and Behavioral Expectation (BE) : The Latter Predicts Better

Considerable research in social psychology has explored behavioral intention and its relation to future behavior, usually within the framework of Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action. However, Fishbein and Ajzen as well as the field in general have confounded two very distinct constructs while theorizing about and investigating behavioral intention: behavioral intention (BI) and behavioral expectation (BE), an individual's self-prediction of his or her future behavior. In this paper we define both constructs; indicate how they have been confounded in the literature; and argue that behavioral expectation (BE) should be the better predictor overall since many common behaviors are unreasoned (i.e., mindless or habitual) behaviors, goal-type actions or else behaviors where the individual expects his or her intention to change in a foreseeable manner. These are all cases where present inten-tion (BI) is not the direct determinant of behavior but where the individual may be capable of appraising whatever additional determinants exist and o