Social Influences In Predicting Behavior

Numerous researchers, guided by different theories, have studied the factors thought to engender behavior. One such theory is the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991). An important proponent of Ajzen’s theory is subjective norms, defined as perceived social pressure to either perform a behavior or not. In theory, subjective norms are helpful for predicting behavior (Ajzen, 1991) as are descriptive norms, the perception of others’ behavior (Rivis & Sheeran, 2003). The influence of societal views and expectations is ubiquitous, such that a number of researchers have sought to study its’ effect on behavior. A topic of interest for many is the health behaviors of different age groups and the motivation behind the behaviors. One population studied is college students. For many, going to college is the first experience of freedom. However, along with the freedom of college, comes a plethora of new responsibilities, including one’s own health and wellbeing. The recommendations to exercise and eat healthily are given to each individual, but their choice to exhibit such behaviors ultimately depends on various factors, including the influence of societal norms. I sought to study the relationship between perceived societal norms and …show more content…
Despite previous research being conducted, there is not a unanimous conclusion that societal norms are influential in predicting behavior. Some conclusions are in favor of societal norms, while others favor other social influences and factors. Yun and Silk (2011) rationed social norms into four distinctive types and found that proximal peer norms, the social norms among close friends, are the most influential in forming individuals’ intentions to exercise. Another study found that perceived social support, especially friend support, better predicted exercise behaviors, than perceived social norms (Rhodes et al.,