Theory of planned behavior
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Summary
10 papers analyzed
These studies suggest the Theory of Planned Behavior effectively predicts intentions and behaviors across various domains, including health, environment, and entrepreneurship, with perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and subjective norms being significant factors.
20 papers analyzed
Introduction
The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a psychological framework that aims to predict and understand human behavior. It posits that behavior is directly influenced by behavioral intentions, which are shaped by attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. This theory has been widely applied across various domains, including health, environmental science, and entrepreneurship.
Key Insights
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Predictive Power of TPB:
- TPB explains a significant portion of the variance in both intentions and behaviors, with perceived behavioral control and attitudes being strong predictors of intentions .
- The theory performs well in predicting intentions (average R² of .41) and behaviors (average R² of .34) across health-related behaviors .
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Role of Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC):
- PBC significantly contributes to the prediction of both intentions and behaviors, independent of other variables in the Theory of Reasoned Action .
- In health-related behaviors, PBC is as important as attitudes in explaining intentions.
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Subjective Norms:
- Subjective norms are generally weaker predictors of intentions compared to attitudes and PBC, partly due to measurement issues and the need for expanding the normative component .
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Behavioral Domains and Moderators:
- The efficacy of TPB varies across different behavioral domains. For instance, it better predicts physical activity and diet behaviors compared to risk-related behaviors like safer sex and drug abstinence.
- Methodological factors such as sample age, length of follow-up, and type of behavioral measure (self-reported vs. objective) also moderate the predictive power of TPB.
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Application in Environmental Science:
- TPB has been extensively applied to pro-environmental behaviors, including recycling, travel mode choice, and energy consumption. The theory's constructs have been integrated into a comprehensive application framework for environmental science .
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Entrepreneurial Intentions:
- TPB is robust in predicting entrepreneurial intentions and subsequent actions, highlighting its relevance in the business start-up context.
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Causal Relationships:
- There is evidence supporting reverse-causal relationships, where intentions can influence attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC, suggesting a need for reciprocal causal relations in the TPB model.
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Long-term Behavior Prediction:
- Stability of intentions over time strengthens the prediction of long-term behaviors, as seen in studies on healthy eating.
Conclusion
The Theory of Planned Behavior is a robust and versatile framework for predicting human behavior across various domains. It effectively explains intentions and behaviors, with perceived behavioral control and attitudes being key predictors. However, subjective norms are generally weaker predictors, and the theory's efficacy can vary depending on the behavioral domain and methodological factors. Additionally, the potential for reverse-causal relationships suggests that the TPB model could benefit from incorporating reciprocal influences. Overall, TPB remains a valuable tool for understanding and influencing human behavior.
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