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2.2. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)
The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) predicts and understands motivational influences on the behavior that is not under the individual's volitional control.
According to TRA, human beings are rational and make systematic use of information available to them. Moreover, people consider the implications of their actions before they decide to engage or not engage in certain behaviors.
The Theory of Reasoned Action “proposes that behavioral intention is a function of both attitudes toward a behavior and subjective norms toward that behavior” (Miller 2005). And a person’s behavioral intention is a predictor of actual behavior. The theory suggests that a person’s behavior is determined by his/her intention to perform the behavior and that this intention is, in turn, a function of his/her attitude toward the behavior and his/her subjective norm (Azjen and Fishbein 1980).
According to Ajzen and Fishbein, in order to gain deeper understanding of the factors influencing behavior, it is required to look for the determinants of the attitudinal and normative components. As they explained, those determinants are beliefs individuals hold about themselves and their environment, in other words, the information individuals have about themselves and the world in which they live.
Therefore, beliefs are viewed as underlying person's attitudes toward the specific behavior and subjective norms, and they ultimately determine intentions and behavior (Azjen and Fishbein 1980). In addition to measuring attitudes toward the behavior, there is also a need to measure people’s subjective norms – their beliefs about how people they care about will view the behavior in question. To predict
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someone’s intentions, knowing these beliefs can be as important as knowing the person’s attitudes.
Finally, perceived behavioral control influences intentions. Perceived behavioral control refers to people's perceptions of their ability to perform a given behavior. These predictors lead to intention. As a general rule, the more favorable the attitude and the subjective norm, and the greater the perceived control, the stronger the person’s intention to perform the behavior in question.
Figure 2.2.1. Reasoned Action Model by Azjen & Fishbein (1975).
Generally speaking, the Theory of Reasoned Action says that a person’s behavior is determined by their attitude towards the outcome of that behavior and by the opinions of the person's social environment. Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) proposed that a person's behavior is determined by his/her intention to perform the behavior and that this intention is, in turn, a function of his/her attitude towards the behavior and
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his/her subjective norm. A person's volitional behavior is predicted by his/her attitude towards that behavior and how he/she thinks other people would view them if they performed the behavior. A person’s attitude, combined with subjective norms, forms his/her behavioral intention. According to Ajzen attitudes and norms are not weighted equally in predicting behavior. “Indeed, depending on the individual and the situation, these factors might be very differently affecting the behavioral intention; thus a weight is associated with each of these factors in the predictive formula of the theory. For example, you might be the kind of person who cares little for what others think. If this is the case, the subjective norms would carry little weight in predicting your behavior”
(Miller 2005).
2.2.1. Three Components of the Theory
Attitude
Attitude is the first determinant of behavioral intention. It is the degree to which the person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of the behavior in question. Attitudes are person’s beliefs of the person. Some beliefs are formed from direct experience, some are from outside information and others are inferred or self generated. However, only a few of these beliefs actually work to influence attitude.
These beliefs are called salient beliefs and they are said to be the "immediate determinants of a person's attitude" (Azjen and Fishbein 1980). An attitude, in that case, is a person's salient belief about whether the outcome of his/her action will be positive or negative. If the person has positive salient beliefs about the outcome of his/her behavior then he/she is said to have a positive attitude about the behavior and vice-versa. If the person has negative salient beliefs about the outcome of his/her
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behavior he/she is said to have a negative attitude. The beliefs are rated for the probability that engaging in the behavior will produce the believed outcome.
Subjective Norm
Subjective norm is regarded as the second predictor of behavioral intention.
This is the influence of social pressure that is perceived by the individual (normative beliefs) to perform or not perform a certain behavior. Subjective Norms are beliefs about what others will think about our behavior. They are perceptions about how family and friends will perceive the outcome of our behavior and the degree to which this influences whether the behavior is carried out (motivation to comply). These two factors are multiplied to give the subjective norm. It is important to note that subjective norms are formed only in relation to the opinions of people considered to be significant or important.
Behavioral Intention
Behavioral intention is an indication of how hard people are willing to try and how much of an effort they are planning to exert, in order to perform the behavior. It is influenced by three components: person’s attitude towards performing the behavior, the perceived social pressure, called subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Fishbein (1967) proposed that variables not included in the model could affect intention and consequently behavior. Also, behavior is the transmission of intention into action.
2.2.2. The Application of TRA in Various Studies
The TRA was adapted to various types of research dealing with adoption of technology use. For instance, TRA has been applied to explain unethical behavior
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Hartwick & Barki, 1994; Liker & Sindi, 1997), condom use (Sneed & Morisky, 1998), pre-adoption and post-adoption beliefs and attitudes (Karahanna, Straub & Chervany, 1999), problem solving agents in dynamic worlds (Au & Parameswaran, 2003), Internet information management (Celuch, Taylor & Goodwin, 2004) and behavior on the Internet in general (Bobbitt & Dabholkar, 2001; Leonard, Cronan & Kreie, 2004).
The TRA was also adapted to predict job application decisions (Hooft, Born, Taris & Van der Flier, 2006), customer intention to adopt online banking (Grabner-Kräuter & Faullant, 2008; Shih & Fang, 2004), user adaption of instant messenger use (Chung & Nam, 2007).
It was also applied in many studies on consumer buying behavior. There is a lot of research about traditional customers, for example, explaining milk purchasing habits and consumption behavior (Brewer, Blake, Rankin & Douglass, 1999), or attitude toward intention, habit and food choice (Petrovici, Ritson & Ness, 2004) and young consumer purchase intention (Belleau, Summers, Xu & Pinel, 2007). Recently, research of online customer behavior has beeb systematically increasing. Studies on consumer adoption of the Internet for shopping (Yoh, Sapp & Laczniak, 2003) or attitude toward online shopping and online shopping intention (Hansen, Jensen &
Solgaard, 2004; Delafrooz, Paim & Khatibi, 2009) are just a few examples.
2.2.3. Summary
In summary, according to the Theory of Reasoned Action, an individual's behavioral intention is the most immediate factor influencing people’s behavior. This intention is a function of the individual's attitude and subjective norm. The individual's attitude and subjective norm are both considered a function of the weighted sum of the appropriate beliefs (Azjen and Fishbein 1980; Severin and Tankard 2001).
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The Theory of Reasoned Action has “received considerable and, for the most part, justifiable attention within the field of consumer behavior (…) not only does the model appear to predict consumer intentions and behavior quite well, it also provides a relatively simple basis for identifying where and how to target consumers’
behavioral change attempts” (Sheppard, Hartwick et al. 1988).