700 resultados para Self‘-theory and consumer behaviour


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Neighbourhood representation and scale used to measure the built environment have been treated in many ways. However, it is anything but clear what representation of neighbourhood is the most feasible in the existing literature. This paper presents an exhaustive analysis of built environment attributes through three spatial scales. For this purpose multiple data sources are integrated, and a set of 943 observations is analysed. This paper simultaneously analyses the influence of two methodological issues in the study of the relationship between built environment and travel behaviour: (1) detailed representation of neighbourhood by testing different spatial scales; (2) the influence of unobserved individual sensitivity to built environment attributes. The results show that different spatial scales of built environment attributes produce different results. Hence, it is important to produce local and regional transport measures, according to geographical scale. Additionally, the results show significant sensitivity to built environment attributes depending on place of residence. This effect, called residential sorting, acquires different magnitudes depending on the geographical scale used to measure the built environment attributes. Spatial scales risk to the stability of model results. Hence, transportation modellers and planners must take into account both effects of self-selection and spatial scales.

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En la actualidad existe un gran conocimiento en la caracterización de rellenos hidráulicos, tanto en su caracterización estática, como dinámica. Sin embargo, son escasos en la literatura estudios más generales y globales de estos materiales, muy relacionados con sus usos y principales problemáticas en obras portuarias y mineras. Los procedimientos semi‐empíricos para la evaluación del efecto silo en las celdas de cajones portuarios, así como para el potencial de licuefacción de estos suelos durantes cargas instantáneas y terremotos, se basan en estudios donde la influencia de los parámetros que los rigen no se conocen en gran medida, dando lugar a resultados con considerable dispersión. Este es el caso, por ejemplo, de los daños notificados por el grupo de investigación del Puerto de Barcelona, la rotura de los cajones portuarios en el Puerto de Barcelona en 2007. Por estos motivos y otros, se ha decidido desarrollar un análisis para la evaluación de estos problemas mediante la propuesta de una metodología teórico‐numérica y empírica. El enfoque teórico‐numérico desarrollado en el presente estudio se centra en la determinación del marco teórico y las herramientas numéricas capaces de solventar los retos que presentan estos problemas. La complejidad del problema procede de varios aspectos fundamentales: el comportamiento no lineal de los suelos poco confinados o flojos en procesos de consolidación por preso propio; su alto potencial de licuefacción; la caracterización hidromecánica de los contactos entre estructuras y suelo (camino preferencial para el flujo de agua y consolidación lateral); el punto de partida de los problemas con un estado de tensiones efectivas prácticamente nulo. En cuanto al enfoque experimental, se ha propuesto una metodología de laboratorio muy sencilla para la caracterización hidromecánica del suelo y las interfaces, sin la necesidad de usar complejos aparatos de laboratorio o procedimientos excesivamente complicados. Este trabajo incluye por tanto un breve repaso a los aspectos relacionados con la ejecución de los rellenos hidráulicos, sus usos principales y los fenómenos relacionados, con el fin de establecer un punto de partida para el presente estudio. Este repaso abarca desde la evolución de las ecuaciones de consolidación tradicionales (Terzaghi, 1943), (Gibson, English & Hussey, 1967) y las metodologías de cálculo (Townsend & McVay, 1990) (Fredlund, Donaldson and Gitirana, 2009) hasta las contribuciones en relación al efecto silo (Ranssen, 1985) (Ravenet, 1977) y sobre el fenómeno de la licuefacción (Casagrande, 1936) (Castro, 1969) (Been & Jefferies, 1985) (Pastor & Zienkiewicz, 1986). Con motivo de este estudio se ha desarrollado exclusivamente un código basado en el método de los elementos finitos (MEF) empleando el programa MATLAB. Para ello, se ha esablecido un marco teórico (Biot, 1941) (Zienkiewicz & Shiomi, 1984) (Segura & Caron, 2004) y numérico (Zienkiewicz & Taylor, 1989) (Huerta & Rodríguez, 1992) (Segura & Carol, 2008) para resolver problemas de consolidación multidimensional con condiciones de contorno friccionales, y los correspondientes modelos constitutivos (Pastor & Zienkiewicz, 1986) (Fiu & Liu, 2011). Asimismo, se ha desarrollado una metodología experimental a través de una serie de ensayos de laboratorio para la calibración de los modelos constitutivos y de la caracterización de parámetros índice y de flujo (Castro, 1969) (Bahda 1997) (Been & Jefferies, 2006). Para ello se han empleado arenas de Hostun como material (relleno hidráulico) de referencia. Como principal aportación se incluyen una serie de nuevos ensayos de corte directo para la caracterización hidromecánica de la interfaz suelo – estructura de hormigón, para diferentes tipos de encofrados y rugosidades. Finalmente, se han diseñado una serie de algoritmos específicos para la resolución del set de ecuaciones diferenciales de gobierno que definen este problema. Estos algoritmos son de gran importancia en este problema para tratar el procesamiento transitorio de la consolidación de los rellenos hidráulicos, y de otros efectos relacionados con su implementación en celdas de cajones, como el efecto silo y la licuefacciones autoinducida. Para ello, se ha establecido un modelo 2D axisimétrico, con formulación acoplada u‐p para elementos continuos y elementos interfaz (de espesor cero), que tratan de simular las condiciones de estos rellenos hidráulicos cuando se colocan en las celdas portuarias. Este caso de estudio hace referencia clara a materiales granulares en estado inicial muy suelto y con escasas tensiones efectivas, es decir, con prácticamente todas las sobrepresiones ocasionadas por el proceso de autoconsolidación (por peso propio). Por todo ello se requiere de algoritmos numéricos específicos, así como de modelos constitutivos particulares, para los elementos del continuo y para los elementos interfaz. En el caso de la simulación de diferentes procedimientos de puesta en obra de los rellenos se ha requerido la modificacion de los algoritmos empleados para poder así representar numéricamente la puesta en obra de estos materiales, además de poder realizar una comparativa de los resultados para los distintos procedimientos. La constante actualización de los parámetros del suelo, hace también de este algoritmo una potente herramienta que permite establecer un interesante juego de perfiles de variables, tales como la densidad, el índice de huecos, la fracción de sólidos, el exceso de presiones, y tensiones y deformaciones. En definitiva, el modelo otorga un mejor entendimiento del efecto silo, término comúnmente usado para definir el fenómeno transitorio del gradiente de presiones laterales en las estructuras de contención en forma de silo. Finalmente se incluyen una serie de comparativas entre los resultados del modelo y de diferentes estudios de la literatura técnica, tanto para el fenómeno de las consolidaciones por preso propio (Fredlund, Donaldson & Gitirana, 2009) como para el estudio del efecto silo (Puertos del Estado, 2006, EuroCódigo (2006), Japan Tech, Stands. (2009), etc.). Para concluir, se propone el diseño de un prototipo de columna de decantación con paredes friccionales, como principal propuesta de futura línea de investigación. Wide research is nowadays available on the characterization of hydraulic fills in terms of either static or dynamic behavior. However, reported comprehensive analyses of these soils when meant for port or mining works are scarce. Moreover, the semi‐empirical procedures for assessing the silo effect on cells in floating caissons, and the liquefaction potential of these soils during sudden loads or earthquakes are based on studies where the underlying influence parameters are not well known, yielding results with significant scatter. This is the case, for instance, of hazards reported by the Barcelona Liquefaction working group, with the failure of harbor walls in 2007. By virtue of this, a complex approach has been undertaken to evaluate the problem by a proposal of numerical and laboratory methodology. Within a theoretical and numerical scope, the study is focused on the numerical tools capable to face the different challenges of this problem. The complexity is manifold; the highly non‐linear behavior of consolidating soft soils; their potentially liquefactable nature, the significance of the hydromechanics of the soil‐structure contact, the discontinuities as preferential paths for water flow, setting “negligible” effective stresses as initial conditions. Within an experimental scope, a straightforward laboratory methodology is introduced for the hydromechanical characterization of the soil and the interface without the need of complex laboratory devices or cumbersome procedures. Therefore, this study includes a brief overview of the hydraulic filling execution, main uses (land reclamation, filled cells, tailing dams, etc.) and the underlying phenomena (self‐weight consolidation, silo effect, liquefaction, etc.). It comprises from the evolution of the traditional consolidation equations (Terzaghi, 1943), (Gibson, English, & Hussey, 1967) and solving methodologies (Townsend & McVay, 1990) (Fredlund, Donaldson and Gitirana, 2009) to the contributions in terms of silo effect (Ranssen, 1895) (Ravenet, 1977) and liquefaction phenomena (Casagrande, 1936) (Castro, 1969) (Been & Jefferies, 1985) (Pastor & Zienkiewicz, 1986). The novelty of the study lies on the development of a Finite Element Method (FEM) code, exclusively formulated for this problem. Subsequently, a theoretical (Biot, 1941) (Zienkiewicz and Shiomi, 1984) (Segura and Carol, 2004) and numerical approach (Zienkiewicz and Taylor, 1989) (Huerta, A. & Rodriguez, A., 1992) (Segura, J.M. & Carol, I., 2008) is introduced for multidimensional consolidation problems with frictional contacts and the corresponding constitutive models (Pastor & Zienkiewicz, 1986) (Fu & Liu, 2011). An experimental methodology is presented for the laboratory test and material characterization (Castro 1969) (Bahda 1997) (Been & Jefferies 2006) using Hostun sands as reference hydraulic fill. A series of singular interaction shear tests for the interface calibration is included. Finally, a specific model algorithm for the solution of the set of differential equations governing the problem is presented. The process of consolidation and settlements involves a comprehensive simulation of the transient process of decantation and the build‐up of the silo effect in cells and certain phenomena related to self‐compaction and liquefaction. For this, an implementation of a 2D axi‐syimmetric coupled model with continuum and interface elements, aimed at simulating conditions and self‐weight consolidation of hydraulic fills once placed into floating caisson cells or close to retaining structures. This basically concerns a loose granular soil with a negligible initial effective stress level at the onset of the process. The implementation requires a specific numerical algorithm as well as specific constitutive models for both the continuum and the interface elements. The simulation of implementation procedures for the fills has required the modification of the algorithm so that a numerical representation of these procedures is carried out. A comparison of the results for the different procedures is interesting for the global analysis. Furthermore, the continuous updating of the model provides an insightful logging of variable profiles such as density, void ratio and solid fraction profiles, total and excess pore pressure, stresses and strains. This will lead to a better understanding of complex phenomena such as the transient gradient in lateral pressures due to silo effect in saturated soils. Interesting model and literature comparisons for the self‐weight consolidation (Fredlund, Donaldson, & Gitirana, 2009) and the silo effect results (Puertos del Estado (2006), EuroCode (2006), Japan Tech, Stands. (2009)). This study closes with the design of a decantation column prototype with frictional walls as the main future line of research.

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The objectives of this study were to ascertain consumer knowledge and behaviour about hypertension and treatment and to compare these with health care providers' perceptions (of 'most' consumers). The design for the study was a problem detection study (PDS): focus groups and then survey. Focus groups and survey participants were convenience samples of consumers, doctors, nurses and pharmacists. The main outcome measures were agreement on a 5-point Likert scale with statements about consumers' knowledge and behaviour about high blood pressure and medication. The survey identified areas of consensus and disagreement between consumers and health providers. While general knowledge and concordance with antihypertensive therapy among consumers was good, consequences such as eye and kidney disease, interactions with herbal medicines, and how to deal with missing a dose were less well known. Side effects were a problem for over one-quarter of participants, and cost was a problem in continuing therapy. Half the consumers had not received sufficient written information. Providers overall disagreed that most consumers have an adequate understanding of the condition. They agreed that most consumers adhere to therapy and can manage medicines; and about their own profession's role in information provision and condition management. Consumers confirmed positive provider behaviour, suggesting opportunities for greater communication between providers about actions taken with their consumers. In conclusion, the PDS methodology was useful in identifying consumer opinions. Differences between consumer and provider responses were marked, with consumers generally rating their knowledge and behaviour above providers' ratings of 'most' consumers. There are clear gaps to be targeted to improve the outcomes of hypertension therapy.

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Criminal offending and poor mental health are both recognised as important social problems warranting prevention and intervention efforts. Although there is some evidence for comorbidity between these problems, little research has examined the causal relationship between offending and mental health, particularly for young people. The present investigation addresses these issues by using data from the Sibling Study, a longitudinal investigation of delinquency as self-reported by 731 adolescents and young adults in south-east Queensland, Australia. The results suggest that for young women, but not men, offending behaviours (including the use of illicit drugs) lead to increases in self-harm and depression. Conversely, poor mental health, as indicated by having low self-esteem, a poor future outlook, and a belief that life is very confusing, does not influence subsequent levels of offending for either sex. The implications for prevention and intervention are discussed, with emphasis on the need for the criminal justice system to provide mental health services to young female offenders.

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Although relational demographers have based their arguments on self-categorization theory, they have paid little attention to the underlying processes associated with this theory. The authors examined whether demographic dissimilarity affects individuals' identification with groups by affecting the group's prototype valence and clarity and the individual's perceptions of self-prototypicality. The data showed that the proportion of women and non-Australians in 34 work groups negatively influenced prototype valence, prototype clarity, and self-prototypicality for all members of the group. These results provide support for the continued use of self-categorization theory by relational demographers.

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This research used resource allocation theory to generate predictions regarding dynamic relationships between self-efficacy and task performance from 2 levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate differential and dynamic effects. As predicted, task-specific self-efficacy was negatively associated with task performance at the within-person level. On the other hand, average levels of task-specific self-efficacy were positively related to performance at the between-persons level and mediated the effect of general self-efficacy. The key findings from this research relate to dynamic effects - these results show that self-efficacy effects can change over time, but it depends on the level of analysis and specificity at which self-efficacy is conceptualized. These novel findings emphasize the importance of conceptualizing self-efficacy within a multilevel and multispecificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance.

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Professional attitudes and behaviours have only recently been explicitly recognized by medical educators as legitimate and necessary components of global competence, although the idea of Fitness to Practice has always presupposed acceptable professional behaviour. Medical schools have recently begun to introduce teaching and assessment of professionalism, including attitudes and behaviours. Partly as a result of the difficulty of assessment in this area, selection of students is receiving greater attention, in the pursuit of globally competent graduates. However, selection processes may be overrated for this purpose. Assessing actual attitudes and behaviour during the course is arguably a better way of ensuring that medical graduates are competent in these areas. I argue that judgments about attitudinal and behavioural competence are legitimate, and need be no more arbitrary than those made about scientific or clinical knowledge and skills, but also that these judgments should be restricted to what is agreed to be unacceptable behaviour, rather titan attempting to rate attitudes and behaviour positively. This model introduces students to the way in which their behaviours will be judged in their professional lives by registration authorities. These theoretical positions are illustrated by a recent case of academic failure based on inadequate attitudes and behaviours.

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The role of gender differences in the consumption of goods and services is well established in many areas of consumer behaviour and computer use and yet there has been only limited research into such gender-based differences in the information search behaviour of Internet users. This paper reports the gender-based results of an exploratory study of consumer external information search of the web. The study investigated consumer characteristics, web search behaviour, and the post web search outcomes of purchase decision status and consumer judgements of search usefulness and satisfaction. Gender-based differences are reported in all three areas. Consideration of the results suggests they are issues which could inhibit the adoption of online purchasing by female web users. The implications of these results are discussed and a future research agenda proposed.

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This paper complements the preceding one by Clarke et al, which looked at the long-term impact of retail restructuring on consumer choice at the local level. Whereas the previous paper was based on quantitative evidence from survey research, this paper draws on the qualitative phases of the same three-year study, and in it we aim to understand how the changing forms of retail provision are experienced at the neighbourhood and household level. The empirical material is drawn from focus groups, accompanied shopping trips, diaries, interviews, and kitchen visits with eight households in two contrasting neighbourhoods in the Portsmouth area. The data demonstrate that consumer choice involves judgments of taste, quality, and value as well as more ‘objective’ questions of convenience, price, and accessibility. These judgments are related to households’ differential levels of cultural capital and involve ethical and moral considerations as well as more mundane considerations of practical utility. Our evidence suggests that many of the terms that are conventionally advanced as explanations of consumer choice (such as ‘convenience’, ‘value’, and ‘habit’) have very different meanings according to different household circumstances. To understand these meanings requires us to relate consumers’ at-store behaviour to the domestic context in which their consumption choices are embedded. Bringing theories of practice to bear on the nature of consumer choice, our research demonstrates that consumer choice between stores can be understood in terms of accessibility and convenience, whereas choice within stores involves notions of value, price, and quality. We also demonstrate that choice between and within stores is strongly mediated by consumers’ household contexts, reflecting the extent to which shopping practices are embedded within consumers’ domestic routines and complex everyday lives. The paper concludes with a summary of the overall findings of the project, and with a discussion of the practical and theoretical implications of the study.

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Objectives. To elicit students' salient beliefs in relation to binge drinking, and to examine the extent to which individual salient beliefs predict theory of planned behaviour (TPB) constructs in relation to binge drink, and actual drinking behaviour assessed later that evening. Design. Longitudinal, over a single evening. Methods. 192 students were recruited as they entered a campus bar at the beginning of the evening. They completed questionnaires with open-ended questions eliciting beliefs concerning binge drinking, and ratings scales assessing standard TPB constructs in relation to binge drinking. At the end of the evening, 181 completed a second questionnaire and recorded the number of alcoholic drinks they had consumed. Results. Beliefs were reliably coded (all kappas =0.79). Students with higher intentions to binge drink were more likely to believe that their friends approved of binge drinking, and that (lack of) money would make it difficult. Students who reported drinking more alcohol at the end of the evening were more likely to believe that getting drunk is an advantage/what they would like about binge drinking tonight, that their sports teams would approve, and that celebrating, drinking patterns, and environment would make it easy to binge drink. Conclusions. The present study has identified the individually salient beliefs relating to drinking behaviour that the TPB states should be addressed by interventions to alter behaviour, and which that should be assessed as mediators in intervention research. As a whole, these findings highlight the importance of perceived peer norms in binge drinking in this population, and support the idea of interventions to challenge the perception of social pressure to binge drink. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

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Purpose – In the UK, while fashion apparel purchasing is available to the majority of consumers, the main supermarkets seem – rather against the odds and market conventions – to have created a new, socially-acceptable and legitimate, apparel market offer for young children. This study aims to explore parental purchasing decisions on apparel for young children (below ten years old) focusing on supermarket diversification into apparel and consumer resistance against other traditional brands. Design/methodology/approach – Data collection adopted a qualitative research mode: using semi-structured interviews in two locations (Cornwall Please correct and check againand Glasgow), each with a Tesco and ASDA located outside towns. A total of 59 parents participated in the study. Interviews took place in the stores, with parents seen buying children fashion apparel. Findings – The findings suggest that decisions are based not only on functionality (e.g. convenience, value for money, refund policy), but also on intuitive factors (e.g. style, image, quality) as well as broader processes of consumption from parental boundary setting (e.g. curbing premature adultness). Positive consumer resistance is leading to a re-drawing of the cultural boundaries of fashion. In some cases, concerns are expressed regarding items that seem too adult-like or otherwise not as children's apparel should be. Practical implications – The paper highlights the increasing importance of browsing as a modern choice practice (e.g. planned impulse buying, sanctuary of social activity). Particular attention is given to explaining why consumers positively resist buying from traditional label providers and voluntarily choose supermarket clothing ranges without any concerns over their children wearing such garments. Originality/value – The paper shows that supermarket shopping for children's apparel is now firmly part of UK consumption habits and choice. The findings provide theoretical insights into the significance of challenging market conventions, parental cultural boundary setting and positive resistance behaviour.

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The importance of informal institutions and in particular culture for entrepreneurship is a subject of ongoing interest. Past research has mostly concentrated on cross-national comparisons, cultural values and the direct effects of culture on entrepreneurial behaviour, but in the main found inconsistent results. We add a fresh perspective to this research stream by turning attention to community-level culture and cultural norms. We hypothesize indirect effects of cultural norms on venture emergence: Community-level cultural norms (performance-based culture and socially supportive institutional norms) impact important supply-side variables (entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial motivation) which in turn influence nascent entrepreneurs' success in creating operational ventures (venture emergence). We test our predictions on a unique longitudinal dataset, tracking nascent entrepreneurs' venture creation efforts over a five-year time span, and find evidence supporting them. Our research contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of how culture, in particular perceptions of community cultural norms, influences venture emergence. Based on these findings, we discuss how venture creation efforts can be supported. Our research highlights the embeddedness of entrepreneurial behaviour and its immediate antecedent beliefs in the local, community context. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

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This thesis is about the discretionary role of the line manager in inspiring the work engagement of staff and their resulting innovative behaviour examined through the lens of Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964) and the Job Demands-Resources theory (Bakker, Demerouti, Nachreiner & Schaufeli, 2001). The study is focused on a large British Public Sector organisation undergoing a major organisational shift in the way in which they operate as part of the public sector. It is often claimed that people do not leave organisations; they leave line managers (Kozlowski & Doherty, 1989). Regardless of the knowledge in the literature concerning the importance of the line manager in organisations (Purcell, 2003), the engagement literature in particular is lacking in the consideration of such a fundamental figure in organisational life. Further, the understanding of the black box of managerial discretion and its relationship to employee and organisation related outcomes would benefit from greater exploration (Purcell, 2003; Gerhart, 2005; Scott, et al, 2009). The purpose of this research is to address these gaps with relation to the innovative behaviour of employees in the public sector – an area that is not typically associated with the public sector (Bhatta, 2003; McGuire, Stoner & Mylona, 2008; Hughes, Moore & Kataria, 2011). The study is a CASE Award PhD thesis, requiring academic and practical elements to the research. The study is of one case organisation, focusing on one service characterised by a high level of adoption of Strategic Human Resource Management activities and operating in a rather unique manner for the public sector, having private sector competition for work. The study involved a mixed methods approach to data collection. Preliminary focus groups with 45 participants were conducted, followed by an ethnographic period of five months embedded into the service conducting interviews and observations. This culminated in a quantitative survey delivered within the wider directorate to approximately 500 staff members. The study used aspects of the Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) approach to analyse the data and developed results that highlight the importance of the line manager in an area characterised by SHRM and organisational change for engaging employees and encouraging innovative behaviour. This survey was completed on behalf of the organisation and the findings of this are presented in appendix 1, in order to keep the focus of the PhD on theory development. Implications for theory and practice are discussed alongside the core finding. Line managers’ discretion surrounding the provision of job resources (in particular trust, autonomy and implementation and interpretation of combined bundles of SHRM policies and procedures) influenced the exchange process by which employees responded with work engagement and innovative behaviour. Limitations to the research are the limitations commonly attributed to cross-sectional data collection methods and those surrounding generalisability of the qualitative findings outside of the contextual factors characterising the service area. Suggestions for future research involve addressing these limitations and further exploration of the discretionary role with regards to extending our understanding of line manager discretion.

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Two studies aiming to identify the nature and extent of problems that people have when completing theory of planned behaviour (TPB) questionnaires, using a cognitive interviewing approach are reported. Both studies required participants to 'think aloud' as they completed TPB questionnaires about: (a) increasing physical activity (six general public participants); and (b) binge drinking (13 students). Most people had no identifiable problems with the majority of questions. However, there were problems common to both studies, relating to information retrieval and to participants answering different questions from those intended by researchers. Questions about normative influence were particularly problematic. The standard procedure for developing TPB questionnaires may systematically produce problematic questions. Suggestions are made for improving this procedure. Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications.