Theory of reasoned action

The theory of reasoned action (TRA) is one of the three classic models of persuasion, and is also used in communication discourse as a theory of understanding. The theory of reasoned action was developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen in 1967 and was derived from previous research that began as the theory of attitude. The theory aims to explain the relationship between attitudes and behaviors within human action. TRA is used to predict how individuals will behave based on their pre-existing attitudes and behavioral intentions. An individual's decision to engage in a particular behavior is based on the outcomes the individual expects will come as a result of performing the behavior.

The theory of reasoned action serves to understand an individual's voluntary behavior. The ideas found within the theory of reasoned action have to do with an individual's basic motivation to perform an action. According to the theory, intention to perform a certain behavior precedes the actual behavior. This intention is known as behavioral intention, and comes as a result of a belief that performing the behavior will lead to a specific outcome. Behavioral intention is important to the theory because these intentions "are determined by attitudes to behaviors and subjective norms". The theory of reasoned action suggests that stronger intentions lead to increased effort to perform the behavior, which also increases the likelihood for the behavior to be performed.

Ajzen and Fishbein suggest two factors that determine intention: attitudes and subjective norms. An attitude is a person's opinion about whether a behavior is positive or negative, while "a subjective norm is a perceived social pressure arising from one's perception". A subjective norm describes the social pressure an individual feels to perform or not perform the behavior at hand. Together, attitudes and subjective norms are thought to determine behavioral intention. Behavioral intention then leads to performing the behavior.

Behavioral intention is a function of both attitudes and subjective norms toward that behavior. However, the attitudes and subjective norms are unlikely to be weighted equally in predicting behavior. Depending on the individual and situation, these factors might have different impacts on behavioral intention, thus a weight is associated with each of these factors.

The TRA theorists note that there are three conditions that can affect the relationship between behavioral intention and behavior. The first condition is that "the measure of intention must correspond with respect to their levels of specificity". This means that to predict a specific behavior, the behavioral intention must be equally specific. The second condition is that there must be "stability of intentions between time of measurement and performance of behavior". The intention must remain the same between the time that it is given and the time that the behavior is performed. The third condition is "the degree to which carrying out the intention is under the volitional control of the individual". The individual always has the control of whether or not to perform the behavior. These conditions have to do with the transition from verbal responses to actual behavior.

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