Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory01:29

Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory

Attribution theory plays a crucial role in social psychology, helping to explain how individuals interpret the causes of behavior. One prominent model within this field is Harold Kelley's covariation theory, which provides a systematic approach to determining whether internal traits or external circumstances drive a person's actions. The model posits that individuals rely on three key types of information—consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness—to make these judgments.Consensus: Comparing...
What is an Experiment?01:12

What is an Experiment?

An experiment is a planned activity carried out under controlled conditions. The purpose of an experiment is to investigate the relationship between two variables. When one variable causes change in another, we call the first variable the explanatory or independent variable. The affected variable is called the response or dependent variable. In a randomized experiment, the researcher manipulates values of the explanatory variable and measures the resulting changes in the response variable. The...
Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory01:15

Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory

Correspondent inference theory, proposed by Jones and Davis in 1965, seeks to explain how individuals infer stable personality traits from observed behaviors. It suggests that people attribute actions to underlying dispositions rather than external circumstances, particularly when the behavior appears intentional and socially significant.Voluntary Behavior and Dispositional AttributionAccording to this theory, individuals are more likely to attribute behavior to personal traits when it appears...
Attribution Theory00:56

Attribution Theory

Behavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958). An internal factor is an...
Reason and Intuition01:37

Reason and Intuition

The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the brain can only use...
Fundamental Attribution Error01:14

Fundamental Attribution Error

According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is called the fundamental attribution...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Mitigating future pandemics: the need for socio-behavioural data collection systems and proactive community engagement.

Family medicine and community health·2026
Same author

Characterizing sexual violence perpetrated by adolescents in South Africa and associations with HIV and STI risk behaviors.

Psychology of violence·2026
Same author

Your media diet is impacting your actual diet: The effects of influencer "What I Eat in a Day" YouTube videos on influencer perceptions and nutrition behaviors.

Digital health·2026
Same author

Social Media Screening: Racial Disparities in Pap Smear Content on TikTok.

Health promotion practice·2026
Same author

Drug Development.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association·2025
Same author

A contemporary examination of the effect of driver training for reducing crash risk in novice adolescent drivers: protocol for the DRIVER study, a random assignment trial.

Injury epidemiology·2025
Same journal

Effectiveness of Friendship Bench in Alleviating Anxiety and Depression Symptoms Among People Living with HIV and High-Risk Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

AIDS and behavior·2026
Same journal

Examining Mental Health, Social Support and Resilience Among Immigrant Women Living with HIV in the British Columbia CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration (BCC3) Study.

AIDS and behavior·2026
Same journal

Mpox Vaccine Hesitancy Among Sexually Active People with HIV in Care at Risk for mpox.

AIDS and behavior·2026
Same journal

Qualitative Exploration of Healthcare Providers' Perspectives on HIV Service Vulnerability During Funding Disruption in Nigeria.

AIDS and behavior·2026
Same journal

Implementation Determinants of Scaling up and Disseminating HIV-Prevention and Treatment Services to Latino MSM in Three Ending the HIV Epidemic Priority Jurisdictions: A Rapid Qualitative Analysis.

AIDS and behavior·2026
Same journal

Long-Acting HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Preferences Through Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period Among Women in Kenya: A Latent Transition Analysis.

AIDS and behavior·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm
12:12

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm

Published on: May 14, 2014

Differentiating between precursor and control variables when analyzing reasoned action theories.

Michael Hennessy1, Amy Bleakley, Martin Fishbein

  • 1Public Policy Center, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA, mhennessy@asc.upenn.edu.

AIDS and Behavior
|April 17, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study clarifies that age and past sexual behavior are precursors, not controls, in reasoned action theory. Correctly identifying these variables improves analysis of adolescent sexual behavior.

More Related Videos

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE
06:57

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE

Published on: May 14, 2019

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm
12:12

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm

Published on: May 14, 2014

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE
06:57

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE

Published on: May 14, 2019

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Behavioral Science
  • Adolescent Health

Background:

  • The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and its extensions are foundational for understanding behavioral intentions and actions.
  • Accurate variable specification within theoretical frameworks is crucial for valid data analysis.
  • Previous research has inconsistently categorized background variables like age and prior behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To differentiate between precursor and control variables within the context of reasoned action theory.
  • To demonstrate the correct application of age and past sexual behavior in reasoned action analyses.
  • To evaluate the impact of variable classification on understanding adolescent sexual behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Integration of reasoned action theory with structural equation modeling.
  • Analysis of a two-wave longitudinal survey dataset of African-American adolescents.
  • Target behavior: vaginal sex initiation.

Main Results:

  • Results significantly differ when age and past sexual behavior are treated as control variables versus precursors.
  • Classifying these variables as controls leads to inaccurate theoretical interpretations.
  • The study highlights a methodological flaw in applying TRA and similar models.

Conclusions:

  • Age and past sexual behavior function as precursors, not control variables, in reasoned action theory.
  • Incorrectly using control variables violates the theoretical axioms of TRA, Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Integrative Model.
  • Proper variable specification is essential for robust behavioral research in adolescents.