A theory of "willingness for continued responsible commitment': Research examples from the fields ofpollution control and health protection

Within the framework of a theory of continued commitment, willingness for continued commitment (WCC) is validated as a "proxy" for manifest activities in two follow-up studies (N=204) in the fields of pollution control and cancer prevention. In some cases, the predictive power of WCC was further strengthened by an experimental priming of "volitional criteria" derived from the Rubicon Model of Action (aims, means, and occasions of the intended behavior). According to earlier research, WCC depends mainly on a set of responsibility- and norm-related cognitions, beliefs, appraisals, and emotions. In additional questionnaire studies (N = 558), it was validated that WCC mediates most of the impact of the responsibility — and non-related predictors and interacts with situational and contextual factors in predicting manifest behavior.