| Summary: | The aim of this research study is to assess the ability of the Theory of Planned Behaviour
(TpB) to explain people’s intentions to interact interracially on a social level. It aims to
understand the influence of students’ attitudes, perceptions of social norms and efficacy
on these intentions. A questionnaire survey was administered to 226 students (37%
White, 31% Black African, 27% Asian and 4% Coloured). The questionnaire was based
on the standard format of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). The TpB
model explained 35% of the variability in intention, providing support for its predictive
power. The attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control components of
the model had good predictive ability demonstrating the usefulness of the model as a
means to explain and predict intention to mix interracially. The results indicated that
attitudes to mixing was the most powerful predictor of intention to mix inter-racially
followed by perceived ability to effect this behaviour. Perception of social norms, while
also statistically significant, was the least important factor. The findings suggest that the
major obstacles to inter-racial interaction are intergroup attitudes and perceived inability
to make such contacts.
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