The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) was developed in the 1960s-1980s to establish a relationship between attitudes and overt behaviors. The TRA model proposes that behavioral intentions are determined by two factors: attitude toward the behavior and subjective norms. These intentions are highly correlated with actual behaviors. The TRA has been used in information systems research to study topics like online grocery buying intentions, factors influencing technology adoption behaviors, and social networking behaviors. While useful, the TRA is limited when behaviors are not under volitional control and does not account for all external factors that could influence intentions and behaviors.

1. THEORY OF REASONED ACTION (TRA)
Aravind Sesagiri Raamkumar

2. AGENDA
 Example
 Introduction
 Development of Theory
 Usage in IS
 Discussion

3. LETS START WITH A REAL WORLD EXAMPLE

4. COMPONENTS
Attitude towards
behavior
Intentions for
Behavior
behavior
Subjective
Norms
Dependent Variables Independent Variables
 Behavior  Attitude towards the behavior
 Intentions for behaviors  Subjective Norms or Normative Beliefs
 Intentions for behaviors

5. 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

6. 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

7. THE THEORY
B ≈ BI = (w1)AB + (w2)SN
B -> Behavior | BI -> Behavioral Intention | AB -> Attitude towards behavior
SN -> Subjective Norms | W1 -> Weight for AB | W2 -> Weight for SN

8. 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)
Constraints
1. The measurement of intentions needs to be taken in close proximity to the
behavior
2. Mediating variables can cause changes in behaviors independent of measured
intentions

9. 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

10. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

11. 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

12. 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

13. SUCCESSORS TO THE THEORY
 Theory of Planned Behavior(TPB)
 Technology Acceptance Model(TAM)
 Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technolog

14. 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

15. 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

16. Q&A…

17. Consumer online grocery buying intention (2004)
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18. Consumer online grocery buying intention (2004)
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19. Study of Social Networking Behavior (2012)
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