Applying an adapted theory of planned behavior to visiting art exhibitions

The objective was to test the applicability of an adapted form of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to the behavior of visiting art exhibitions. A sample responded to a questionnaire on intention and behavior to visit art exhibitions, and on attitudes, subjective social norms, perceived behavioral control and motives related to such behavior. After an exploratory principal components analysis and a reliability analysis, a path analysis was used to test the previewed model. Responses to an additional open question on motives were subjected to thematic analysis. Results partially confirmed the application of TPB to visiting art exhibitions, with subjective social norms, perceived behavioral control and motives with an indirect significant effect on behavior mediated by intention. Subjective social norm had also a significant effect on behavior, while a gap was found between the latter and intention. Furthermore, a variety of motives for visiting art exhibitions were identified. Results help to understand and suggest ways to reduce the mentioned gap and increase the behavior of visiting art exhibitions, considering its potential for personal development and quality of life.