Theory of Reasoned Action in Relation to the Intentions and Attitude

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The theory of reasoned action (TRA) was developed by Martin Fishbein (1975) together with Icek Ajzen (1980). The theory was derived from their previous research after they coined the theory of attitude and initiated a study of attitude and behavior. Frustration in traditional research on the relation of behavior and attitude led to this theory; the research reported weak links between performance and attitude measures of voluntary behaviors. (Greene, Hale & Householder, 2003).

TRA incorporates three components which are behavioral intention, attitude, and subjective norm. (Azjen & Fishbein, 1975). It suggests that a person’s behavioral intention is dependent on the person’s attitude about the behavior and subjective norms.

If an individual has an intention to do an act then there is the likelihood that the individual will do it. Furthermore, an individual intention is guided by two factors: the individual attitude towards the behavior and the subjective norm (Azjen & Fishbein, 1975).

The marketing mix is simply a coalition of marketing tools that are used to assist in giving customers satisfaction and to meet company objectives. Often, consumers refer to it as “the offering.” Thus the offer is controlled by the Product, Price, Place (Distribution), and Promotion often known as the four Ps.

Product refers to an object which is mass-produced with a specific volume of units. Place means the location where the product would be purchased and usually refers to the distribution channel. The price is the amount that would be paid for the product which is influenced by the market share, material costs, product identity, competition, and the perceived value of the product. Promotion refers to all of the communications used by a marketer in the marketplace and includes public relations, word of mouth, advertising, and point of sale.

This thesis is will explore the theory of reason action and how it relates to the attitude and intentions of a teenage girl towards clothing shopping behavior putting into consideration the marketing mix.

The use of attitudes as predictors of purchase behavior has initiated some disputes. Some literature reviews on attitudes and behaviors have concluded that attitudes are not related or have very little relation to behavior (Wicker, 1969). Others, however, contend that some types of measures of attitudes, such as purchase intentions, can effectively be employed as predictors of shopping behavior. (McGuire, 1966)

Lake (2007) contends that by using the variations of the products, price, place, and promotion, several consumers within the target market can be attracted. The perception that a clothing item is produced on a large scale elicits some dislike among teenage girls. (Wind, 1970). The intention to buy a clothing item is dependent on the mode of production. (Douglas, 1971). Thus the theory of reasoned action is greatly justified. This may be due in part due to the perception of quality. Alternatively, subjective norms, in this case, peer pressure may cause the behavior.

Attitudes toward a specific brand of clothing may not represent effective predictors of a particular action; however, attitudes toward purchasing a particular brand of clothing in a given situation will normally be related to the specific behavior under consideration. (Douglas, 1971)

The intention of most teenage girls to shop for clothing is effectively predicted by the subjective norm. (Jane Ogden, (2003. Jane Ogden (2003) contends that teenage girls would shop for expensive clothes to show off rather than the quality. The intention is mostly influenced by peers. (Douglas, 1971). Rosa-Díaz argues that teenage girls’ knowledge of the prices is dependent on how much significance they place on a clothing item and it influences subjects’ perceptions of buying. Advertisement plays a major role in influencing the intentions of teenage girls. The celebrity presentation of some advertisements attracts the attention of teenage shoppers.

A study that compared the predictors of shopping for clothing to African-American and non-Hispanic white teenagers showed that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control predicted shopping intentions in the African Americans whilst attitude and perceived behavioral control were predictive of clothing shopping in non-white Hispanic teenage girls.

Jane Ogden (2003) pointed out that TRA is a practical theory, but queried its conceptual base and the testability where she highlighted some limitations. First, she noted that some studies of TRA failed to provide the role of the subjective norm; some did not show a predictive role for perceived behavioral control while others failed to show the role for attitudes. She agreed that the theory may lack predictive power and fail to explain the low variance. Ajzen and Fishbein (2004) in a response elucidated that the relative significance of subjective norms, attitudes, and discernments of behavioral control to predict intentions vary in respect to behaviors and population. They argued that from the three theoretical antecedents, sometimes only one or two may be necessary for any given situation.

Second Ogden (2003) talked about two types of truth in the philosophy of science, namely synthetic truth that can be known through exploration and testing and analytic truth that is known by definition. She contended that TRA and TPB focus on analytic truth whereby the conclusions are not supported by observation. She also questioned that behavior is mostly measured by self-reports rather than objective measures. Ajzen and Fishbein (2004) in the rejoinder presented evidence from structural equation modeling on the theories that supported the path mentioned in the theories. They also defended self-reports by mentioning that it is virtually impossible to obtain an objective measurement of some behaviors and extremely expensive and time-consuming for others.

Lastly, Ogden (2003) showed that completing queries about a person’s cognition in the operationalization of these theories may change and create one’s thinking rather than tapping into how exactly one thinks to begin with. Ajzen and Fishbein (2004) note that this concern is universal to all behavioral science research.

Reference

Ajzen, I. (1991): The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Process.

Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980): Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, N J: Prentice-Hall.

Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (2004): Questions raised by a reasoned action approach: comment on Ogden (2003). Health Psychology.

Douglas, S. P. (1971): Intentions to buy as predictors of buying behavior, Temple University. New York.

Fishbein, M. (1965): A consideration of beliefs, attitudes, and their relationship. In I. D.

Fishbein, M. (1967): Attitude and the prediction of behavior. In M. Fishbein (Ed.) Readings in attitude theory and measurement. (pp. 477-492). New York: John Wiley.

Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief attitude, intention and behaviour. An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Lake, L. (2000). Developing Your Marketing Mix, Guide to Marketing, Free Press. New York.

Marcoux, B. C. (1997). Application of the theory of planned behaviour to adolescent shopping.

Ogden, J. (2003). Some problems with social cognition models: a pragmatic & conceptual analysis. Health Psychology, 22(4), 424-428.

Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P. R. (1988). The Theory of Reasoned Action: A meta-analysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research. Journal of Consumer Research.

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Theory of Reasoned Action in Relation to the Intentions and Attitude

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