TPB components and intentions were not significantly related to self-reported behaviour of joining. The findings indicate that the relationships between the TPB components and intentions can be different for engaging and not engaging in a behaviour.
Alcohol-Relate...
