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Course Project/Theory of Reasoned Action

Julie I Carter

PSF8106 SEC. 05

Epistemology of Practice Knowledge

6060 Crescentville Rd NA-11

Philadelphia, Pa. 19120

215-205-0016

Cori1mooker@yahoo.com

Professor Antonio Johnson

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ABSTRACT

The Theory of Reasoned Action developed by Martin Fishbein in 1967 has undergone several

amendments and has demonstrated huge value which has long assisted researchers in

understanding and predicting behaviors. In this paper the author will first examine the history,

main interventions and tenets of the Theory of Reasoned Action. The theory will be assessed in

the effect of subjective norms and attitudes in the areas of criminal behavior, consumer decisions

and alcohol and drug education. Second, the major assumptions of the theory to the axiological,

methodical and ontological assumptions of the epistemological paradigm of post- positivism,

research methods and research studies on the theory will be addressed.

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Originating in the field of social psychology was the development of the “Theory of Reasoned

Action”. As early as 1862 psychologist began to develop theories showing how attitude impacted

behavior. With the emphasis on behavior and attitude, it could be postulated that the theory grew

out of the 19th century as the field of psychology began to recognize the term “attitude”.

Suggested by these theories was the idea that attitudes could explain human actions. (Ajzen &

Fishbein, 1980, p. 13) The first psychologists to view attitude as individual mental processes that

determine an individual’s potential and actual responses were Thomas and Znaniecki. This led

social scientists to see attitude as a predictor for behavior. These ideas remained intact until the

early 1960’s when attitudes and behaviors began to be reviewed by social scientists. (According

to Theory, n. d., p.1)

In understanding the relationship between behaviors and attitudes, there were several influences

such as: L.L. Thurston who in 1929 developed methods for measuring attitudes using interval

scales. These scales served as a model for what we know now refer to as the Likert-scale, in

1935 Gordon W. Allport theorized that the relationship between behavior and attitude was not

uni- dimensional but multi- dimensional, the scalogram analysis was developed to measure

beliefs about the object by Louis Guttman in 1944, the idea of Thurstone was adopted by Doob

in 1947, the 1950’s made the view that attitude is multi-dimensional universal and Rosenburg

and Hovland in the 60’s theorized that an individual’s attitude toward and object is filtered by

their behavior, cognition and effect. In 1969 and extensive literature review and survey was

conducted by Wicker and determined that, more likely than not, attitudes will be unrelated or

only slightly related to overt behaviors than that attitudes will be closely related to actions.

(Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980, p.25) In the late 1960’s, the Theory of Reasoned Action was developed
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by Martin Fishbein. Teaming up with Icek Ajzen in 1975 and again in the 80’s Fishbein

expanded and revised the theory. Their framework looks at behavioral intentions instead of

attitudes as the main predictors of behaviors. According to Fishbein and Ajzen (1975 & 1980),

three general constructs makeup the components of TRA; behavior intention (BI), attitude (A)

and subjective norms (SN). TRA suggest that an individual’s behavioral intention depends on the

individual’s attitude about the behavior and subject norms. (BI=A+SN) In other words, if an

individual intends to do something, more than likely, they will do it. They as well believe that

intentions themselves are guided by two things: their attitude toward the behavior and the subject

norm. A person’s relative strength of intention to perform a behavior is behavioral intent, and

consisting of beliefs about the consequences of performing the behavior magnified by their

valuation of the consequences, is attitude. (According to Theory of Reason, 2010, p.1)

One of the major assumptions in this theory is that people are usually quite rational and make

systematic use of information that is available to them. Implications of their actions are

considered before the decision is made to engage or not to engage a given behavior. (Ajzen &

Fishbein, 1980, p. 5) However, this proved to create some problem areas. One as indicated by

Fishbein & Ajzen, is that attitudes and norms are not equally weighed in predicting behavior. In

fact, depending on the situation and the individual, these factors may have a different effect on

behavioral intention. For example, if you are the kind of person who could care less what others

think, then the subjective norms would have little weight in predicting your behavior. (Miller,

2005, p.127) Realizing this inadequacy led Ajzen to describe the aspects of attitudes and

behavior as being on a continuum…from one of little control to one of great control. To balance

these observations, Ajzen decided to include a third element to the original theory of reasoned
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action. The element added was the concept of perceived behavioral control. This perceived

behavioral control is determined by the factors of control beliefs and perceived power. This

addition gave way to the main intervention strategy which is an extension of TRA. It is referred

to as the Theory of Planned Behavior. Just as in the original theory (TRA) the central factor in

the theory of planned behavior is the individual’s intentions to perform, a given behavior.

Assumed to capture the motivational factors that influence behavior are intensions; they are

indications of how hard individuals are willing to try and how much effort they are planning to

exert in order to perform the behavior. (Ajzen, 1991)

The theory of planned behavior places the construct of self-efficacy belief or perceived

behavioral control into a more general framework of the relations among attitudes, beliefs,

behavior and intentions. The knowledge of the role of perceived behavioral control came from

Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy which is rooted in social cognitive theory. One of the

differences between TRA and TPB is of course the addition of the third determinant of

behavioral intention, the perceived control. This control indicates that an individual’s motivation

is influenced by how difficult the behaviors are perceived to be and the perception of how

successfully the person can or cannot perform the task. If strong control beliefs are held by the

individual about the existence of the factors that may facilitate the behavior the individual will

have high “perceived control” over that behavior. In contrast, there will be a low perception of

control if a person holds strong beliefs that will impede the behavior. As well, this perception can

reflect anticipation of upcoming circumstances, past experiences and attitudes of influential

norms that surround the individual. The TRA theory is noted as having the most success when

applied to behaviors that are under a person’s volitional control. (According to Theory, n. d., p.3)
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Behavioral theories (TRA, TPB) have potential applications in many areas. Some prominent

applications include education, healthcare and criminal behavior in which I have been

extensively exposed to having worked twenty five years in the correctional system. As these

issues are important to policy making and societal functionality, there has been a renewed

interest in these theories as criminologists have begun to measure individual cognitive processes

more carefully. Here we will look at TRA in criminal decision making and intentions.

The well known paper by Grasmick and Green (1980) was a convenient landmark. Grasmick and

Green argued that earlier deterrence work failed because of measurement deficiencies They

stressed that it is an individual’s own perception of his or her risk detection and punishment that

can predict personal behaviors rather than the individual’s general view as to the likelihood if

someone else is getting caught and punished. (Tuck & Riley, n. d.) Given the likely importance

of familial and social norms to the decision to offend, Tuck and Green further argue that the

TORA (theory of reasoned action) was specifically developed to take into account such variables

is a significant argument in its favor. Whether related to events or involvement:, whatever the

time scale, whatever the level of specificity or generality under consideration and whatever the

forms of information processing involved, TRA is seen as applicable to all criminal decision

making. However, given its range of applications such as family-planning behaviors, career

intentions, consumer choice and its continued reliance on SEU paradigms, the theory may

initially prove to be more useful in exploring the processes and determinants of choice behavior

in relation to criminal involvement and desistance and continuance instead of in relation to

criminal events. (Tuck & Riley, n. d.) The TORA’s methods for and emphasis upon exploring
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the influence of salient behavioral and normative beliefs on the formation of the intention to

commit a crime, offer critical and potentially policy-relevant new perspectives on deterrence

issues. It is important to note that the theory is uncompromisingly cognitive. For example, it

holds that the effect of any other variables on actions, including criminal actions will be filtered

through only two variables that are held to affect behavioral intention; the subject’s attitude to

the act concerned and his/her subjective norm concerning the act. As beliefs are responsive to

factors external to the individual, this superficially simple model of the form of the decision

process is capable of dealing with the sublets of crime choices and therefore avoids the

deterministic problems associated with dispositional approaches. (Tuck & Riley, n. d.)

Particular strengths of the theory for dealing with criminal decision making are, it gives a formal

and central role to those processes of social norms formation that we know to be vital in the

corrections field and it can deal with differences in the levels of specificity of decisions.

However as empirical studies in criminology support behavioral change theories, these theories

are not universally accepted. Yet, at the same time general theories of behavioral change do

suggest possible explanations to criminal behavior and methods of correcting criminal deviant

behavior. (Akers, 1979) Some criticisms include the theories’ emphases on individual behavior

and a disregard for the influence of environmental factors on behavior. Additionally, some

theories were formulated as guides to understanding behavior while others were designed as

framework for behavioral interventions the theories’ purposes are not consistent. (According to

Behavioral, 2010, p.4) From a general view , application of the theory of planned behavior to a

particular area of interest, whether a drinking problem, condom use or leisure behavior, provides

a host of information that can be extremely useful in any attempt to understand these behaviors.
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Sharma (2007) examined the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior in

alcohol and drug education. The study was conducted in south-eastern Michigan and assessed the

predictive potential of the theory of planned behavior with regard to use, misuse and frequency

of use among eight graders. The researchers further then compared the theory of reasoned action

and the theory of planned behavior in predicting the intention to use alcohol. Variables such as

encouraging parents to have discussions related to alcohol use with their children, getting

involved in prevention programs, decreasing peer pressure and alcohol availability were used.

The study used multiple regression modeling that demonstrated that intention explained about

26% of variance in alcohol use, 37% of variance in frequency of alcohol use and approximately

30% of variance in misuse. However, in the TPB model the important variables were found to be

peer pressure and friend’s experiences with alcohol. The normative belief of parents was found

to be an essential predictor.

The study found that the theory of reason action and the theory of planned behavior do predict

behavioral intention and behavior, yet they did not necessarily explain behavior change which is

a prime concern for alcohol and drug programming. Other finding were, personality related

factors, demographic variables that shape behavior and cultural factors are not considered in the

theory of reasoned action or the theory of planned behavior and that these theories only focused

on rational thoughts and did not account for irrational fears or thoughts that are covered in

alcohol and drug education. (Sharma, 2007)

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Another application of the theory of reasoned action can be seen in a study conducted by (Volk,

2001). E- Commerce, the Consumer Decision Process, and the Theory of Reasoned Action

sought to access users’ attitudes regarding online consumer behaviors. More and more

companies are relying on e-commerce as a principle method of revenue. Yet, little is known

about the behaviors of online shoppers. The researcher in this study considered nine Intranet

behaviors across five consumer behavior processes to apply the theory. The nine behaviors

consisted of clicking on banner ads: searching for product information in online stores, using

search engines, reading e-mail advertisements, using comparison engines and online reviews to

evaluate alternatives, accessing online customer support via e-mail and web sites and purchase

products. The five consumer behavior processes were information search: purchase outcomes,

motivation and need recognition, alternatives evaluation and purchase decision and purchase.

(Volk, 2001)

These behaviors and attitudes were then studied within the theoretical constructs of the theory of

reasoned action. The theory was adopted in order to examine the relationship between attitudes

and future intention to participate in these behaviors. I t was hypothesized that the normative

and attitudinal components of the theory of reasoned action would be predictive of the behavioral

intention on each of the nine behaviors. (Volk, 2001)

Two hundred and ninety – two Intranet users were recruited form staff, faculty and students of a

university (N=132) and Intranet mailing lists (N=160) to answer what would be and online

survey.
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About 50% of the participants reported a household income of over 50,000/year and sixty-four

percent (N=186) were female. Area type (urban, rural or suburban), ethnicity and affluence were

represented across the sample. The theory of reasoned action portion of the survey consisted of

the normative and attitude components. The respondents were asked to indicate the extent that

they intended to participate in each behavior over a 12 month period, as well as their past

experience regarding each behavior. The data was collected quantitatively though the

longitudinal survey and regression analysis were employed to test the hypotheses. The theory of

reasoned actions normative component only placed significantly on intention to use e-mail

support. The researchers note that recent research has been focused on purchase behavior so it is

not surprising that the relationship between purchase intention and purchase behavior is the most

understood with 50% of the variance accounted for by, the theory of reasoned action regression

equation. (Volk, 2001)

As the study demonstrated that Intranet user attitudes and the intention to participate in a e-

commerce related behavior can be studied effectively within the theoretical constructs of the

theory of reasoned action, it highlighted the need for further research in two critical areas: the

clear identification of knowledge gaps in the consumer decision process with regard to behavior

and the applicability of applying the traditional social psychological theories to Intranet

behaviors. However, the research does suggest that a line of investigation that focuses on the

application on the theory of reasoned action to online behaviors in a manner that is methodically

consistent with Fishbein (1980) is required to understand the applicability of these theoretical

constructs to online consumer behavior. (Volk, 2001)

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As we have examined three different applications of the theory of reasoned action it is important

to note that all theories have an epistemological foundation. In the theory of reasoned action, I

would offer that the underlying epistemological paradigm of the theory is post- positivism. Post-

positivism is a wholesale rejection of the central tenets of positivism. Trochim (2006) found that

post-positivist begin by recognizing that the way scientist work and think and the way we think

in our everyday life are not so distinctively different. Common sense reasoning and scientific

reasoning are essentially the same processes as there is no difference “in kind” between the two,

only a difference in degree. Post- positivism as well provides an alternative to the foundations

and traditions of positivism for conducting disciplined inquiries. Reality is not a rigid thing for

the post-positivist researcher instead it is a creation of those involved in the research. Among the

various factors that influence reality construction, gender, culture, and cultural beliefs are most

critical. They are what recognizes’ the intricate relationship between individual behavior,

external structures, attitudes and socio-cultural issues. (Crossan, 2003)

Post-positivist approaches give way to both quantitative and qualitative methods. They describe

this as “critical multiplism”. The critical implies that as in positivism, the need for logical

reasoning, rigour, precision and attention to evidence is required however, unlike positivism this

is not confined to what can be physically observed. The fact that research can generally be

approached from several perspectives is multiplism. Evidence to this fact is offered by the three

aforementioned studies utilizing the theory of reasoned action. (Crossan, 2003)

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One of the ontological assumptions of the epistemological paradigm in relation to the theory of

reasoned action is that post-positivism focuses on the importance of utilizing multiple measures

in addition to observations, each of which may possess different types of error and the need to

use triangulation across these multiple sources to try to get a better bead on what’s happening in

reality. One of the most common forms of post-positivism is the philosophy of critical realism.

The critical realist believes that there is a reality that is independent of our thinking about it that

science can study. The post-positivist critical realist recognizes that all observation is fallible,

has error and that all theory is revisable. Critical realists’ are critical of our ability to “know”

reality with certainty. (Trochim, 2006)

Ontological tenets of the theory include perceived behavioral control over resources, opportunity

and skills necessary to perform a behavior is believed to be critical to the behavioral change

process. The theory of reasoned action provides a framework to study attitudes towards

behaviors. As a result, intention is an important contributor in determining behavior and

behavioral change. According to Icek Ajzen (1985), intentions develop from a person’s

perception of a behavior as negative or positive together with the individual’s impression of the

way society will perceive the same behavior. Essential to the performance of a behavior and

consequently behavioral change, personal attitude and social pressure is shaped by this intention.

(Ajzen, 1985) Still some researchers conclude that the theory of planned behavior is based on the

cognitive processing and level of behavior change. (Theory of planned, n. d. , p.6)

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Axiological assumptions of the epistemological paradigm are it raises the level of subjectivity

within the realm of research and the post-positivist believes that all observations are theory –

laden and that scientists are inherently biased by their cultural experiences and world views.

Because I have my own world view based on my experiences and you have yours does not mean

that we cannot hope to translate from each other’s experiences or understand each other. In other

words, post-positivism rejects the relativist idea of the incommensurability of different

perspectives, the idea that we can never understand each other because we come from different

cultures and experiences. Most post-positivist are constructivist s who believe we each construct

our own view of the world based on our perceptions of it. (Trochim, 2006) Positivists believe

that objectivity is a characteristic that resides in the individual scientist and that scientists are

responsible for setting aside their beliefs and biases and seeing the world as it “really” is. On the

other hand, post-positivist reject the idea that anyone can see the world perfectly or as it “really”

is. All of our observations are affected (theory-laden) as we all are biased. (Trochim, 2006)

An axiological tenet of the theory of reasoned action is that an individual’s behavioral intention

cannot be the only determinate of behavior when an individual’s control over behavior is

incomplete. Multiple perspectives can be utilized to choose research questions, methods, define

research goals, analysis and to interpret results. Researchers note, that post-positivist approaches

generally relate to participatory and interactive nature of qualitative methods. It is suggested

that this is a vital weakness that is due to the proximity of the researchers to the investigations.

(Crossan, 2006)
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The methodical assumptions of the epistemological paradigm centers on the philosophy of

critical realism which states that a reality is said to exist autonomously from an individual’s

ability to cognitively comprehend it. The qualitative paradigm alone when examined in detail

encompasses a diversity of methods that vary in philosophical assumptions about reality, valid

data and collection methods, aims, and sources. Post-positivism research need not exclude either

qualitative “truths” or data found outside quantitative method. Critical to rejecting the strict

dichotomy that is often drawn between quantitative and qualitative paradigms is the acceptance

of this. As the failings of positivism may form some justification for alternative methods, they

need not be those traditionally equated with the qualitative paradigm. Post-positivism was in

itself a reaction to the limitations. The triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods in the

same research studies, have indicated a tacit acceptance of post-positivistic philosophy. (Clark,

1998)

In the theory of reasoned action, tenets of the theory state that the theory provides an

organizational scheme and framework for existing and new knowledge. It will give insight and

order to what can be, or has been observed. For the most part, research has been supportive of

the theory of reasoned action. Some of the behaviors that have been successfully predicted would

include blood donation: cheating in college, voting, and consumer purchasing. Some of the

factors that influence the relative weights of the two components in predicting behavioral

intention are culture: gender, self-related constructs, consciousness and self-monitoring and past

behavior. (Park & Levine, 1999)

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The research methods that were utilized in the three studies that were presented in this paper in

this author’s opinion were consistent with the methodological assumptions of the

epistemological paradigm in that the methods of post-positivism within the realm of conducting

research usually tend to be on the qualitative end of the spectrum where concepts can be

measured and quantified. Despite the openness of post-positivism to other means of inquiry, it

can be argued that post-positivism retains some of the weaknesses of positivism that makes it

inappropriate. However, the approach still focuses on rendering complex aspects of human

beings researchable, seeking prediction, causation and explanation in the regularities and patterns

of life. Hence, as it is frequently agreed upon, the research questions should be answered with

the appropriate research methods. As particular methods cannot answer every type of problem

pertaining to spiritual, physical, experiential and psychological realms, methods that belong to

the traditional qualitative paradigms therefore will retain great use in answering vital questions

which quantitative methods cannot. (Clark, 1998)

What remains vital is that method selection is based not on a limited view of science but on the

accurate understanding of all forms of inquiry with justifications being based on contemporary

understandings as to how to best answer research questions. It is important to note that while

positivist and post-positivist methods are often seen as opposing and polarized views, they are

frequently used in conjunction. The distinction between the philosophies is considered to be

overstated. (Crossan, 2003)

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In conclusion, when it comes to dealing with the complexities of human social behavior, the

Theory of Reasoned Action/the Theory of Planned Behavior provides a useful conceptual

framework. It incorporates some of the central concepts in the behavior and social sciences and

defines them in a way that permits understanding and prediction of particular behaviors in

specified contexts. Attitudes toward the behavior and subject norms with respect to the behavior

and perceived control over the behavior have been found to predict behavioral intentions with a

high degree of accuracy. In combination, these intentions and perceived behavioral control

account for a considerable proportion of variance in behavior. This was evident in the

presentation of the three different areas of study in which this author applied the theory of

reasoned action. (Ajzen, 1991)

Rather than understand these beliefs as the empirical outcomes of inter-subjectively reliable

tests, the epistemological paradigm of post-positivism would review them as the product of a

chain of interpretive judgments, that are both technical and social and that have been arrived at

by researchers in particular places and times. From this perspective, social scientific theories can

be understood as assemblages of theoretical presuppositions, interpretive judgments, research

practices, voices, empirical data, and social strategies. (Fisher, 1998)

In this author’s opinion, one of the primary strengths of a theory in this respect would be its

ability to establish contrite equivalences and discursive connections between otherwise disparate

elements as well as incorporate new ones. The theory of planned behavior model is a very

powerful and useful tool for explaining human behavior.

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References

Ajzen, I. (1985) From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & Beckman
(Eds)., Action control: From cognition to behavior. Berlin, Heideler, New York: Springer-
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Ajzen, I (1991) The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes, 50, 179-211
Ajzen, I. & Fishbein, M. (1980) Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
Akers, R. L., Krohn, M. D., Lawza-Kaduce, L. & Radosevich, M. (1979) Social learning and
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Crossan, F. (2003) Research philosophy: an understanding. Nurse Researcher, 11, 46-55
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Usability News, 3(2) 1-3