Factors affecting the intention-physical activity relationship: Intention versus expectation and scale correspondence

The present study examined two issues believed to be relevant for the application of the theory of planned behavior to the physical activity domain: (a) the conceptual distinction between intention and expectation and (b) the effect of failing to obtain scale correspondence (Courneya & McAuley, 1993). Subjects for the study were 170 undergraduate students who completed an initial questionnaire assessing the constructs of interest and follow-up self-reports of physical activity at 2 and 4 weeks. Results indicated that: (a) expectation shared 9% more variance with frequency of physical activity than did intention, and (b) scale correspondence significantly improved the correlation between intention and physical activity. Discussion focused on conceptual and methodological issues concerning the theory of planned behavior as applied to physical activity.