Reasoned versus reactive prediction of behaviour: a meta-analysis of the prototype willingness model

Abstract

The prototype willingness model (PWM) was designed to extend expectancy-value models of health behaviour by also including a heuristic, or social reactive pathway, to better explain health-risk behaviours in adolescents and young adults. The pathway includes prototype, i.e., images of a typical person who engages in a behaviour, and willingness to engage in behaviour. The current study describes a meta-analysis of predictive research using the PWM and explores the role of the heuristic pathway and intentions in predicting behaviour. Eighty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Overall, the PWM was supported and explained 20.5% of the variance in behaviour. Willingness explained 4.9% of the variance in behaviour over and above intention, although intention tended to be more strongly related to behaviour than was willingness. The strength of the PWM relationships tended to vary according to the behaviour being tested, with alcohol consumption being the behaviour best explained. Age was also an important moderator, and, as expected, PWM behaviour was best accounted for within adolescent samples. Results were heterogeneous even after moderators were taken into consideration. This meta-analysis provides support for the PWM and may be used to inform future interventions that can be tailored for at-risk populations.

Keywords:

• prototype willingness model
• meta-analysis
• health behaviour
• health models

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to authors who provided correlations for inclusion in this meta-analysis. Thanks are also due to Vanessa Allom and Kirby Sainsbury for assistance in manuscript preparation and the University of Sydney Health Psychology Lab for feedback on earlier drafts of this manuscript.

Supplemental material

Supplemental material for this article can be accessed here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2014.922895

Notes

1. The following authors provided additional data upon request and are thanked for their contributions: Judy Andrews, Maureen Barckley, Frederick Gibbons, Noémi Keresztes, David Lane, Dana Litt, Barbara Kalebić Maglica, Shoji Ohtomo, Melissa Peterson, Renske Spijkerman, Hanneke Teunissen and Friederike Zimmermann.