Instrumental vs. experiential attitudes in the theory of planned behaviour: two studies on intention to perform a recommended amount of physical activity

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 150 min per week of moderate to intense physical activity to mitigate the negative health consequences of physical inactivity. A great deal of research has applied the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), revealing the importance of attitudes towards physical activity. Most of these studies have focused on instrumental attitudes, at the expense of attitudes based on affective or experiential considerations. In two studies (N = 780), we administered measures of instrumental and experiential attitudes as well as measures of subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intentions. Results show that, when instrumental and experiential attitudes were clearly distinguished from each other (Study 1), the latter were better predictors of intentions to engage in the WHO-recommended amount of physical activity than the former, and they significantly increased explained variance in intention by 8% over and above the other TPB constructs. When the two types of attitudes were not clearly distinguishable (Study 2), experiential attitudes accounted for little additional variance in intentions.