Relationships between attitudes, intentions, and behaviour among college students in the field of information ethics

This study explores the complex interrelationships among cognitive constructs—namely attitudes, intention, and behaviour—within the domain of information ethics in information technology, focusing on a sample of undergraduate students in Oman. The research sample comprised 272 students (133 males and 139 females) enrolled across various colleges at Sultan Qaboos University. Data were collected using three psychometrically validated instruments: specifically, the attitudes toward information ethics (IE) scale, which consisted of 14 items (with 11 items were kept after psychometric evaluation; Cronbach’s α = 0.74); the IE intention measure, which was based on four scenarios and included 10 items (all retained); and the IE behaviour scale, comprising 12 items (Cronbach’s α = 0.89). Correlation analyses revealed statistically significant relationships among the three constructs. Attitudes were significantly correlated with intention (r = 0.26, p < 0.01) and behaviour (r = 0.31, p < 0.01). The strongest association was observed between intention and behaviour (r = 0.62, p < 0.001), indicating a robust linkage between motivational inclination and enacted conduct. These findings support a mediation model in which intention serves as a pivotal intermediary mechanism through which attitudes influence behaviour. The evidence thus substantiates a structural pathway wherein attitudinal dispositions affect ethical behaviour in information technology indirectly via behavioural intention.