Теория обоснованного действия в психологии

Psychological theory

The theory of reasoned action (TRA or ToRA) aims to explain the relationship between attitudes and behaviors within human action. It is mainly used to predict how individuals will behave based on their pre existing attitudes and behavioral intentions. An individual's decision to engage in a particular behavior is based on the outcomes the individual expects will come as a result of performing the behavior. Developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen in 1967, the theory derived from previous research in social psychology, persuasion models, and attitude theories. Fishbein's theories suggested a relationship between attitude and behaviors (the A–B relationship). However, critics estimated that attitude theories were not proving to be good indicators of human behavior. The TRA was later revised and expanded by the two theorists in the following decades to overcome any discrepancies in the A–B relationship with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and reasoned action approach (RAA). The theory is also used in communication discourse as a theory of understanding. The primary purpose of the TRA is to understand an individual's voluntary behavior by examining the underlying basic motivation to perform an action. TRA states that a person's intention to perform a behavior is the main predictor of whether or not they actually perform that behavior. Additionally, the normative component (i. e. social norms surrounding the act) also contributes to whether or not the person will actually perform the behavior. According to the theory, intention to perform a certain behavior precedes the actual behavior. This intention is known as behavioral intention and comes as a result of a belief that performing the behavior will lead to a specific outcome. Behavioral intention is important to the theory because these intentions "are determined by attitudes to behaviors and subjective norms". TRA suggests that stronger intentions lead to increased effort to perform the behavior, which also increases the likelihood for the behavior to be performed.

A positivistic approach to behavior research, TRA attempts to predict and explain one's intention of performing a certain behavior. The theory requires that behavior be clearly defined in terms of the four following concepts: Action (e. g. to go, get), Target (e. g. a mammogram), Context (e. g. at the breast screening center), and Time (e. g. in the 12 months). According to TRA, behavioral intention is the main motivator of behavior, while the two key determinants on behavioral intention are people's attitudes and norms. By examining attitudes and subjective norms, researchers can gain an understanding as to whether or not one will perform the intended action. These attitudes are influenced by two factors: the strength of behavioral beliefs regarding the outcomes of the performed behavior (i. e. whether or not the outcome is probable) and the evaluation of the potential outcomes (i. e. whether or not the outcome is positive). The theory stipulates that there exists a direct correlation between attitudes and outcomes, such that if one believes that a certain behavior will lead to a desirable or favorable outcome, then one is more likely to have a positive attitude towards the behavior. Alternatively, if one believes that a certain behavior will lead to an undesirable or unfavorable outcome, then one is more likely to have a negative attitude towards the behavior. This concept stipulates that people tend to associate the performance of a certain behavior with a certain set of outcomes or features. A few studies have shown that direct prior experience with a certain activity results in an increased weight on the attitude component of the behavioral intention function.

The TRA theorists note that there are three conditions that can affect the relationship between behavioral intention and behavior. The first condition is that "the measure of intention must correspond with respect to their levels of specificity". This means that to predict a specific behavior, the behavioral intention must be equally specific. The second condition is that there must be "stability of intentions between time of measurement and performance of behavior". Their statement asserts that according to TRA, the measure of behavioral intention can predict whether or not an individual will perform a certain act, as long as the behavioral intention remains the same and the behavior is clearly and properly defined. To their surprise, they found that TRA could successfully be applied in situations that did not fully adhere to the three formal terms and conditions specified by the theory. Since the TRA focuses on behaviors that people decisively enact, the theory is limited in terms of being able to predict behaviors that require access to certain opportunities, skills, conditions, and/or resources. According to a study conducted by Bagozzi and Yi, the performance of a behavior is not always preceded by a strong intent. In fact, attitudes and behaviors may not always be linked by intentions, particularly when the behavior does not require much cognitive effort. This expanded version of TRA has been used to study behaviors like women's participation in mammography procedures. In 1985, Ajzen extended TRA to what he refers as the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This involves the addition of one major predictor—perceived behavioral control. This addition was introduced to account for times when people have the intention to conduct the behavior, but the actual behavior is thwarted because of subjective and objective reasons. In the theory of planned behavior, the attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral control have "important although differently weighted effects on a person's intention to behave". The model also mentions little about the memory process.

TRA has been used in many studies as a framework for examining specific kinds of behavior such as communication behavior, consumer behavior and health behavior. Many researchers use the theory to study behaviors that are associated with high risks and danger like unethical conduct, as well as deviant behavior. In contrast, some research has applied the theory to more normative and rational types of action like voting behavior. Researchers Davies, Foxall, and Pallister suggest that TRA can be tested if "behavior is measured objectively without drawing a connection to prior intention". Most studies, however, look at intention because of its central role in the theory.

TRA has been applied to the study of whistle blowing intentions and hazing in college organizations, specifically fraternities and sororities. Richardson et al. set out to study whistle blowing by using TRA as a framework to predict whether or not individuals will come forward about report hazing incidents. Their study served to examine whether the relationships suggested by the TRA model remain true in predicting whistle blowing intentions, and if these relationships would change depending on the severity of the hazing incident. Richardson et al. surveyed a sample of 259 students from Greek organizations at university in the Southwestern United States. The survey questions measured the different aspects of the TRA model: behavioral beliefs, outcome evaluations, attitude toward the behavior, normative beliefs, motivation to comply, subjective norms, and the consequence endogenous variable. The questions asked respondents to rate their responses on various 7 point scales. "Participants in the study responded to one of three scenarios, varying in level of severity, describing a hazing situation occurring in their fraternity or sorority". In line with the theory, the researchers wanted to identify if attitudes held about hazing, dangerous activity, and group affiliation, along with subjective norms about whistle blowing (reactions by others, consequences of reporting the action, isolation from the group) would influence whether or not an individual would go through with reporting a hazing incident. The results of the study found that individuals were more likely to report, or whistle blow, on hazing incidents that were more severe or harmful to individuals. Simultaneously, individuals were also concerned about the perceptions of others' attitudes towards them and the consequences they may face if they reported hazing incidents.

TRA can be applied to the field of public relations and marketing by applying the basics of the theory to campaigns. A few examples of this is using it in a hotel marketing strategy and how likely customers are to come back to the hotel based on behaviors. Brands and companies can use this theory to see what consumers are going to buy and how to create materials for campaigns based on this information. Other researchers investigated the consumers’ motivation and extended TRA model.

TRA is used to examine the communication behavior in corporations. One of the behaviors TRA helped characterize is knowledge sharing (KS) in companies. In the study conducted by Ho, Hsu, and Oh, they proposed two models to construct KS process by introducing TRA and game theory (GT). One model captures personal psychological feelings (attitudes and subjective norms), the other model not only captures personal feelings but also takes other people's decisions into consideration. By comparing the two models, researchers found that the model based on TRA has a higher predictive accuracy than the model based on TRA and GT. They concluded that employees "have a high probability of not analyzing the decisions of others", and whether taking other colleague's decision into account has a great impact on people's KS behavioral intention. It is indicated that "the more indirect decision makers there are in organizations, the less effective is KS". in contrast with other applications of the theory to more dangerous types of behavior. TRA serves as a useful model because it can help examine whether "consumers' intentions to use coupons are determined by their attitudes and perceptions of whether important others think one should or should not expend the effort to clip, save, and use coupons". New research investigated norms in social media, contributing to TRA from a more updating perspective.

TRA has also been used to study consumer attitudes towards renewable energy. In 2000, Bang, et al. found that people who cared about environmental issues like pollution were more willing to spend more for renewable energy. Similarly, a 2008 study of Swedish consumers by Hansla et al. showed that those who with a positive view of renewable energy were more willing to spend money on sustainable energy for their homes. These studies are evidence that the emotional response people have towards a topic affects their attitude, which in turn affects their behavioral intent. These studies also provide examples for how the TRA is used to market goods that might not make the most sense from a strictly economic perspective. Gotch and Hall examined children's nature related behaviors through TRA approach. In addition, Mishara et al. 's research proved there is a positively relation between behavioral intention and actual behavior in green information technology (GIT) acceptance. Those professionals with positive intentions towards GIT tend to exploit GIT into practice.

More recently, Gen Z has been studied using TRA to identify their shopping behaviors and purchasing intentions with products. With the increase in online exposure that Gen Z has, many studies have focused on how this influences their intentions, as well as how their awareness towards ethical dilemmas influence their decision making. In 2022, Djafarova and Foots found that Gen Z is highly aware of not only ethical issues, but environmental ones as well, due to their exposure to media. Additionally, they found that this influences their consumption behavior despite their financial standings. In 2019, Copeland and Zhao suggested that the social influence of peers on social networking systems, such as Instagram, should be added to the TRA as well, due to its influence on purchasing intentions. Since Gen Z are the main contributors and consumers of social networks such as Instagram, it goes to show how it impacts their intentions when purchasing products. Similar research looks into how Gen Z's intentions are influenced not only by their ethical assumptions, and social media exposure, but also how the sites they shop on are designed. In 2023, Ryu et al. discovered that Gen Z prefer omnichannel shopping, and when companies provide smooth and uninterrupted shopping experiences, Gen Z are more inclined to purchase those products.

TRA has been frequently used as a framework and predictive mechanism of applied research on sexual behavior, especially in prevention of sexually transmitted disease such as HIV. In 2001, Albarracín, Johnson, Fishbein, and Muellerleile applied theory of reasoned action (TRA) and theory of planned behavior (TPB) into studying how well the theories predict condom use. To be consistent with TRA, the authors synthesized 96 data sets (N = 22,594), and associate every component in condom use with certain weight. Their study indicates that TRA and TPB are highly successful predictors of condom use. According to their discussion, "people are more likely to use condoms if they have previously formed the corresponding intentions. These intentions to use condoms appear to derive from attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. These attitudes and norms, in turn, appear to derive from outcome and normative beliefs. Nevertheless, whether behavior was assessed retrospectively or prospectively was an important moderator that influenced the magnitude of the associations between theoretically important variables."

The public health community, interested in reducing rising obesity rates, has used TRA to study people's exercise behavior. A 1981 study by Bentler and Speckart revealed that intent to exercise was determined by a person's attitude toward exercise, as predicted by TRA. In a broader literature review on the study of exercise using TRA and TPB, it was determined that behavioral intent to exercise is better framed by TRA than TPB because perceived behavioral control did not have a significant effect on the intent to exercise.

According to Fishbein's and Ajzen's original (1967) formulation of TRA, a behavioral intention measure will predict the performance of any voluntary act, unless intent changes prior to performance or unless the intention measure does not correspond to the behavioral criterion in terms of action, target, context, time frame and/or specificity. The model of TRA has been challenged by studies determined to examine its limitation and inadequacy. The major problem of TRA is pointed out to be the ignorance of the connections between individuals, both the interpersonal and social relations in which they act, and the broader social structures which govern social practice. Although TRA recognizes the importance of social norms, strategies are limited to a consideration of individual perceptions of these social phenomena. An individual's belief, attitudes and understandings are constituted activity; therefore the distinction of the two factors is ambiguous. In 1972, Schwartz and Tessler noted that there are other major and subjective determinants of intentions at play that go beyond attitudes toward the behavior and subjective norms. Namely, they propose that one's sense of right and wrongs, as well as one's beliefs surrounding moral obligation may also impact one's intention. This value system is internalized independently from Fishbein and Ajzen's subjective norms. Besides, the analysis of the conceptual basis also raises concerns. It is criticized that the model does not enable the generation of hypothesis because of their ambiguity. The model focuses on analytic truth rather than synthetic one, therefore the conclusions resulting from those applications are often true by definition rather than by observation which makes the model unfalsifiable. The strengths of attitudes toward a behavior (social/personal) and subjective norms also vary cross culturally while the process by which the behavior engaged remains the same. An example of this is shown in a cross cultural study on fast food choices, where people from Western cultures were found to be more influenced by their prior choice of restaurant than people from Eastern cultures. This would suggest that people from different cultures weight subjective norms and existing attitudes differently. A closer examination of the cross cultural communication process will benefit and complete the understanding of TRA.

According to Jaccard James, three directions are waiting for further research in TRA. The first one is per individual level. The second area is a split second situations, namely, instant decision making. The third one is multioption contexts. In other words, how people perform when facing multiple alternatives should be stressed in the future study.