| dc.description.abstract | As advancements in science implicate more than just those within the scientific
community, public engagement with science (PES) – scientific communication that
engages an audience outside of academia (Poliakoff & Webb, 2007) – has come to
attention in recent years. In psychology literature, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB;
Ajzen, 1991) has been used to study intents for PES participation, where attitude and
self-efficacy have been identified as predictors of intention and willingness for PES
(Poliakoff & Webb, 2007; Besley, 2014). While intention and willingness are suggested
to be similar constructs in PES literature (Besley et al., 2008), they have not been
formally compared in one model. Due to this, and the distinction made between
intention and willingness in health psychology literature (Gerrard et al., 2008), the
current research examines whether PES intents of intention and willingness arise
differentially from attitude and self-efficacy. The study additionally examines whether
manipulation of construal levels, the abstractness at which an event is processed (Trope & Liberman, 2011), can moderate prediction of intents by attitude and self-efficacy.
Findings show both intent types to be similarly and significantly predicted by attitude
and self-efficacy in scientists (n = 152). When construal levels were manipulated,
attitude and self-efficacy significantly predicted willingness at both high and low levels
while intention was only significantly predicted by these factors at the high level,
suggesting these intent types to derive from distinct pathways at low level. Limitations:
this study was conducted when COVID-19 measures meant academics had to work
remotely | |
