2. History and Overview
◦ The theory of planned behavior was proposed by psychologist Icek Ajzen in 1985. It's a
framework for understanding human behavior that suggests attitudes, subjective norms, and
perceived behavioral control influence behavioral intentions and subsequent actions.
◦ It is an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action proposed by Ajzen and Fishbein in 1980.
The TPB is widely used to predict and understand human behavior in various fields such as
health psychology, marketing, environmental psychology, and more.
◦ The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) suggested that attitudes toward a behavior, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control jointly shape an individual's behavioral intentions,
which in turn predict their actual behavior.Ajzen introduced the concept of perceived behavioral
control in the TPB to account for situations where individuals may lack complete control over
their behavior.
3. Constructs of TPB:
◦ The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a psychological framework used to understand
human behavior. It consists of six constructs:
◦ Attitude towards behavior
◦ Subjective Norms
◦ Perceived Behavioral Control
◦ Behavioral Intentions
◦ Behavior
◦ Behavioral Outcome
4. Attitude Toward the Behavior:
◦ This refers to an individual's positive or negative evaluation of performing a particular
behavior.Example: A company launches an advertising campaign promoting eco-friendly
products. The advertisements highlight the benefits of using sustainable products and portray
them as desirable and trendy. By creating a positive attitude towards using eco-friendly
products, the company aims to influence consumers to purchase them.
5. Subjective Norms:
◦ These are the perceived social pressures or expectations to perform or not perform a behavior.
It includes beliefs about what others think one should do.Example: A public relations campaign
for a charity organization features testimonials from well-known celebrities and influencers
endorsing the cause. These endorsements create a perception that supporting the charity is
socially desirable and that others, especially influential figures, also support it. This can
encourage individuals to donate or volunteer for the charity.
6. Perceived Behavioral Control:
◦ This is the perceived ease or difficulty of performing a behavior. It includes factors like self-
efficacy (belief in one's ability to perform the behavior) and perceived control over external
factors.Example: An advertisement for a fitness app emphasizes its user-friendly interface,
personalized workout plans, and accessibility. By highlighting these features, the advertisement
aims to reassure potential users that using the app is easy and within their control, regardless of
their fitness level or schedule.
7. Behavioral Intention:
◦ This is the individual's readiness to perform a specific behavior and is influenced by attitudes,
subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Behavioral Intention:Example: A public
relations campaign for a health organization promotes getting vaccinated against a specific
disease. Through informative content and testimonials from healthcare professionals, the
campaign aims to influence people's intentions to get vaccinated by addressing concerns and
providing factual information about the benefits and safety of vaccination.
8. Behavior and Behavioral Outcome:
◦ This is the actual performance of the behavior in question.Example: A company launches an
advertising campaign for a new product, showcasing its features and benefits through various
media channels such as television, social media, and print ads. The behavior in this case is the
act of consumers purchasing the product in response to the advertisements.
◦ This refers to the result or consequence of the behavior.Example: Following a public relations
campaign raising awareness about the importance of wearing seat belts, there is an increase in
seat belt usage rates among the target population. The behavioral outcome is a reduction in the
number of injuries and fatalities resulting from road accidents due to increased seat belt use.
9. Advantages and Disadvantages of using the
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)
◦ Advantages:
◦ Predictive Power: The TPB provides a systematic framework for understanding and predicting human
behavior. In PR and advertising, this predictive power allows practitioners to anticipate how target
audiences may respond to campaigns or messages.
◦ Tailored Messaging: By identifying the key determinants of behavior (attitudes, subjective norms,
perceived behavioral control), PR and advertising professionals can craft messages that specifically
address these factors, making them more persuasive and effective.
◦ Target Audience Insights: The TPB encourages gathering information about the attitudes, beliefs, and
perceptions of the target audience. This deeper understanding helps in creating communication
strategies that resonate with the audience's values and motivations.
◦ Behavioral Change Strategies: The TPB provides guidance on which factors to target in order to
promote behavior change. By focusing efforts on influencing attitudes, subjective norms, and
perceived behavioral control, PR and advertising campaigns can be designed to effectively
encourage desired behaviors.
10. Disadvantages:
◦ Simplification of Behavior: The TPB may oversimplify human behavior by focusing primarily on
cognitive factors and neglecting other influential factors such as emotions, habits, and environmental
constraints. This can limit the comprehensiveness of PR and advertising strategies.
◦ Subjectivity in Measurement: Assessing constructs like attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived
behavioral control often relies on self-reported data, which can be subjective and prone to biases.
This subjectivity may affect the accuracy of predicting behavior and evaluating campaign
effectiveness.
◦ Complexity of Constructs: The TPB involves multiple constructs that are interconnected and
influenced by various factors. Balancing these complexities while designing and implementing PR
and advertising campaigns can be challenging and may require significant resources and expertise.
◦ Limited Scope: While the TPB provides valuable insights into individual decision-making processes, it
may not fully capture the complexities of collective behaviors or societal influences. In PR and
advertising, where campaigns often target broader audiences or address societal issues, this
limitation can be constraining.
11. Conclusion
◦ TPB remains a useful framework for understanding the complexities of human behavior and
guiding the development of communication strategies that aim to influence attitudes, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control. By recognizing its strengths and limitations and
integrating complementary theories and methodologies, practitioners can attach the power of TPB
to create more impactful public relations and advertising campaigns.
