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Theory of Planned Behavior

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Definition

The theory of planned behavior is a theory used to understand and predict behaviors, which posits that behaviors are immediately determined by behavioral intentions and under certain circumstances, perceived behavioral control. Behavioral intentions are determined by a combination of three factors: attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.

Introduction

An extension of the theory of reasoned action (TRA; Fishbein and Ajzen 1975; Ajzen and Fishbein 1980), the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was developed by Icek Ajzen (1985, 1991) as a general model to predict and explain behavior across a wide range of different types of behaviors. A key assumption in the TRA is that behaviors are under one’s volitional control. However, this assumption is likely to be unrealistic in some contexts, as one can imagine that the volitional control of behaviors may vary across different situations. Recognizing that not all behaviors are under volitional...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Matthew P. H. Kan & Leandre R. Fabrigar

Authors
  1. Matthew P. H. Kan
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  2. Leandre R. Fabrigar
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Correspondence to Matthew P. H. Kan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Christian Jordan

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Kan, M.P.H., Fabrigar, L.R. (2017). Theory of Planned Behavior. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1191-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1191-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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