Theory of reasoned action
[citation needed] 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).
[2] The primary purpose of the TRA is to understand an individual's voluntary behavior by examining the underlying basic motivation to perform an action.
[4] Additionally, the normative component (i.e. social norms surrounding the act) also contributes to whether or not the person will actually perform the 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).
[8] By examining attitudes and subjective norms, researchers can gain an understanding as to whether or not one will perform the intended action.
[7] For example, a person may evaluate the outcome of quitting smoking cigarettes as positive if the behavioral belief is improved breathing and clean lungs.
[12] 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.
[17] 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.
Ajzen acknowledged that "some behaviors are more likely to present problems of controls than others, but we can never be absolutely certain that we will be in a position to carry out our intentions.
Viewed in this light it becomes clear that strictly speaking every intention is a goal whose attainment is subject to some degree of uncertainty.
[12] In spite of the improvement, it is suggested that TRA and TPB only provides an account of the determinants of behavior when both motivation and opportunity to process information are high.
[28] Researchers Davies, Foxall, and Pallister suggest that TRA can be tested if "behavior is measured objectively without drawing a connection to prior intention".
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.
Richardson et al. surveyed a sample of 259 students from Greek organizations at university in the Southwestern United States.
"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".
[30] 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.
In the study conducted by Ho, Hsu, and Oh, they proposed two models to construct KS process by introducing TRA and game theory (GT).
To approach this study, Shimp and Alican surveyed 770 households and measured the aspects of the TRA model in terms of the participant's responses.
[35] Positive attitudes towards this behavior are influenced by an individual's perceptions that their partners will be satisfied by their time spent and efforts made to save money.
In 1998, Ha conducted a study to investigate the relationships among several antecedents of unit brand loyalty (UBL) by introducing TRA.
In 2000, Bang, et al. found that people who cared about environmental issues like pollution were more willing to spend more for renewable energy.
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.
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.
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.
[43] 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.
[3] Subjective norms are the perceived social pressure teenagers feel from their friends, classmates, and other peer groups to engage in sexual behavior.
[3] Findings from the student showed that the TRA was supportive in predicting early sexual behavior among African American teenage girls.
Attitudes towards sex and subjective norms both correlated with intentions to participate in early sexual behavior in the study's sample.
[46] The public health community, interested in reducing rising obesity rates, has used TRA to study people's exercise behavior.
