StudySmarter - The all-in-one study app.
4.8 • +11k Ratings
More than 3 Million Downloads
Free
Americas
Europe
In trying to determine the differences between intention and behaviour, Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) came up with the theory of reasoned action, suggesting behaviour results from the individual’s intention to perform that specific behaviour. Most individuals decide their intention towards a behaviour well in advance, and that intention is the most accurate predictor of whether or not the individual will carry out…
Explore our app and discover over 50 million learning materials for free.
Lerne mit deinen Freunden und bleibe auf dem richtigen Kurs mit deinen persönlichen Lernstatistiken
Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenIn trying to determine the differences between intention and behaviour, Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) came up with the theory of reasoned action, suggesting behaviour results from the individual’s intention to perform that specific behaviour. Most individuals decide their intention towards a behaviour well in advance, and that intention is the most accurate predictor of whether or not the individual will carry out that behaviour.
Fig. 1 - The theory of reasoned action explores intentions behind behaviours
The theory of reasoned action was proposed by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) in an attempt to explain how human behaviour can be foreshadowed and predicted by intention. The theory has two basic assumptions. It assumes that people always behave rationally and that humans always use all the information available to them.
According to the theory of reasoned action, the most important factor that influences whether or not a behaviour will take place is the individual's intention.
The intention is composed of two other factors: attitudes towards behaviour and subjective norms.
Attitudes refer to individuals' positive or negative thoughts about their behaviour and two factors influence an individual's attitudes towards their objectives.
Subjective norm refers to the social pressure the individual may be experiencing to perform such behaviours by their family and friends. Subjective norm is influenced by normative beliefs and motivation to comply.
When we apply the theory of reasoned action to addiction, we can see how attitudes and subjective norms surrounding alcoholism, for instance, can affect how much a person will attempt to treat their addiction.
If the person believes drinking alcohol is fun, makes them feel relaxed in social settings, and provides them with an active social life, their attitude and intention to quit would be quite low. The consequences of quitting are negative to the individual, even if they are addicted.
If friends and family begin to apply pressure from a social standpoint, highlighting the negative aspects of drinking to the individual and refusing to spend time with them in settings with alcohol, the subjective norm of negative social pressure is present. Eventually, negative social pressure may induce an attitude change.
Intention to quit drinking is initially low, and reducing addictive behaviours will be low as a result.
This diagram will help you understand the Theory of Reasoned Action and its components better:
The theory of reasoned action has been applied and researched in many health-related behaviours such as addictive behaviours (smoking, alcoholism, and gambling), breakfast and fast food consumption.
Hosseini et al. (2015) carried out a study to test whether the Theory of Reasoned Action would increase individuals' likelihood of consuming breakfast. The study included an intervention in which participants received an informational programme on breakfast consumption promotion.
Participants filled in a questionnaire about their attitudes towards breakfast consumption before and after the intervention. Results indicated that subjective norms were a strong predictor of behaviour. Participants were more likely to consume breakfast if they believed that those around them were consuming breakfast and that these people around them would want him/her to consume breakfast1.
This theory has been used in a wide range of fields ranging from health behaviour, communication and consumer behaviour.
The theory of reasoned action states that the above-mentioned factors (attitude and subjective norms) work together to produce intention, which ultimately leads to behaviour.
Looking into exercise, an individual’s beliefs can generate the attitude that exercising is healthy, which is likely to create an intention for the individual to perform said behaviour.
On the other hand, if the same individual had negative beliefs about exercise such as, "exercise is inconvenient and I will probably injure myself", "I don’t have time to exercise", and "most of the people I know also don’t exercise" then the intention will not be created, and therefore, the behaviour will not be performed.
While the basis of this theory is that intention precedes behaviour, other factors may intervene before the intention is realised.
The first is the time gap between the expression of intention towards the behaviour and the actual behaviour; the bigger this gap is, the less likely it is for the intention to be expressed, as other influences and distractions can cause a change in attitudes and priorities.
An individual may intend to exercise after work but might have a conversation with colleagues and end up going to the pub instead.
Specificity refers to how specific one’s intention is. If an individual has a general attitude that they should exercise, it is more likely this won’t translate into behaviour. Whereas, if the attitude is specific, i.e., signing up for a gym class at a specific time, it is likely to be a good basis for predicting the behaviour.
When it comes to addiction, according to the theory of reasoned action, attitudes are affected by beliefs.
For example, a young person may think they will seem cooler if they smoke. The person may interpret the subjective norm that their friends also think people who smoke are cooler.
If a person believes their friends think smoking is cool, and they also think smoking is cool, the outcome of smoking is more likely to occur as a consequence. The intention to smoke will rise, and so will the chances of engaging in such behaviour.
The theory of reasoned action has been widely used in psychology. As with other theories, the theory of reasoned action presents both strengths and limitations. Here we will review both of them.
The Theory of Planned Behaviour was developed in an attempt to improve the already existing Theory of Reasoned Action. Ajzen (1985) adapted the theory to include perceived behavioural control, which then became the theory of planned behaviour.
The adapted theory states that achieving a specific behaviour is not only dependent on one’s intention towards it, but also on whether a person believes they can do the behaviour.
Perceived behavioural control refers to the extent to which we believe we can perform the behaviour. It is dependent on two main factors, (a) internal factors (one’s ability and determination towards the specific behaviour)
and (b) external factors (the resources and support available to that individual).
This added component can further impact our behaviour in two ways:
Perceived behavioural control thus can not only feed intention for a specific behaviour and impact it directly.
The theory of reasoned action suggests that an individual’s intention to perform a certain behaviour determines their actual behaviour. Their attitude toward the behaviour and subjective norms determine this intention.
According to the theory of reasoned action, if individuals evaluate the behaviour as positive (their attitude towards the behaviour), and if they believe that others want them to carry out their behaviour (subjective norms), they will have a higher intention to perform that behaviour. This can be applied in cases of treating addiction, for instance.
It is used to explain and predict behaviour based on attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions.
When we apply the theory of reasoned action to addiction, we can see how attitudes and subjective norms surrounding alcoholism, for instance, can affect how much a person will attempt to treat their addiction.
If the person believes drinking alcohol is fun, makes them feel relaxed in social settings, and provides them with an active social life, their attitude and intention to quit would be quite low.
There are two. The first, known as the theory of reasoned action, takes into account an individual’s attitude and subjective norms that contribute towards intention and then behaviour. However, after adaptations, the theory of planned behaviour came about with an added component – perceived behavioural control, which refers to how an individual believes that they can perform the behaviour.
How would you like to learn this content?
94% of StudySmarter users achieve better grades.
Sign up for free!94% of StudySmarter users achieve better grades.
Sign up for free!How would you like to learn this content?
Free psychology cheat sheet!
Everything you need to know on . A perfect summary so you can easily remember everything.
Be perfectly prepared on time with an individual plan.
Test your knowledge with gamified quizzes.
Create and find flashcards in record time.
Create beautiful notes faster than ever before.
Have all your study materials in one place.
Upload unlimited documents and save them online.
Identify your study strength and weaknesses.
Set individual study goals and earn points reaching them.
Stop procrastinating with our study reminders.
Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying.
Create flashcards in notes completely automatically.
Create the most beautiful study materials using our templates.
Sign up to highlight and take notes. It’s 100% free.