What do intention scales measure?

The present study presents evidence that standard 7-point behavioral intention (61) scales, including those recommended by Fishbein and Ajzen (e.g., Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980), actually measure behavioral expectation (BE) much of the time. Three experiments, in which a total of 203 American students were used as subjects, spanned two distinct methodologies for assessing what subjects meant by their BI scale responses, two different 7-point intention scale formats, and 16 different target behaviors. For the behaviors studied, the subjects gave their BEs in response to BI questions 43.6% of the time overall, ranging from 12.8% (smoking cigarettes) to 72.7% (spill food or drink).