The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (proposed by Icek Ajzen) is defined as a prediction of an

individual's intention to engage in a behavior at a specific time and place. It is an extension from
an earlier theory called the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), which was proposed by Martin
Fishbein and Icek Ajzen himself. TRA explains the relationship between attitudes and behaviours
of human action and is used to predict how people will behave based on their pre-existing attitudes
and behavioral intentions. (Fishbein & Ajzen 1975) In contrast, TPB posits that individual actions
are driven by behavior intentions, where intentions are a function of three determinants: an
individuals attitude towards the behavior (Ab), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral
control (PC). These are known as global variables, which is a result of sum beliefs.

Sum beliefs consist of: outcome beliefs, referent beliefs, and control beliefs. Outcome beliefs are
beliefs of the likely consequences of performing a behavior, this produces a favorable or
unfavorable attitude (Ab) towards the behavior. For example, if a student perceives that joining
Victoria University (VU) will lead to positive consequences, they will hold a favorable attitude
towards joining VU. Referent beliefs are the normative expectations of others, resulting in
perceived social pressure or subjective norms (SN).
SN can be categorized into two categories- injunctive and descriptive. Injunctive being a group
of people encouraging the individual to perform a particular behavior, and descriptive being a
group of people involved in a particular behavior and the individual feels the need to do so as
well. (Ajzen 1991) For example, an individual who has many friends, siblings and/or parents
who are students/past students at VU, they are more likely to study at VU also. Control beliefs
are beliefs about the presence of factors that may impede or facilitate the performance of the
behavior, which gives rise to perceived behavioral control (PC). Perceived Behavioral Control is
an individuals perception of the extent to which a performance is easy or difficult. If an
individual has sufficient support to enroll into a course (close location, available credits,
financial backing etc), their perceived control will be higher. The more positive the attitude and
subjective norm= the greater perceived control is and the stronger the persons intention will be
to perform the particular behavior.
Advantages of this theory are its ability to be applied to a wide variety of behaviours in different
frameworks such as health, education, and consumer behaviour. TPB doesnt depend on external
variables such as emotion or affect-related concepts, (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) without the
external variables, the theory is more reliable. As well as being an excellent model for researching,
the relationship between attitude and intention and is well supported with experimental evidence,
and is able to identify a persons intentions to perform various behaviours with exact precision.
(Ajzen 1991)

However, TPB is created to measure a very specific action and doesnt address the time frame
between intention and the performance of actual behavior. Time frame is important as it can affect
the consistency and accuracy of the results (Knabe 2012). Its important that continuous research
is conducted in order to further improve the theory so that it predicts behavior with higher
accuracy. As a marketer, its essential in making good use of this model, in order to better
understand consumers and develop better marketing strategies to maximize profits in business.
Reference list

Ajzen, I 1991, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision
Processes,Vol. 5, pp. 179 211.

Ajzen, I & Fishbein, M 1980,Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior.

Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Fishbein, M & Ajzen, I 1975, Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An introuduction to theory
and research, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, London.

Knabe, A 2012, Applying Ajzens Theory of Planned Behaviour to a Study of Online Course
Adoption in Public Relations Education, Marquette University, Milwaukee.