Journal of Applied Psychology Copyright 1995 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.

1995, Vol. 80, No. 3, 371-385 0021-9010/95/S3.00

Volunteer Motivation and Attendance Decisions: Competitive Theory

Testing in Multiple Samples From a Homeless Shelter
David A. Harrison
University of Texas at Arlington

The process underlying participation in episodic volunteer work is conceptualized as a

form of attendance motivation. A decision-making theory of attendance motivation is
expanded for the voluntarism context, then competitively tested against nested theories:
the theory of planned behavior (I. Ajzen, 1991), the theory of reasoned action (M. Fish-
bein, 1980), and a benchmark theory emphasizing the subjective expected utility of an-
ticipated rewards. Tests are conducted in a field study (n = 53) predicting the motivation
and attendance of male volunteers scheduled to work roughly 1 night per month at a
homeless shelter. One panel (n = 53) and 2 cross-sectional (« = 51;« = 53) replications
of the field study are also described. Results are consistent across time and samples in
their support of the expanded theory primarily because it includes a moral obligation
component.

Roughly 50% of American adults volunteer their
time to nonprofit organizations, with increasing
amounts of that time spent on social service activities
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1991). Volunteer workers
generate services worth more than $ 150 billion annu-
ally (Independent Sector, 1990). They provide an
inexpensive source of labor for expanding and support-
ing resources in nonprofit agencies and public service
organizations (J. M. Ferris, 1988). Indeed, the strategy
most frequently cited by such organizations for coping
with governmental funding cuts and shrinking budgets
has been greater reliance on volunteers (Weisbrod,
1988). For many of these organizations, the work of
volunteers is vital to their success and survival
(Brudney, 1990). A primary task for nonprofit and
public service organizations, then, is to motivate the
participation of new and continuing volunteers. There-
fore, it is important to identify the motivational mech-
anisms underlying volunteer work.
Despite its importance to so many organizations, there
This work was supported in part by a National Science Foun-
dation Fellowship. I am grateful to Ulf Bockenholt, Fritz Dras-
gow, Joe McGrath, Susan Middlestat, and Julian Rappaport for
suggestions on the design of this study, and to Mary McLaughlin
and Laurie Liska for comments and editing of earlier versions
of this article. I also thank the Christian Social Action Forum
for administrative support and access to the data site.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed
to David A. Harrison, Department of Management, University
of Texas, UTA Box 19467, Arlington, Texas 76019-0467. Elec-
tronic mail may be sent via Bitnet to d089dhrs@utarlvm 1.
371
is little systematic organizational research on volunteer
motivation. One exception might be the research of Or-
gan and his colleagues on organizational citizenship be-
havior (Organ, 1988). However, those studies are not
targeted at volunteer motivation per se but on volunteer-
ing for additional work in a paid job as one of many
forms of extrarole behavior. Research by Eden and Kin-
nar (1991) and Leana, Ahlbrandt, and Murrell (1992)
deals more specifically with volunteering to take on more
tasks or special responsibilities in one's paid job. Al-
though these investigations have some bearing on the
conceptual development discussed, the primary interest
of this article is unpaid volunteer work.
Most studies of volunteer motivation focus on the im-
pact of individual satisfactions and reward evaluations.
In a seminal study using data from matched groups of
employees in eight types of organizations, Pearce
(1983a) found that job satisfaction, job praiseworthi-
ness, and the evaluation of social- and service-related re-
wards were higher for volunteer workers than for paid
employees in the same jobs. Intentions to quit were lower.
The value of task-related, intrinsic rewards did not differ
across the paid and volunteer employees. However,
Schaubroeck and Ganster (1991) found that among
members of voluntary organizations, those with higher
intrinsic satisfaction were more likely to take part in a
specific volunteer activity. This relation was mediated by
members' affective commitment to their organization,
which, in turn, was moderated by the organization's ser-
vice versus nonservice purpose.
Much of the research on volunteer motivation ema-
nates from social work and community psychology. As
372 DAVID A. HARRISON
with the organizationally based studies, most of this re-
search focuses on individual satisfactions and reward
evaluations, assuming that the intangible rewards of vol-
unteering serve functions similar to pay and other tangi-
ble rewards in profit-making firms (e.g., Gidron, 1983;
Naylor, 1985). Nevertheless, there is considerable debate
about the structure and dimensionality of these motiva-
tional constructs. Some authors contend that volun-
tarism flows from a single, undifferentiated helping mo-
tive (Cnaan & Goldberg-Glen, 1991). Others propound
a two-dimensional structure: egoistic motives (defined as
satisfactions with tangible rewards) and altruistic motives
(defined as satisfactions with the intangible reward of
feeling that one has helped someone else; Frisch & Ger-
rard, 1981). A different set of researchers asserts a three-
dimensional grouping, adding social motives (defined as
satisfactions with the rewards of social interaction) to the
previous two-category classification (Morrow-Howell &
Mui, 1989). Still others argue for five- and six-dimen-
sional divisions (e.g., Clary & Snyder, 1991; Snyder &
Omoto, 1991). Evidence for most of these motive struc-
tures comes from content analyses or exploratory factor
analyses, with limited theory guiding either analytic
strategy.
Another research stream has compared profiles of sat-
isfactions or reward evaluations across demographic
groups, for public service volunteers and nonvolunteers
(e.g., Lafer, 1989; Latting, 1990; Pierucci & Noel, 1980;
Tapp & Spanier, 1973). Several demographic character-
istics have been implicated as inputs to volunteer moti-
vation, including age, marital status, and gender. Older
adults volunteer more readily and for more altruistic rea-
sons than do younger adults. Men are more likely than
women to volunteer in the hopes of obtaining job-related
skills or developing business contacts. Single adults vol-
unteer more often than those who are married, perhaps
to meet potential companions (Gillespie & King, 1985).
Adding to the complexity and miscellany of findings
about volunteer motivation, Omoto and Snyder (1990)
did not find a systematic demographic or motivational
pattern among volunteers doing AIDS-related work. Af-
ter summarizing much of the literature on voluntarism,
Omoto and Snyder advised that "organizations may do
well to consider targeting their recruitment efforts at the
particular motivations of selected sets of potential volun-
teers" (p. 155) and implied that the selection of those
volunteers will depend on the organizational, social, and
task-related context of volunteering. In the absence of
strong theory or consistent evidence, however, organiza-
tions have little guidance for choosing either the types of
individuals or the types of motivational constructs to
target. Consequently, Snyder and Omoto exhort them-
selves and others to develop more integrative theories of
volunteer motivation and to use more programmatic re-
search strategies in testing those theories.
The purposes and contributions of this article fit with
Snyder and Omoto's (1992) suggestions. First, I describe
a principal form of "episodic" volunteer work. Second,
I characterize the motivation to perform such episodic
volunteer work as a decision to take part in activities at
one of several rival settings. I also review and expand on
a decision-making theory of attendance motivation to be
used as a model for episodic volunteer motivation. Third,
I present a field study at a homeless shelter in which the
expanded theory is competitively tested against others,
including a benchmark theory containing the motiva-
tional components emphasized by current organization
research on voluntarism: anticipated satisfactions or re-
ward evaluations. The study involves a combination of
self-report measures of motivational constructs and ob-
servational measures of volunteer participation. Fourth,
the study is replicated over time in one sample and cross-
sectionally in two independent samples.
Episodic Nature of Volunteer Work
In paid or conventional work settings, employees often
perform sets of well-learned tasks during contiguous
hours, days, weeks, and so on. In contrast, potential vol-
unteers in nonprofit and service organizations are often
called on to perform fairly novel tasks during one or a few
isolated occasions (Brudney, 1990). Examples include
raising or refurbishing homes in impoverished areas one
week (or one weekend) per year, delivering Christmas
toys to hospitalized children, staffing phone lines in a sea-
sonal telethon, serving Thanksgiving meals to the home-
less, retrieving litter from beaches on designated cleanup
days, judging a Special Olympics track meet, and so on.
Only 20%-25% of volunteers work on a regular weekly or
biweekly basis. Even regular volunteers tend to do their
work only 1-2 days per week (Gallup Organization,
1986; Independent Sector, 1990).
Most volunteer participation is therefore discrete or
episodic, rather than continuous or successive. It is a
carefully considered or controlled departure from one's
attendance routine rather than a scripted or automatic
part of it (Feldman & Lynch, 1988; Poole, Gray, & Gioia,
1990). As volunteers themselves recount, volunteering
demands attention and deliberation (Snyder & Omoto,
1992). It involves a decision-making process.
A Theory of Episodic Volunteer Motivation as an
Attendance Decision
Individuals actively decide to donate specific portions
of their time to volunteer tasks. Just as with paid work,
these tasks are usually performed in particular settings
 VOLUNTEER ATTENDANCE
where services can be provided directly to clients
(Brudney, 1990). Thus, the basic question of episodic
volunteer motivation is this: What influences an individ-
ual to participate in activities at a volunteer setting—to
attend the volunteer setting—rather than attend settings
that compete for the same portion of time?
A parallel version of this question has been proposed
as fundamental to the choice between missing or at-
tending scheduled work, a choice brought into active
processing by some triggering event (Martocchio &
Harrison, 1993; Rosse & Miller, 1984). Drawing from
literature in social and behavioral decision making, es-
pecially the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein & Aj-
zen, 1975) and the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen,
1985, 1987, 1991), Martocchio and Harrison focus on
intentions as the motivational conduit through which
other variables converge to affect eventual attendance
choices. They also outline some of the critical compo-
nents of attendance intentions. This theoretical ap-
proach is reviewed below (in Determinants of Volun-
teer Intentions) and expanded to include constructs
and relations that might be important in the context
of voluntarism: specifically, a choice from competing
intentions mechanism, a moral obligation to volunteer,
and a feedback loop linking continued participation in
volunteer work to changes in the pattern of motivational in-
puts. The expanded theory is hereafter referred to as a theory
of episodic volunteer motivation. All of its elements and re-
lations are presented in Figure 1.
Determinants of Volunteer Attendance
Intention. A central proposition of the theory of epi-
sodic volunteer motivation is that taking part in volun-
teer work at a specified time and place (hereafter, attend-
ing volunteer work) is a direct, positive function of the
intention to do so. This proposition is part of several mo-
tivation theories (Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975;
Triandis, 1977; Tubbs & Ekeberg, 1991) and has consid-
erable empirical support (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Shep-
pard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988; Steele & Ovalle,
1984). An intention is a cognition, defined here as the
strength of one's conscious plans to take part in sched-
uled activities at a volunteer setting (Intv). It is the im-
mediate motivational antecedent of attending volunteer
work if one considers motivation to be an internally reg-
ulated, dynamic process (Bandura, 1991). That is, in the
present theory, the intention to attend a volunteer setting
is equated with the motivational force to do episodic vol-
unteer work. Therefore, the first hypothesis is
Hypothesis la: Intention to take part in volunteer work
(attend a volunteer setting) is the immediate positive de-
terminant of actual volunteer attendance.
Another variable that might independently affect vol-
373
unteer attendance is what Ajzen and Madden (1986) re-
fer to as actual control: the level of resources, opportuni-
ties, and abilities one possesses for attendance volunteer
work. Indeed, the influence of controls and constraints on
attendance motivation are now being recognized (Johns,
1991; Peters, O'Connor, & Eulberg, 1985). Unfortu-
nately, the environmental factors that inhibit actual
control are often unanticipated, and it is currently not
feasible to validly measure it without equating it with per-
ceived control, a distinct, though related construct in the
theory.
Choicefrom competing intentions. Choice is a central
element of any decision-making theory. Both the theory
of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior,
however, were developed primarily to predict a single be-
havior. They lack an explicit framework for dealing with
choices of behavior from a set of alternatives. Because the
motivation to perform episodic volunteer work has been
cast as one that involves attendance alternatives, a choice
mechanism is proposed for the theory of episodic volun-
teer motivation that expands the earlier theories.
In the expanded theory, whether or not one takes part
in volunteer work is the manifest consequence of choos-
ing between intentions or motivational forces to attend
competing settings. The attendance-choice function re-
flects how much stronger one intention is than the others.
In this article for example, decisions about volunteer par-
ticipation often involve a choice between attending work
at an overnight homeless shelter and staying home. The
probability that a volunteer would work at the shelter
(i.e., attend volunteer work) rather than stay at home re-
flects the difference:
Prob(Attendsheiter) = g+ {u, (Mv) - M2(Mstay home)}. (1)
In this equation, g+ is a positive nonlinear function
(because probabilities are bounded by 0 and 1), and u:
and u-i are weights. If there are two or more alternatives
that compete with attendance at the volunteer setting
(i.e., there are three or more settings to choose from),
Int terms for the other alternatives will also have negative
weights.
This hypothesis can be stated verbally as
Hypothesis Ib: Volunteer attendance is a function of com-
peting intentions, rather than simply the intention to vol-
unteer. It is determined by a positive function of intention
to attend the volunteer setting and simultaneous negative
functions of intentions to attend competing settings.
Other variables. Consistent with its predecessors, the
theory of episodic volunteer motivation postulates that
intentions are the most proximal motivational determi-
nants of attending volunteer work; they mediate the
effects of all other internal variables. Other motivational
variables, such as past participation or anticipated re-
374 DAVID A. HARRISON

Figure 1. Constructs and relations in nested decision-making theories of volunteer motivation. Subjective
expected utility-based components are presented in the black box, the theory of reasoned action is presented
in boxes with dark shading, the theory of planned behavior is presented in boxes with light shading, and the
theory of episodic volunteer motivation is presented in the white boxes, ab; = beliefs about attendance; 6;
= evaluations about consequences; nbj = normative belief; mcj = motivation to comply; subj. = subjective;
oblig. = obligation; K. = number of settings considered.

wards, should affect actual volunteer attendance only
through their impact on intentions:
Hypothesis Ic: No other motivational variables affect vol-
unteer participation except through their effects on inten-
tions to attend volunteer work or on intentions to attend
competing settings.
Determinants of Volunteer Intentions
As shown in Figure 1, the intention to take part in epi-
sodic volunteer work is proposed to be determined by
four factors: an individual's attitude toward attending a
volunteer setting (^4 V ), subjective norm about attending
volunteer work (SNV), perceived behavioral control over
attending volunteer work (PBCV), and moral obligation
to attend volunteer work (MOV). As key components of
the original theory of reasoned action, attitude and social
norm have been studied extensively (see Sheppard et al,
1988, for a recent review). Perceived behavioral control
has received less research attention in the more recent
theory of planned behavior, but if it is equated with task-
specific self-efficacy, it has a broad empirical foundation
(Ajzen, 1991). Moral obligation has been added for its
relevance and potential importance in the voluntarism
context.
A ttitude or subjective expected utility. The typical ap-
proach to volunteer motivation has been implicitly based
on expectancy value or subjective expected utility theo-
ries (SEU). These SEU-based approaches assume that
an individual's attraction or motivational force to take
part in episodic volunteer work depends on a sum of per-
ceived contingencies between volunteer attendance and
 VOLUNTEER ATTENDANCE
its expected outcomes (costs and rewards), weighted by
the evaluation or personal satisfaction anticipated from
those outcomes (Schoemaker, 1982). In general, persons
having stronger perceived contingencies for, greater satis-
factions with, or more positive evaluations of the rewards
that might come from volunteer work—in sum, a higher
SEU—are presumed to be more likely to take part in it
(e.g., Horton-Smith, 1981).
The logic underlying the SEU approach is virtually the
same as that underlying current notions of attitude
(Ajzen, 1988; Jaccard, 1981). Attitude toward attending
a volunteer setting is denned as someone's personal eval-
uation of performing that behavior or as its location on
a bipolar affective dimension. In the theory of reasoned
action or the theory of planned behavior, components of
attitude (see Components of Attitude and Subjective
Norm section) are also virtually identical to the compo-
nents of SEU. Just as with SEU, individuals who have
more positive attitudes toward attending episodic volun-
teer work should be more likely to actually take part in
it. However, in research on volunteers, there is seldom
consideration of attitudes or SEU toward competing al-
ternatives (Jaccard, 1981).
Subjective norm. One element missing from a com-
pletely SEU-based or attitudinal theory of volunteer mo-
tivation is the social context of volunteering. Evidence
in the organizational literature (G. R. Ferris & Mitchell,
1987; Miller & Crush, 1988; Prestholdt, Lane, & Ma-
thews, 1987) suggests that social influence has important
effects on many behavioral decisions. Studies in public
policy have also shown that social factors influence
choices regarding voluntarism (Amenta, 1984).
Both the theory of reasoned action and the theory of
planned behavior augment the attitudinal or SEU com-
ponent of most decision theories with a social compo-
nent. This subjective norm reflects the strength of per-
ceived expectations to participate in volunteer work,
linked to important others in one's social environment.
In other words, episodic volunteer motivation may be a
function of the desire to conform to the perceived wishes
of friends or family in addition to gaining some personal
utility. Subjective norm is conceptually distinct from at-
titude in the same way that normative and informational
influence have been distinguished in social psychology
(Miller & Crush, 1986, p. 200). Subjective norms are
perceptions of "what important others think I should
do"; possible social dimensions of attitude involve "how
others will reward my behavior." The unique contribu-
tions of attitude and subjective norm to intention are
well-documented (Ajzen, 1991;Sheppardetal., 1988).
Perceived behavioral control. Another important ele-
ment of episodic volunteer motivation might be per-
ceived behavioral control: an individual's subjective
probability that he or she can successfully take part in
375
volunteer work if he or she attempts to do so. Conceptu-
ally, perceived behavioral control is quite similar to the
notion of task-specific self-efficacy (Bandura, 1991) and
is nearly identical to Vroom's (1964) expectancy link be-
tween effort and performance (if performance is merely
successful attendance at the volunteer setting). The
unique contribution of perceived behavioral control to
intentions has empirical support in a variety of social
psychological studies (Ajzen, 1991). And, once again, ev-
idence of the motivational influence of constructs similar
to PBCV exists in both the organizational and public pol-
icy literatures (Adsett, 1976; Frayne & Latham, 1987;
Gabard, 1990; Johns, 1991; Locke & Latham, 1990; Pe-
ters et al., 1985), including at least one study of volunteer
behavior (D. Smith, 1966).
This body of evidence suggests that a potential
volunteer, even though he or she recognizes some per-
sonal utility and feels some social expectation to take
part in volunteer work, may not intend to do so be-
cause of the beliefs "my schedule won't allow it," or
"my health and age can't take it," and so on (Unger,
1987). The theory of reasoned action includes attitu-
dinal and subjective norm influences, but it does not
recognize the effects of perceived behavioral control on
intention. The theory of planned behavior was devel-
oped to extend the applicability of the theory of rea-
soned action, and it includes the motivational impact
of such control-related perceptions. According to the
theory of planned behavior and the expanded version
of it developed in this article for the context of episodic
volunteering, individuals should form intentions to at-
tend volunteer settings under the unique influences of
attitudinal, social, and perceived control factors.
Moral obligation. A fourth determinant of episodic
volunteer motivation, not included in previous theories
but part of the present theory, is moral obligation: the
perception that participating in volunteer work is correct
or incorrect, good or bad, in an ethical or moral (rather
than instrumental) sense. It does not reflect perceived ex-
pectations from specific or salient social referents (as
does subjective norm). Rather, it reflects an internalized
pressure to be consistent with one's value system.
The moral obligation component should be especially
relevant to the motivation underlying taking part in vol-
unteer work because volunteering satisfies many of the
criteria for a salient moral issue or moral situation, espe-
cially that the morally correct behavior is clearly defined
and that it will have meaningful consequences for others
(Gorsuch&Ortberg, 1983; Jones, 1991). Many theorists
have argued for the inclusion of a moral-ethical compo-
nent in models of behavioral decisions (Etzioni, 1988;
Pomozal & Jaccard, 1976; Schwartz & Tessler, 1972; Tri-
andis, 1977), and empirical support exists in a number
of relevant studies (Ilgen & Hollenback, 1977; Prestholdt
376 DAVID A. HARRISON
et al., 1987; D. Smith, 1966; Trevino & Youngblood,
1990).
Synthesis. Although attitude, subjective norm, per-
ceived behavioral control, and moral obligation can be
correlated (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Ajzen & Madden,
1986), each construct is proposed to make some unique
contribution to the formation of intention. This leads to
the following hypotheses:
Hypotheses 2a-2d: Attitude (2a), subjective norm (2b),
perceived behavioral control (2c), and moral obligation
(2d) toward attending volunteer work all have positive and
unique effects on the intention to attend volunteer work.
Because the contribution of each component can vary
across volunteering situations, Hypotheses 2a-2d can be
written mathematically to include weights:
Intv = \v3PBCv + v/4MOv. (2)
Sufficiency. In the theory of episodic volunteer moti-
vation, as well as the theory of reasoned action and the
theory of planned behavior nested within it, global atti-
tudes (such as overall satisfaction with volunteering), sit-
uational variables, personality traits, or demographic
characteristics should influence volunteer motivation
only through their influence on the weights of the four
components reviewed above, or on the components
themselves. For example, older people volunteer more of-
ten than younger people (Gillespie & King, 1985). Ac-
cording to the sufficiency hypothesis, the effect of age on
intention should be mediated or moderated by a subset
of the components of intention. This hypothesis is clear
from Figure 1 and is stated formally below:
Hypothesis 2e: Variables external to the theory, including
general attitudes, demographic variables, and personality
constructs should not affect volunteer intention except
through their effects on attitude, subjective norm, per-
ceived behavioral control, and moral obligation.
Feedback loop. Many authors have proposed that the
motivation to start volunteer work is different from the
motivation to persist in it (Gidron, 1984; Hodgkinson &
Weitzman, 1988; Pearce, 1983b; D. Smith, Reddy, & Bald-
win, 1972;Snyder&Omoto, 1992), which has direct im-
plications for recruiting versus retaining volunteers. The
motivational inputs to take part in volunteer work may
change over a volunteer's accumulating experience. For
example, the initial decision to do volunteer work may
be motivated by a desire to get positive outcomes from
participation, such as meeting potential business con-
tacts (Cnaan & Goldberg-Glen, 1991). That motiva-
tional emphasis may shift over time to an increased con-
cern with social expectation, "the other volunteers are
counting on me," or perhaps to moral obligation, "I have
a responsibility to help others" (see Pearce, 1983b). Al-
though the authors of the theory of reasoned action and
the theory of planned behavior briefly discuss such a pos-
sibility, they do not propose any specific hypotheses
about it. In a further extension of those theories, the fol-
lowing hypothesis is proposed for the theory of episodic
volunteer motivation:
Hypothesis 2f: Volunteer participation has a feedback
effect (feedback loop) on the relative weights of the four
motivational components. That is, as volunteering behav-
ior continues overtime (i.e., persists), the pattern of moti-
vational weights for attitude, subjective norm, perceived
control, or moral obligation will change.
Components of Attitude and Subjective Norm
Just as intention to attend volunteer work can be bro-
ken down into its various determinants, those determi-
nants can be explained in terms of other components (see
Figure 1). These components form the explanatory
rather than the predictive nucleus of the present theory,
and they underlie much of its practical utility. In the pres-
ent study, the focus will be on attitudinal and subjective
norm components, as the theoretical components of per-
ceived behavioral control are evolving (Ajzen, 1985,
1987, 1991; Ajzen & Madden, 1986).
Attitudinal components. An individual's attitude
toward taking part in volunteer work can be thought of
as being determined by his or her specific beliefs about
t h e z = l , . . . 7 salient personal consequences of atten-
dance ( a b j ) and his or her general evaluations (et) of
those consequences. Attendance beliefs are an individ-
ual's perceived connection between attending the vol-
unteer setting and receiving consequence i. Evalu-
ations of consequence / are analogous to anticipated
satisfactions or valences (Vroom, 1964). For example,
someone might have a strong belief that attending vol-
unteer work will lead to "meeting new and interesting
people." If that consequence is positively evaluated, the
belief and its corresponding evaluation will make
someone's attitude more positive. Together, the ab/ and
ei are predicted to compose the SEU-type structure of
attitude (Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) in the
following way:
Av oc 2 abi X et. (3)
The hypothesis can be expressed verbally as:
Hypothesis 3a: Attitudes toward attending volunteer work
are a positive function of the beliefs that taking part in vol-
unteer work will lead to each of a set of salient personal
outcomes, multiplied by how positive or negative those out-
comes are expected to be.
Subjective norm components. Subjective norm is de-
termined by an individual's specific perceptions about
 VOLUNTEER ATTENDANCE
how strongly important others (salient social referents)
think he or she should attend the volunteer setting in
question and how much he or she wants to conform to
those social expectations in general. For example, a po-
tential volunteer might believe that his or her family does
not want him or her to take part in volunteer work. The
potential volunteer might be strongly motivated to com-
ply with his or her family, which would have a negative
impact on subjective norm and eventually intention (if
subjective norms have a nonzero weight in intention
formation). This structure of subjective norm regarding
volunteer attendance can be written in the following way:
SNV oc S (4)
where nbj are normative beliefs: perceptions of the likeli-
hood that each of / = 1,. . . /normative referents would
approve or disapprove of the focal person attending the
volunteer setting; and mc-t are motivations to comply: the
degree to which the focal person wants to do what refer-
ent 2 approves of, no matter what the situation. Some ev-
idence for such a structure exists across situations
(Ajzen, 1991; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). Verbally, this hy-
pothesis can be stated as:
Hypothesis 3b: A person's subjective norm about volun-
teer attendance is positively and interactively determined
by normative beliefs that salient social referents think he
or she should take part in volunteer work and by motiva-
tions to comply with those referents.
Method
Overview
The hypotheses composing the theory of episodic volunteer
motivation were tested in parallel field samples, each involving
a set of adult men who were deciding about attending overnight
volunteer work at a winter shelter for homeless men. The first
sample (1 w) examined the fit of the hypotheses during the win-
ter, in a continuing group of volunteers. A panel replication ex-
amined the stability of the Sample 1 w results over time, testing
the hypotheses with the same group of volunteers in the spring
(replication Is). Sample 2w was a cross-sectional replication,
involving an independent second sample of volunteers in the
winter. Sample 3s involved another independent group of vol-
unteers in the spring.
Setting. The shelter, located in a medium-size city in the
Midwest, provided food and night sleeping quarters for home-
less men during the winter (November through January) and
early spring (February through April). An administrative com-
mittee elected from a group of area churches was responsible
for the shelter's operation. The shelter received public aid and
grant money to provide for most of the shelter's physical needs
such as food, bedding, and heating oil. A paid supervisor
opened the shelter each evening and remained for 1-2 hr. The
remaining staff members were three volunteers who changed
from night to night. Volunteers rarely worked in the same crews.
Each night, they cooked and served a late meal and early break-
377
fast, signed in clients at the door and apprised them of the rules,
washed dishes and clothes, cleaned soiled bedding, gave infor-
mal counseling, provided or acquired care for sick or injured
clients, monitored client activities and enforced rules about cli-
ent behavior throughout the night until the next morning (from
9:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.).
A persistent problem for the shelter's administration was mo-
tivating potential volunteers to attend work at the shelter at least
two nights per season. Absenteeism disrupted the performance
of even essential tasks such as laundering, counseling, and mon-
itoring. Absenteeism rates ranged from 15-35% per month. By
the same token, however, the shelter setting offered unique op-
portunities for investigating episodic volunteer motivation and
attendance decisions. For example, there were strong disutilities
for attending work. The shelter was poorly heated and venti-
lated, had a foul smell, and was clearly a dangerous place to
work. A few volunteers were injured or threatened by abusive
clients who were drunk or high, and who sometimes carried
hidden weapons. Seldom were clients openly appreciative of the
services they received and they frequently complained about
meals and laundry. The ratio of clients to volunteers was typi-
cally ^ 10:1, which produced a heavy task load. In addition,
volunteers often did not have time to sleep during the night,
yet had to attend their normal (paid) jobs the following day.
Conversely, clear normative expectations for working at the
shelter existed because volunteers who did not attend their
scheduled work created obvious hardships for those who did.
Participants. Because of well-grounded fears of sexual vio-
lence, only male volunteers could work at the shelter. Many of
the volunteers were community residents with families and pro-
fessional jobs. Some veteran volunteers had worked at the shel-
ter for several years. Beginning volunteers were often college
students or new members of the churches that helped to fund
and operate the shelter. Fifty-three volunteers participated in
Sample Iw-ls, another 51 volunteers took part in Sample 2w,
and 53 additional volunteers took part in Sample 3s (response
rates were 83%, 91%, and 91% of the entire set of volunteers,
respectively). The percentages of married volunteers were 72,
70, and 47, respectively, in the three samples. Average ages were
39.3, 39.5, and 35.2 years, respectively; mean numbers of chil-
dren were 1.3, 1.1, and 1.0, respectively; average frequencies of
past participation at the shelter were 12.9, 5.9, and 3.2 times,
respectively. Both the percentage of married volunteers and the
frequency of past participation were significantly different
across the three samples (p < .05).
Grounding ofTEVM Concepts in the
Volunteer Population
In October, 42 (24%) of 173 volunteers who had previously
agreed to spend at least two nights working at the shelter either
returned a questionnaire or responded to an interview designed
to elicit salient alternatives, consequences, and referents regard-
ing attendance at their scheduled volunteer work. Specifically,
volunteers were asked to list alternatives ("other activities I
could do instead"), consequences ("personal advantages and
disadvantages"), and referents ("people who might approve or
disapprove") that came to mind when they thought about
"working at the shelter the next time they were scheduled to do
 378 DAVID A. HARRISON
so." According to suggested criteria (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980),
10 salient consequences were retained for use in the main study.
These consequences included the following: "gives me self-
satisfaction for doing a community service," "lets me interact
with other volunteers," "puts me in a dangerous situation,"
"makes me weary/unproductive the next day," "forces me to
deal with belligerent men," "puts me in a place that smells bad,"
"makes me feel nervous and uncomfortable," "keeps me from
getting much sleep," "lets me meet interesting people," and
"helps me appreciate the things that I have." Five social refer-
ents, including "people from my church," "my wife/
girlfriend," "other family members," "people at my job," and
"other volunteers" were also retained. In addition, two types of
salient alternatives to attending scheduled volunteer work were
retained: staying home (e.g., "sleep at home" or "work at
home") and socializing or recreating ("go out to a movie" or
"visit friends").
Procedure. With the approval of the shelter's administra-
tion, I worked as a volunteer at the shelter each night. After the
late meal was served and dishes were cleaned, I explained the
general purposes of the study to the other volunteers
(investigating the volunteer motivation), handed out question-
naires, and assured volunteers of confidentiality. In addition, I
told each volunteer that no one would see the answers on their
questionnaire until the ensuing April, when the shelter would
be closed and they would no longer be asked to work there (until
the following winter). I asked volunteers to complete the ques-
tionnaire late that night or early the next morning, when their
duty was primarily to do laundry and monitor the shelter clients
as they slept. They were to drop the questionnaire through a
slot into a locked wooden box located in the shelter's kitchen.
Volunteers completed the questionnaire during their first night
of scheduled work at the shelter during a season (winter or
spring). A unique code number was assigned to each survey so
that the self-report data could be matched with a direct obser-
vation of attendance (1 = attended, 0 = absent) the next time
the volunteer was scheduled, which was usually 4 to 8 weeks
later. All names and special codes were later destroyed or erased
to assure anonymity and confidentiality.
Measures. The questionnaire measured the proposed theo-
retical components of a volunteer's motivation (intention) to-
ward attending work on the second night he was scheduled for
later in that season. The questionnaire contained a comprehen-
sive set of items developed from the elicitation results. Intention
to attend work at the shelter (two items, median a from the four
samples= .91), intention to stay home (two items, amed = .86),
intention to socialize or recreate (two items, amed = .73), atti-
tude (five items, amcd = .81), subjective norm (two items, amcd
= .80), perceived behavioral control (two items, own = .77),
and attendance beliefs, evaluations, normative beliefs, and mo-
tivations to comply (one item each) were measured with proce-
dures and formats detailed by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), and
Ajzen and Madden (1986).
As specified by those authors, response scales were usually 7-
point, semantic differentials. For example, the response scale
for an attitude item, "For me, working at the shelter the next
time I'm scheduled is ," ranged from extremely negative
(-3) to extremely positive (+3). The response scale for a sub-
jective norm item, "The other volunteers would of me
working at the shelter the next time I'm scheduled," ranged
from strongly disapprove ( — 3 ) to strongly approve ( + 3 ) . One of
the perceived control items was "Getting to work at the shelter
the next time I'm scheduled is __ ," with a response scale
anchored by completely out of my control (—3) to completely
under my control ( +3 ) . Moral obligation was measured with a
similar, direct approach. For example, one of the two items
i = • 93 ) was "I feel a_
_ moral obligation to work at the
shelter the next time I'm scheduled." It had a 7-point, semantic
differential response scale anchored by extremely weak (—3)
and extremely strong ( + 3 ) .
In addition, a consistent set of external variables were mea-
sured in each sample. They included satisfaction with working
at the shelter (one semantic differential item and one "faces"
scale, amed = .75), an indicator of whether or not something
stressful occurred the current night they were working at the
shelter, frequency of past volunteer work at the shelter, and sev-
eral demographic variables—age, marital status, and number
of dependent children. As was mentioned above, I measured
volunteer attendance through behavioral observations while I
worked at the shelter each night over the course of the
investigation.
Results
Determinants of Volunteer Attendance
Correlations between intention and attendance ranged
from .57 in Sample 2w to .73 in Sample ls(allps< .01).
Observed attendance ( 1 ) or absence (0) from scheduled
volunteer work was converted to a logit variable and re-
gressed hierarchically on intention to work at the shelter
(Hypothesis la), as well as intention to stay home and
intention to socialize or recreate (Hypothesis Ib). It was
also regressed on attitude, subjective norm, perceived
control, moral obligation, and amount of past participa-
tion (Hypothesis Ic). Analyses were performed sepa-
rately on data collected from each sample. Base rates for
volunteer absences were 19%, 11%, 23%, and 30% in
Samples Iw, Is, 2w, and 3s, respectively. Results (see Ta-
ble 1 ) are quite consistent across panel and cross-sec-
tional replications.
As Table 1 shows, Hypothesis la was clearly supported.
However, Hypothesis Ib received only mixed support. In
all four samples, intention to attend volunteer work at the
shelter significantly predicted actual volunteer attendance.
With the predicted negative coefficient, intention to stay
home also improved the prediction of volunteer attendance
in Sample 3s. Similarly, intention to socialize or recreate
improved prediction in Sample 2w. Intentions to attend
these competing alternatives did not improve the prediction
of volunteer attendance in either of the Sample Iw or Is
analyses.
Recall that Sample Is-lw involved the same set of ex-
perienced volunteers. To explore the idea that volunteer
experience moderated the impact of competing inten-
 VOLUNTEER ATTENDANCE 379

Table 1
Tests of Hypotheses la-lc: Logistic Regression of Volunteer Attendance on Target
Intention, Competing Intentions, and External Variables
X2 increment in prediction* Standardized coefficient estimate11

Sample Sample

Variable Iw Is 2w 3s Iw Is 2w 3s

Intention.tKnd work at si,eiKr 7.17** 8.30** 6.95** 10.05** 2.53** 2.02* 1.49 1.99*
IntentionMyhomc 2.01 0.55 2.11 4.69* -1.36 -1.00 -2.33* -1.32
IntentionjociaJjze/recreate 0.50 2.25 4.23* 0.64 -0.70 -1.47 -2.03* -0.76
Attitude, subjective norm, perceived
behavioral control, moral
obligation' 2.21 1.76 4.20 2.73
Past participation (experience) 0.60 0.04 0.24 0.49
4.83* 2.38**
•"Experience X IntentionstayhonK
•"Experience X Intentionsocjaiise/TOrate 4.80* 2.37**

Note. Iw = first group of volunteers for the winter; ls = same group of volunteers for the spring; 2w = independent second group of volunteers for
the winter; 3s = independent group of volunteers for the spring.
* Increments in prediction estimated at successive stages in the modeling process. Degrees of freedom for the chi-square equal the number of new
variables entered at each stage.
b
In the large-sample theory on which logistic regression is based, standardized coefficients are z values. In the small samples used here, the more
conservative t distribution is used to evaluate the significance of the coefficients. Coefficients are estimated for the model that contains theoretical
parameters.
c
These components of intention were entered as part of a block of external variables in the logistic regression equation.
d
Interactive effects of experience and competing intentions were estimated in an aggregate data set from all independent samples (i.e., except Is; N
= 157). Positive coefficients indicate that as a volunteer gained experience working in the shelter, the negative impact of competing intentions
decreased (moved closer to becoming a null effect).
*/7<.05. **p<.01.

tions, data were combined from Iw, 2w, and 3s into one
sample (n = 157). A moderated logistic regression anal-
ysis was performed by entering terms containing interac-
tions between past participation (experience) and each
of the competing intentions. Table 1 shows that adding
the interaction terms produced a significantly better fit of
the logistic model. This suggests that, as volunteers
gained experience at the shelter, consideration of alterna-
tive settings had less of an impact on eventual volunteer
attendance.
An alternative interpretation might be that the
insignificant effect of competing alternatives was an ar-
tifact of the lower base rate of absenteeism in Samples
Iw and Is. To examine this explanation, interaction
terms between sample membership and each of the
competing intentions were entered into the logistic re-
gression equation (without simultaneously including
experience interactions). None of these terms, how-
ever, significantly improved the fit of the model (p >
.05 for all chi-squares in the aggregate data).
Hypothesis Ic was uniformly supported. Attitude, sub-
jective norm, perceived control, and moral obligation,
added individually or as a block of variables, did not im-
prove prediction of attendance above the contribution of
intention in any sample. These variables did have sig-
nificant zero-order correlations with intentions and at-
tendance. Therefore, consistent with the arguments laid
out by James and Brett (1984), intentions fully mediated
the effects of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behav-
ioral control, and moral obligation on volunteer atten-
dance. Adding the main effect of past frequency of par-
ticipation also had no impact on the fit of the logistic
regression.
Determinants of Volunteer Intention
(Episodic Motivation)
With respect to the determinants of intentions to at-
tend volunteer work, several theories are nested within
the expanded theory developed in this article. The SEU-
based approach is nested within the theory of reasoned
action, which is nested within the theory of planned be-
havior, which in turn, is nested within the theory of epi-
sodic volunteer motivation. Therefore, competitive tests
of their prediction of attendance intentions can be ac-
complished via hierarchical linear regression (see
Table 2).
In the first regression step, intention to attend volun-
teer work at the shelter was regressed on the SEU-based
component: attitude. In partial support of Hypothesis 2a,
attitude predicted intention to attend volunteer work in
Samples 2w and 3s but not in the continuing Sample 1 w-
380 DAVID A. HARRISON

Table 2
Tests of Hypotheses 2a-2e: Hierarchical Regression of Volunteer Attendance Intention on Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived
Behavioral Control, Moral Obligation, and External Variables
Change in R^ Standardized coefficient estimate1"
Sample Sample
Variable lw Is 2w 3s lw Is 2w 3s

Attitude .06 .04 .10* .16** .17 .08 .11 .25*

Subjective norm .09** .32** .20** .17** .23 .16 .03 .22*
Perceived behavioral control .10** .10** .06* .12** .26* .24* .17 .31**
Moral obligation .06* .13** .26** .09** .27** .48** .67** .31**
lab, X e, .01 .01 .01 .00
2nbj X mq .00 .00 .00 .01
General satisfaction .02 .02 .00 .00
Stressful incidents .00 .00 .00 .00
Past participation (experience) .00 .02 .00 .00
Age .02 .01 .00 .00
(Not) married .02 .00 .03* .03*
No. of children at home .00 .02 .01 .00

Note, lw = first group of volunteers for the winter; ls = same group of volunteers for the spring; 2w = independent second group of volunteers for
the winter; 3s = independent group of volunteers for the spring.
a
Increments in predictiveness were estimated at successive stages in the modeling process. b Coefficients were estimated for parameters in theoret-
ical model. Because of small samples and high multicollinearity, /3s are less stable than the hierarchical regression results.
*p<.05. **p<.01.

Is. One possible reason for the lack of effect in Sample
1 w-1 s might have been the significant difference in expe-
rience between that sample and the others. A moderating
effect of past participation on the attitude-intention rela-
tion would be consistent with Hypothesis 2f regarding a
feedback loop that connects volunteer experience with
changes in the pattern of motivational inputs (see also
Ajzen, 1988, for a review of studies showing an effect of
direct experience on the prediction of behavior by atti-
tudes; note, however, that in this case the effect is in the
opposite direction: Attitude-intention relations are
stronger for those with less direct experience).
To test this possibility, a hierarchical moderated regres-
sion analysis was performed in which intention was the
dependent variable. Data from all independent samples
were aggregated into a single sample in the same way as
described above (in the Determinants of Volunteer Atten-
dance section). After including both attitude and experi-
ence as main effects in the regression equation, an A* X
Experience interaction term was added. This term sig-
nificantly improved the prediction of intention, A/?2 =
.03, F( 1, 153) = 4.54, p < .05, supporting Hypothesis 2f
and explaining the mixed support for Hypothesis 2a. In
other words, there is evidence from the these samples
that, as volunteers gained experience, the amount of sat-
isfaction they anticipated from doing volunteer work had
less of an impact on their motivation to take part in it.
In the second regression step, subjective norm was
added to the regression model after attitude. Table 2
shows that there was a significant improvement in the
prediction of intention by subjective norm for each sam-
ple of volunteers, supporting Hypothesis 2b. This also
confirms that the TRA approach to volunteer motiva-
tion, which accounts for the perceived social context of
decisions, fits better than a simple SEU-based approach
(when using either a direct measure of attitude and a re-
scaled 2abi X e\ that corresponds more closely to SEU-
type theories).
In the third regression step, perceived behavioral con-
trol was added to the intention model. The results in Ta-
ble 2 show that it significantly improved the prediction of
intention when subjective norm and attitude were pres-
ent in the equation. This occurred in each sample, de-
spite the small sample sizes and significant amount of
variance already being explained by those other compo-
nents. This finding supports Hypothesis 2c and demon-
strates that the theory of planned behavior is a better-fit-
ting theory of volunteers' attendance intentions than
either the theory of reasoned action or SEU-based
approaches.
In the fourth regression step, moral obligation was
added to the regression equation. As Hypothesis 2d pro-
poses, moral obligation explained additional variance in
intentions. The results in Table 2 reveal that this im-
provement in prediction was consistent across panel and
cross-sectional replications. Thus, the theory of episodic
volunteer motivation (to which moral obligation is
unique) is a better description of the components of vol-
unteer intentions than the theory of planned behavior,
the theory of reasoned action, or an SEU-based
approach.
Finally, to test Hypothesis le (that attitude, subjective
 VOLUNTEER ATTENDANCE
norm, perceived behavioral control and moral obligation
are the only direct determinants of intention), several
other variables were added to the regression equations.
Satisfaction with working at the shelter, an indicator of
whether something stressful occurred at the shelter, and
the demographic characteristics: age, marital status (1 =
married, 0 = not married), and number of children liv-
ing at home were added to the regression models in each
sample. One of these variables, marital status, improved
the prediction of intention in Samples 2w and 3s. The
sign of the coefficient for the marital status term was pos-
itive, indicating that, in those samples, some extra level of
motivation or commitment to perform one's scheduled
volunteer work was associated with being married. This
motivational increment was not captured by the four
components of volunteer motivation in the theory of ep-
isodic volunteer motivation and therefore weakens the
support for Hypothesis le found in the continuing Sam-
ple Iw-ls. In the terms of James and Brett (1984), atti-
tude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and
moral obligation are only partial mediators of the effect
of marital status on intentions in that sample.
Determinants of Attitude and Subjective Norm
Relations of attitude and subjective norm to the sum
of cross-products of their proposed antecedents were sta-
tistically significant and in the proposed direction in all
four samples. Correlations between attitude and 2aZ?j X
e\ were .60, .31, .59, and .49 for Samples Iw, Is, 2w, and
3s, respectively (p < .01 for each, except p < .05 for r =
.31). Correlations between subjective norm and 2n6j X
mcj were .65, .58, .74, and .66 for the same samples, re-
spectively (all ps < .01). These correlations are similar in
magnitude to previous studies of the theory of reasoned
action and the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991;
Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Ajzen& Madden, 1986).
Zero-order correlations, however, do not provide un-
equivocal support that attitude or subjective norm stem
from multiplicative composites. The relations of such
composites to other variables are dependent on the scale
intervals and origin of the variables in the composite.
Both Evans (1991) and Ajzen (1991) outline procedures
for testing the predictive contribution of the sum of
multiplicative terms to a dependent variable, unique
from the additive contributions of their constituent
terms. These procedures require large sample sizes to at-
tain even moderate statistical power (McClelland &
Judd, 1993). Therefore, data from the three samples in
the present investigation were combined (in the same
way as described above).
In the aggregate sample, the multiplicative term "Zabi
X e\ explained unique variance in attitude beyond the ad-
ditive effects of attendance beliefs and evaluations terms,
381
A/?2 = .03, F(\, 136) = 7.63, p < 01. This regression
equation produced an "optimally rescaled" composite
(Ajzen, 1991, p. 193) that had a multiple correlation of
.59 (p < .01) with attitude toward attending volunteer
work. Similarly, the multiplicative term ZH&J X me, ex-
plained unique variance in subjective norm beyond the
additive contributions of normative beliefs and motiva-
tion to comply terms, Afl2 = .05, F(l, 146)= 12.73, p<
01. The resulting optimally rescaled composite also had
a strong multiple correlation with subjective norm about
attending volunteer work (R - .70, p < .01). In sum-
mary, Hypotheses 3a and 3b were supported.
Discussion
Intentions and Volunteer Attendance
As the theory of episodic volunteer motivation
proposes, evidence from the four samples in this
investigation indicates that overt choices to take part
or not take part in episodic volunteer work can be
traced to covert cognitions: the relative strengths of in-
tentions. Despite the dichotomous nature and limited
variance in volunteer attendance, correlations between
it and attendance intentions measured 4 to 8 weeks ear-
lier were all high and positive (rs from .57 to .73, all
ps < .01); logistic regression analyses also showed that
these intentions had a strong, positive relationship with
volunteer attendance. The predicted effects of compet-
ing intentions (motivations to take part in settings that
conflicted with volunteer attendance) were important
and negative for relatively new volunteers, but they
were less so for more experienced volunteers, who also
had slightly higher attendance rates.
This latter finding suggests some interesting questions
for future research. The theory presented in this article
presupposes deliberate decision processes. The present
methodology focuses attention on specific (categories of)
cognitions, which has been criticized as a means for par-
ticipants to construct cognitions at the point of measure-
ment rather than retrieve existing ones from memory and
create spurious support or self-generated validity for a
theory (Feldman & Lynch, 1988). Perhaps the theory is
less applicable to veteran volunteers, who may be more
routinized or script based in their approach to volunteer
work and therefore less conscious of alternative activities.
In an interesting extension of the present theory to atten-
dance or absence from work, perhaps the opposite is true
for those who miss work: They may be more likely to be
aware of and actively process the factors associated with
attending alternative (to work) settings.
Components of Intention
Competitive tests of the predictions of the SEU-based
approach, the theory of reasoned action, the theory of
382 DAVID A. HARRISON
planned behavior, and an expanded theory of episodic
volunteer motivation indicate that the latter theory fits
better as a predictor of volunteers' intentions to attend
their scheduled work. If one equates the strength of inten-
tion with the strength of motivation, then the expanded
theory seems to provide a more thorough explanation of
what guides, energizes, and sustains the tendency to take
part in volunteer work.
With an interesting exception, the proposed theoretical
determinants explained unique variance in intentions in
each sample. Just as with the impact of competing al-
ternatives on eventual attendance, attitudes were not im-
portant determinants of intention for the experienced
volunteers in Sample 1 w-1 s. In fact, subsequent analyses
showed that experience moderated the impact of attitude
toward volunteering on volunteer intentions. Detailed
analyses of the beliefs of these volunteers indicated that
volunteers did not intend to work at the shelter to get a
boost of affect, or because they anticipated some satisfac-
tion from doing that work. They were more experienced
and perhaps were more aware of (or more jaded about)
what little gratification they got from it. Instead, social
pressure, perceived control, and moral obligation seemed
to drive their intentions and eventual attendance.
Data from these samples also provide consistent evi-
dence that individuals consider perceived social expecta-
tions when they form voluntarism intentions. Social fac-
tors undoubtedly deserve more research attention, as
studies might profitably move beyond considerations of
anticipated satisfactions or evaluations of the possible re-
wards of voluntarism. Future investigations of volunteer
motivation might benefit not only from incorporating
subjective norms into a set of predictors but also from
measuring possible sources of these perceived expecta-
tions, such as the frequency of volunteer work done by
family, friends, and coworkers, which is more congruent
with the definition of a social norm as a pattern of group
behavior.
Perceived behavioral control was also a significant
component of volunteer intentions in all of the samples.
Ajzen (1991) has likened perceived behavioral control to
task-specific self-efficacy. Empirical research on the over-
lap between the two, both in and out of volunteer
contexts would be useful. If these two constructs are
nearly identical, then a wealth of data from the goal-set-
ting literature suggests that self-efficacy is part of any
goal-directed motivation (Locke & Latham, 1990).
Techniques for strengthening efficacy-related cognitions
regarding job attendance (Frayne & Latham, 1987)
might then be effective for helping managers in social ser-
vice organizations improve volunteer attendance.
Moral obligation consistently received the highest re-
gression weight in determining volunteer motivation.
One reason that it might have been ignored in past stud-
ies is that few voluntarism situations are thought to have
enough moral intensity for decision makers to recognize
that they are making a moral decision (Jones, 1991).
Some of the proposed antecedents of the moral intensity
of an issue (e.g., social consensus, probability and con-
centration of the effect, magnitude of consequences to
others) could be used in initial attempts to formulate and
test what generates a feeling of moral obligation. It might
also be useful to move beyond voluntarism in examining
the impact of moral obligation, by likening it to a per-
ceived cultural or informal norm, distinct from social ex-
pectations from identifiable persons or groups (P. B.
Smith & Peterson, 1988). In this way, a generalized ver-
sion of the present theory could be applied to a variety
of behavioral decisions, much as the theory of reasoned
action and theory of planned behavior already are.
Components of Attitude and Subjective Norm
Attitudes and subjective norms were highly and consis-
tently correlated with their proposed components, and
they form the practical hub of the present theory. From
a manager's viewpoint, the beliefs that differentiate the
possible volunteers who do and do not attend volunteer
work is informative and potentially valuable. These be-
liefs are strong candidates for interventions (Ajzen &
Fishbein, 1980). For example, in the present study, anal-
yses of the attendance beliefs yielded a three-dimensional
structure. However, only a factor composed of percep-
tions of the positive outcomes of volunteer attendance
("gives me a feeling of self-satisfaction," "lets me interact
with other volunteers," "lets me meet interesting people,"
and "helps me appreciate the things I have") significantly
differentiated volunteers who did (m = 16.31) from
those who did not (m = 12.64) attend their scheduled
work, and only in Samples 2w and 3s of relatively new
volunteers, / ( i 0 2) = 1-97, p = .05. Interventions aimed at
strengthening these beliefs might improve initial atten-
dance rates in those samples.
Factor analyses of the normative beliefs revealed a uni-
tary dimension. Strengths of perceived expectations from
all five social referents ("spouse or girlfriend," "rest of
family," "people at my job," "church members," or
"other shelter volunteers") were significantly higher
among those who did show up to do volunteer work than
among those who did not. All of these differences in nor-
mative beliefs across attendees and absentees were at least
0.5 standard deviations. Consequently, in the year follow-
ing the study, one of the programs adopted by the shelter
administration emphasized social pressure and social
support for volunteering.
Because perceived social expectations are also at the
heart of role theory (Katz & Kahn, 1978), normative be-
liefs could also be used in future research to describe
 VOLUNTEER ATTENDANCE
both role conflict and role ambiguity regarding volunteer
participation. For instance, if there is considerable varia-
tion in perceived expectations across the salient people or
groups in an individual's social environment, then role
conflict exists. Role ambiguity might be represented by
uniformly low or moderate normative beliefs.
Limitations and Additional Research Directions
This research was conducted to understand more
about individuals' motivation to participate in volunteer
work. Although these findings support the efficacy of the
theory of episodic volunteer motivation as a framework
for understanding, they cannot yet be generalized beyond
the sample from which the volunteers were drawn. The
sample comprised men who already volunteered at least
once to work in a homeless shelter in a city in the Mid-
west. The results of this study may not generalize to other
people and settings.
The additions and expansions contained in the theory
of episodic volunteer motivation, although supported by
correlational evidence in this study, have not been rigor-
ously tested as causal or even stable components and in-
fluences. Experimental tests, especially with manipula-
tions of the new constructs and tests of the new relations
in the theory (e.g., impact of moral obligation) are
needed to support the proposed hypotheses. Fortunately,
because of the simultaneous low cost and high need for
volunteers in many organizations, there may be many op-
portunities for researchers to conduct such experiments
in the field—perhaps via manipulations of the appropri-
ate theoretical attributes of "sales pitches" regarding vol-
unteer activities.
A focus on the belief components of the new theory is
also important in subsequent studies and applications. It
may be possible for researchers to identify a common or
core set of volunteer attendance beliefs and normative
beliefs, from organizations in different regions, with
different social service missions, and with samples con-
taining different demographic and personality profiles.
Because beliefs govern both attitudes and subjective
norms about participating in voluntary activities, such a
belief set would provide volunteer managers with a pow-
erful, easily operationalized group of concepts to help
generate high levels of volunteer participation through
recruitment, selection, and training strategies.
Conclusion
In this article, I have argued that much volunteer work
is discrete or episodic in nature, rather than regular or
routine. When asked to do it or when made aware of it,
individuals actively deliberate and decide about taking
part in it, considering how best to allocate their own
383
scarce temporal resources. These deliberations are often
difficult and complex; they involve perceptions of con-
flicting demands and motivations to take part in activities
at competing settings—toward attending those settings.
According to the proposed theory of episodic volunteer
motivation and its converging empirical support across
time and independent samples, the specific motivation to
take part in a volunteer setting flows from answers to four
intrapersonal questions. The importance of the answers
to each of these questions for one's volunteer motivation
depends on one's past experience in volunteering. These
four questions are as follows: (a) How much would I like
or get out of attending volunteer work? (b) How strongly
do I think that important other people expect me to at-
tend volunteer work? (c) How likely is it that I can attend
volunteer work? and (d) How clear is it that attending
volunteer work is the right thing for me to do?
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Received October 18, 1993
Revision received July 25, 1994
Accepted July 29, 1994 •