Motorcycle riding is rapidly increasing in popularity in Australia, attracting a much wider demographic of people than in decades past. Unfortunately, whilst the overall road toll in Australia has generally been reducing, the proportion of motorcycle-related fatalities has been rising in recent years. Further, the proportion of motorcycle-related fatalities in Australia is unacceptably high compared to other OECD countries. To reduce motorcycle-related fatalities on Australian roads, there is an urgent need to consider motorcyclists as distinct from other road users. This program of research facilitates the understanding of safety issues from a motorcyclist perspective and provides important information on factors influencing safe and unsafe rider intentions and behaviour.----- Study 1 explored what motorcyclists thought about the issues relevant to safety and to risk-taking behaviour on a motorcycle. The aim of this study was to develop a better understanding of the factors which influence on-road riding behaviour. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), identity theory, social identity theory, and items based on moral norm and causal attribution theory, a set of questions was developed to guide focus group discussions with riders, police, rider trainers, and an advocacy group for motorcycle safety. Of the 43 participants in this study, only two were not motorcycle riders. This exploratory process revealed six common behaviours that most motorcyclists agreed were essential to safety or which related directly to riskier riding.----- Two behaviours were identified as being essential to rider safety by participants. The first was the necessity of being able to handle the motorcycle proficiently and skilfully. The second related to the need for riders to maintain a high level of concentration whilst riding and to stay aware of the changing road environment.----- The safety or riskiness of two other behaviours mentioned became a matter of debate amongst participants. First, some riders said that obeying the road rules was essential to their safety, whilst others reported that it was often necessary to break the road rules in order to stay safe. Second, the definition of what constituted 'riding whilst impaired' differed amongst riders. Most riders agreed that 'drinking and riding' was dangerous. However, for some, even one alcoholic drink before riding was considered dangerous, whilst others would ride after drinking provided they did not consider themselves to be over the legal BAC limit. Some riders stated that riding when they were tired was dangerous; however, fatigue was not considered a serious safety issue for many participants.----- Two further behaviours identified by participants were often associated with their accounts of crash involvement, yet not seen as intrinsically 'unsafe' by most riders. The first of these was the concept of 'pushing your limits'. Most riders interviewed appeared to enjoy pushing the limits of their ability on a motorcycle. Whilst agreeing that pushing the limits too far was dangerous, pushing them to a point that tested a rider's abilities was often reported to facilitate safety as this process developed a rider's skill. The second behaviour that was often mentioned in connection with crashes was extreme riding (e.g., performing stunts and riding at extreme speeds). The act of perfecting a stunt was often reported to result in the crashing of the motorcycle; although, these crashes were usually accepted as a normal part of the learning process. Once perfected, performing stunts did not appear to be considered an intrinsically unsafe behaviour; unless performed in traffic or other unpredictable situations. A sizable minority of both male and female participants reported riding at extreme speeds. These riders often argued that they could ride extremely fast, safely, on public roads provided certain conditions were met (e.g., good visibility, weather, road, and motorcycle maintenance).----- Study 2 [n = 229] operationalised the six behaviours discussed above into three 'safer' behavioural intentions (i.e., handle the motorcycle skilfully, maintain 100% awareness, not ride impaired) and three 'riskier' intentions (i.e., bend road rules, push the limits, perform stunts or ride at extreme speeds). A seventh item was added to provide a global measure of a rider's intention to ride safely. Multiple regression analyses were then performed to test the predictive utility of the TPB compared with several augmented models. The additional constructs used to augment the TPB included a specific subjective norm and group norm which related to the people a person rides with, self identity, sensation seeking, aggression as well as age, gender and riding exposure. The multiple regression analysis demonstrated that a greater proportion of variance could be explained in the case of the riskier riding intentions [R2 ranging from 57% - 66%] than the safer riding intentions [R2 ranging from 22% - 36%]. Therefore, this type of theoretical model may be better suited to investigating deliberate risk-taking intentions rather than an overall model of rider behaviour which includes errors and lapses or intentions to ride safely.----- In the final analyses, perceived behavioural control (PBC) proved to be a significant predictor of all four intentions towards the safer behaviours, and also towards intentions to "push my limits". Attitude was a significant predictor of the three riskier intentions. Although the standard subjective norm variable performed weakly, as it was only predictive of one intention, the specific subjective norm (i.e., the people that someone rides with) emerged as a significant predictor of four of the seven intention items and group norm was predictive of an additional intention item. This result indicates that the other people a person rides with may have a marked effect on behavioural intentions. Sensation seeking was found to be significantly related to four intentions, self identification as a safe or risky rider related to two intentions and a propensity for aggression was only significantly predictive of one intention.----- Study 2 did not find a significant relationship between the seven intentions and past crash history. However, correlational analyses found that people who had reported being involved in a serious crash in the past two years reported less PBC over their ability to ride as safely as possible and to perform stunts and/or ride at extreme speeds.----- In conclusion, this program of research provided insight into the issues riders feel are important to their safety, and has facilitated a greater understanding of the complexity of influences that impact on riding intentions and behaviour. The study also provided support for extending the traditional TPB model to include other measures of social influence, as well as person-related factors such as sensation seeking. The fact that PBC emerged as a predictor of five of the seven intentions suggests that there may be scope to enhance existing training practices to better address both safe and risky riding intentions. The influence of other riders also emerged as a strong influence on intentions, suggesting that strategies to address rider behaviour within the wider social context of riding may be a useful addition to future motorcycle safety or rider training initiatives. The social dynamics of motorcycle riding, within the context of road safety, is an area that clearly requires more investigation. Research into this area may provide the key to developing new approaches to promoting motorcycle safety which effectively integrate both the psychological and sociological aspects of riding; therefore, better reflecting the real challenges facing many riders on Australian roads today.

Many adolescents are at risk of injury as a result of lifestyle, with high morbidity and mortality rates primarily affected by engagement in risk-taking behaviour (AIHW, 2004b). The study aimed to reduce injury through the design, implementation and evaluation of an intervention to affect risk-taking behaviour. The intervention was guided by theory,(Theory of Planned Behavior, TPB Ajzen, 1985) and selectively focused on increasing protective behaviour toward friends. To meet the aim, the intervention focused on the following risk-taking behaviours: alcohol use, interpersonal violence, being a passenger of, and own risky use of a motor vehicle or bicycle. The average age of participants of the study was fourteen. The program of research was divided into three stages that, as a whole, met the aim of designing and evaluating an intervention to reduce risk-taking behaviour among adolescents. The aim of the first stage was to provide the detail required for the program design (Stage 2). Stage 1 comprised a number of research processes including (i) a comprehensive literature review. The literature review included the rationale for reducing injury and risk-taking behaviour among adolescents, examination of the friendship relationship and assessing key issues and components of previously evaluated behaviour change programs. Stage 1 also included (ii) an assessment and operationalisation of the theoretical design (Theory of Planned Behavior and cognitive behavioural strategies). It was also found, in this Study 1, that the constructs of the TPB could explain friends' protective behaviour. Further, Stage 1 included (iii) Study 2, a qualitative evaluation of injury, risk-taking behaviour and key risk and protective factors for risk-taking behaviour from the perspective of young people conducted through focus groups. The information gathered in Stage 1 was used to develop the design of the program which comprised Stage 2. The next stage (Stage 3) involved an impact evaluation of the program. Firstly, in Study 3, a qualitative study was conducted to assess intervention participants' and teachers' perceptions of the program and adolescents' change in behaviour and attitudes. Intervention participants felt that they reduced their risk-taking behaviour and increased their protective behaviour toward their friends. Overall, adolescents and teachers viewed the program favourably. Secondly, in Study 4, a quantitative evaluation was conducted. Preliminary investigations found significant differences in change and behaviours among individuals from different ethnic backgrounds and, as such, analyses were conducted with the majority, Caucasian group only. The results indicated a reduction in risk-taking behaviours from baseline to follow-up in the intervention group and an increase in the comparison group. There was no support for the prediction that intervention students would increase their protective behaviour relative to the control group. Overall, the findings indicated challenges associated with designing and implementing an effective program to reduce risk-taking behaviour among adolescents.

Understanding and predicting human behaviour has been of particular interest to marketers for many years. The predominant approach to predicting behaviour has relied on attitude-based models; in particular, Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behaviour is considered the most sophisticated methodology available to researchers for behavioural prediction. However, despite much study and refinement, the predictive ability of such models remains relatively poor. Rather than continuing to rely on cognitive models, it is time to consider alternative approaches to predicting behaviour. Labaw (1980) offers one such alternative approach based on information about respondents' environment, knowledge and past behaviour. However, unlike Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, Labaw's approach to predicting behaviour has not been widely operationalised or tested. Therefore, it is not known whether her approach, using questions that, at least theoretically, have verifiable answers, has greater predictive ability than Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, based on attitudinal questions. This study compared the predictive ability of Ajzen's attitudinal-based theory of planned behaviour with Labaw's behavioural approach, in the context of blood donation behaviour. In absolute terms, the predictive ability of the two approaches was equivalent; however, Labaw's approach was superior to the theory of planned behaviour from a survey research perspective. Thus, Labaw's approach presents a feasible alternative to attitudinal-based approaches to predicting behaviour. This study also found that behavioural intention to donate blood was a poor predictor of actual (self-reported) donation behaviour. This finding is important given the widely-accepted assumption that the best prediction of behaviour is provided by measures of behavioural intention. In addition, the study suggests that researchers need to carefully consider the time interval selected to test the predictive ability of a model if the results are to have any practical relevance. Variables that help explain the decision to donate blood were also identified. These findings offer blood collection agencies guidance with formulating specific strategies to address blood donor shortages. However, accurately predicting who is most likely to donate blood remains problematic, and further research is needed to extend the results reported in this study.

The consumption of energy-dense fast foods has been implicated as a causal factor in the development of obesity. The development of strategies to modify food choice behaviour requires an understanding of both the behaviour and the influencing factors (in particular, beliefs, attitudes, and social influences). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1988) is one of the most widely used and accepted models of the intention-behaviour relationship within the health literature (Bagozzi, Wong, Abe, & Bergami, 2000; Conner & Armitage, 1998; Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988; Sutton, 1998). This thesis spans three studies, applying and extending the TPB to examine factors influencing fast-food consumption in an Australian population. The first study is a qualitative analysis examining components of the belief stage of the TPB, including behavioural outcome, normative, and control beliefs in relation to frequent fast-food consumption. Aside from details of these beliefs, which were used to develop a quantitative measure for application in the second study, the key outcomes of this study were a definition of fast food which was applied throughout each of the studies, clarification of how fast food fits within Australian lifestyles, and generation of additional information regarding other possible influences on fast-food consumption beyond those addressed by the TPB. The additional variables included for examination were affective responses to fast food, individual differences in sensitivity to reward, and the extent to which both consideration of the future consequences of frequent fast-food consumption and fear of being negatively evaluated are influential on consumption rates. The second, quantitative study applied both the TPB-based instrument developed from findings of the first study as well as the four additional measures with the aim of improving the explanatory ability of the TPB in terms of fast-food consumption. Structural equation modelling was used and although the model performed well overall, explaining up to 50% of the variance in both intention and behaviour, there were some variables that did not perform strongly. In particular, the measure of affective responses captured with a semantic differential scale was not significantly predictive, and the third study was designed and conducted to test the performance of a more sophisticated measure in the hope that implicit, in addition to explicit, responses would provide greater explanatory value. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998; Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003) is said to provide some insight into more implicit attitudes by measuring the degree to which an individual associates conceptual categories through response latencies (or timed responses) whilst opportunities for introspection are minimised. Some have also suggested that the IAT may contribute well when it is combined with other measures, particularly in the prediction of behaviour, choice, or judgement (Brunel, Tietje, & Greenwald, 2004). Therefore, the third study combined measures based on the TPB with the IAT to investigate the nature of both implicit and explicit beliefs underlying attitudes towards fast foods. Overall, the associations captured by the IAT did not help to explain a great deal of variance in fast-food consumption, although there were differences in associations according to stimulus type with arousal-related stimuli generating stronger results than valence-related stimuli. Differences in associations with fast food were also found across groups divided according to Body Mass Index, with overweight people demonstrating more positive associations than either normal weight or obese people. A summary discusses the potential application of the findings in the development and implementation of future intervention and obesity prevention strategies as well as directions for future research. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1326647 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology and School of Medicine, 2008

The consumption of energy-dense fast foods has been implicated as a causal factor in the development of obesity. The development of strategies to modify food choice behaviour requires an understanding of both the behaviour and the influencing factors (in particular, beliefs, attitudes, and social influences). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1988) is one of the most widely used and accepted models of the intention-behaviour relationship within the health literature (Bagozzi, Wong, Abe, & Bergami, 2000; Conner & Armitage, 1998; Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988; Sutton, 1998). This thesis spans three studies, applying and extending the TPB to examine factors influencing fast-food consumption in an Australian population. The first study is a qualitative analysis examining components of the belief stage of the TPB, including behavioural outcome, normative, and control beliefs in relation to frequent fast-food consumption. Aside from details of these beliefs, which were used to develop a quantitative measure for application in the second study, the key outcomes of this study were a definition of fast food which was applied throughout each of the studies, clarification of how fast food fits within Australian lifestyles, and generation of additional information regarding other possible influences on fast-food consumption beyond those addressed by the TPB. The additional variables included for examination were affective responses to fast food, individual differences in sensitivity to reward, and the extent to which both consideration of the future consequences of frequent fast-food consumption and fear of being negatively evaluated are influential on consumption rates. The second, quantitative study applied both the TPB-based instrument developed from findings of the first study as well as the four additional measures with the aim of improving the explanatory ability of the TPB in terms of fast-food consumption. Structural equation modelling was used and although the model performed well overall, explaining up to 50% of the variance in both intention and behaviour, there were some variables that did not perform strongly. In particular, the measure of affective responses captured with a semantic differential scale was not significantly predictive, and the third study was designed and conducted to test the performance of a more sophisticated measure in the hope that implicit, in addition to explicit, responses would provide greater explanatory value. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998; Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003) is said to provide some insight into more implicit attitudes by measuring the degree to which an individual associates conceptual categories through response latencies (or timed responses) whilst opportunities for introspection are minimised. Some have also suggested that the IAT may contribute well when it is combined with other measures, particularly in the prediction of behaviour, choice, or judgement (Brunel, Tietje, & Greenwald, 2004). Therefore, the third study combined measures based on the TPB with the IAT to investigate the nature of both implicit and explicit beliefs underlying attitudes towards fast foods. Overall, the associations captured by the IAT did not help to explain a great deal of variance in fast-food consumption, although there were differences in associations according to stimulus type with arousal-related stimuli generating stronger results than valence-related stimuli. Differences in associations with fast food were also found across groups divided according to Body Mass Index, with overweight people demonstrating more positive associations than either normal weight or obese people. A summary discusses the potential application of the findings in the development and implementation of future intervention and obesity prevention strategies as well as directions for future research. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1326647 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology and School of Medicine, 2008

The consumption of energy-dense fast foods has been implicated as a causal factor in the development of obesity. The development of strategies to modify food choice behaviour requires an understanding of both the behaviour and the influencing factors (in particular, beliefs, attitudes, and social influences). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1988) is one of the most widely used and accepted models of the intention-behaviour relationship within the health literature (Bagozzi, Wong, Abe, & Bergami, 2000; Conner & Armitage, 1998; Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988; Sutton, 1998). This thesis spans three studies, applying and extending the TPB to examine factors influencing fast-food consumption in an Australian population. The first study is a qualitative analysis examining components of the belief stage of the TPB, including behavioural outcome, normative, and control beliefs in relation to frequent fast-food consumption. Aside from details of these beliefs, which were used to develop a quantitative measure for application in the second study, the key outcomes of this study were a definition of fast food which was applied throughout each of the studies, clarification of how fast food fits within Australian lifestyles, and generation of additional information regarding other possible influences on fast-food consumption beyond those addressed by the TPB. The additional variables included for examination were affective responses to fast food, individual differences in sensitivity to reward, and the extent to which both consideration of the future consequences of frequent fast-food consumption and fear of being negatively evaluated are influential on consumption rates. The second, quantitative study applied both the TPB-based instrument developed from findings of the first study as well as the four additional measures with the aim of improving the explanatory ability of the TPB in terms of fast-food consumption. Structural equation modelling was used and although the model performed well overall, explaining up to 50% of the variance in both intention and behaviour, there were some variables that did not perform strongly. In particular, the measure of affective responses captured with a semantic differential scale was not significantly predictive, and the third study was designed and conducted to test the performance of a more sophisticated measure in the hope that implicit, in addition to explicit, responses would provide greater explanatory value. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998; Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003) is said to provide some insight into more implicit attitudes by measuring the degree to which an individual associates conceptual categories through response latencies (or timed responses) whilst opportunities for introspection are minimised. Some have also suggested that the IAT may contribute well when it is combined with other measures, particularly in the prediction of behaviour, choice, or judgement (Brunel, Tietje, & Greenwald, 2004). Therefore, the third study combined measures based on the TPB with the IAT to investigate the nature of both implicit and explicit beliefs underlying attitudes towards fast foods. Overall, the associations captured by the IAT did not help to explain a great deal of variance in fast-food consumption, although there were differences in associations according to stimulus type with arousal-related stimuli generating stronger results than valence-related stimuli. Differences in associations with fast food were also found across groups divided according to Body Mass Index, with overweight people demonstrating more positive associations than either normal weight or obese people. A summary discusses the potential application of the findings in the development and implementation of future intervention and obesity prevention strategies as well as directions for future research. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1326647 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology and School of Medicine, 2008

Thesis (M.D.S.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Communication, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-46).

Thesis (M.D.S.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Also available in print.