THEORY OF REASONED ACTION (TRA)

Aravind Sesagiri Raamkumar

AGENDA

Example

Introduction

Development of Theory

Usage in IS

Discussion

LETS START WITH A REAL WORLD EXAMPLE

COMPONENTS

Dependent Variables Behavior Intentions for behaviors

Independent Variables Attitude towards the behavior Subjective Norms or Normative Beliefs Intentions for behaviors

BehaviorIntentions for

behavior

Attitude towards behavior

Subjective Norms

BACKGROUND

Domain: Social Psychology

Base Theory: Dulany’s Theory of Propositional Control(1968)

Objective: To establish relationship between attitude and overt behavior

Main Contributors: Icek Ajzen and Martin Fishbein

Period of Work: 1965-1980s

MAIN PAPERS

Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1973). Attitudinal and normative variables as predictors of specific behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27(1), 41-57.

Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior : An introduction to theory and research. Reading, Mass. ; Don Mills, Ontario: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co

THE THEORY

B ≈ BI = (w1)AB + (w2)SN

B -> Behavior | BI -> Behavioral Intention | AB -> Attitude towards behaviorSN -> Subjective Norms | W1 -> Weight for AB | W2 -> Weight for SN

AB = -> Belief that the behavior will result in outcome ‘i’ -> Evaluation of the outcome ‘I’ | n -> number of outcomes

SN = -> Normative belief related to outcome ‘i’ -> Motivation to comply with NB | n -> number of outcomes

STEP BY STEP VERIFICATION WITH EMPIRICAL DATA

Step 1: Behavior (B) and Behavioral Intentions (BI)

• Experiment: Prisoner’s Dilemma based games with two persons

• Motivational Orientations: Competitive, Cooperative or

Individualistic

• Correlation of 0.822 (p < 0.001) between B and BI over 20 trails

• Confirmatory findings from other researchers- Hornik (1970) &

Darroch (1971)

Constraints1. The measurement of intentions needs to be taken in close proximity

to the behavior2. Mediating variables can cause changes in behaviors independent of

measured intentions

STEP BY STEP VERIFICATION WITH EMPIRICAL DATA

Step 2 and Step 3: Attitude & Normative Beliefs with Behavioral Intentions

• Same set of experiments

• AB was measures by rating the behavior in question using semantic

differential scales

• SN or NB was measured by a direct question concerning

expectations of others

• Average correlation was found to be 0.808 -> High predictive value

• Attitudinal component (AB)has more influence than normative

beliefs(NB)

Constraints

Prediction of B varies based on 1) Type of Behavior 2) Situation 3)

Individual Difference between the actors

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

OTHER FACTORS

Beliefs play an important role in Attitude formation Existence of a circular loop between behavior to

belief

External variables don’t’ directly cause changes in intentions rather it is through AB and SN

General attitude towards an object is a summation of the attitudes related to different behaviors related to the particular object

ISSUES WITH THE THEORY

Only works when the individual has volitional control

Difficulty in differentiating attitudes and social norms

Doesn’t take factors such as skills, unconscious habits and restricted environment into account

SUCCESSORS TO THE THEORY Theory of Planned Behavior(TPB)

Technology Acceptance Model(TAM)

Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

USAGE OF TRA IN IS Mainly used in studies related to user

intentions

Examples: Consumer online grocery buying intention (2004) Study of students’ interest in IS career (2011) Study of Social Networking Behavior (2012)

Methodology of usage Check if the TRA model fits the problem space

Factor analysis Take the measurements and use them for

prediction Structural Equation Modeling

DISCUSSION

Where can we use this model? TRA model finds application if the problem

space involves understanding and changing the behavior of users

Most studies try to compare TRA, TPB and TAM and see which model performs fits and performs better

Conversion of conceptual variables into measurable variables can be tricky

Q&A…

Consumer online grocery buying intention (2004)

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Consumer online grocery buying intention (2004)

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Study of Social Networking Behavior (2012)

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