Social Influence and Intentional Social Action in Dyadic Relationship Decisions under a Key Informant Methodology

Abstract

Drawing upon seminal and recent foundations of joint-decision making and social influence, we develop a model of dyadic relationships and test it in a family consumption context. Three kinds of social influence – social identity, group norms, and mutual expectations—were used to explain shared intentions to eat together in a restaurant with one’s family. Shared intentions in turn, were found to significantly predict behavior a month later. One hundred and fifty husbands and their wives provided data. A multi-trait, multimethod matrix design was employed to establish construct validity of measures, and structural equation models were applied to test hypotheses, while explicitly controlling for random and systematic error. Prevention regulatory focus was found to moderate the effect of mutual expectations on shared intentions.