Theory of Reasoned Action essay

Theory of Reasoned Action essay

As the technical facilitator, one must help the group work together in an effort to reach a common goal. There are several theories that place emphasis on the ability to form cohesive teams. Though, the theory of reasoned action, which deals with attitudes that affect cohesive teamwork, is the most important. In it, Icek Ajzen and Martin Fishbein study whether attitudes predict behavior.

The theory assumes that people rationally calculate the benefits of engaging in a particular action and think carefully about how important others will view the behavior under consideration. In the case of class groups the theory would assume that each individual member of the group would calculate the benefits of creating the web page and also consider how everyone else in the group will react to the project. According to Perloff (1993) the hallmark of the theory model is its emphasis on conscious deliberation.

The theory is composed of four components: attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, behavioral intention, and actual behavior. Attitude toward the behavior is defined as the person’s judgment on whether performing the behavior is good or bad. Subjective norm is the person’s perceptions of the social pressures put on him to perform or not perform the behavior in process.

Behavioral intention is the intent to perform a particular behavior and actual behavior is the behavior performed (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). So each individual of the group must decide whether creating the website is a good or bad behavior, have the perception that the group will place pressure on each individual member of the group to perform their assigned tasking, the group must be ensured that member actually intends to do the behavior, and then have the individual group member must actually perform the task.

Attitude toward the behavior consists of two subcomponents. The first is behavioral belief, which is the belief of what the consequences of the behavior will result in. The second is the outcome evaluations, which are the affective evaluations of those consequences (Perloff, 1993).

For example, suppose you wanted to predict whether someone in the group was going to participate in the group project or not. First you would have to assess the individual’s attitude toward doing the project. This would be done by obtaining a measure of their beliefs about the consequences, either good or bad, of doing the project. Then you would evaluate the outcome of the results to see if they have the intention of completing the project.

Subjective norm also consists of two subcomponents; the normative beliefs and the motivation to comply. Normative belief is the person’s belief that specific individuals or groups think he should or should not perform the behavior.

Motivation to comply is the individual’s motivation to go along with significant others (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). In the case of the group project the person believes they should do their part of the project and the motivation to comply is to work with the other members of the group to create the project.

Behavioral intent is the intention to perform a particular behavior. The theory of reasoned action says that intention is a joint function of the attitude toward the behavior and subjective norm. Therefore under some conditions a person’s attitude predicts his intention to perform a behavior. In other circumstances, subjective norm predicts the intention (Perloff, 1993).

Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) state that most social behavior action is under the control of the individual. Therefore, the intent to perform a particular behavior should predict the actual performance of the act. “In sum, attitude toward the behavior and subjective norm determine intention to perform a behavior, and intention is the immediate determinant of the action” (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980).

The theory of reasoned action makes it clear that any attempt to influence the action of an individual, whether the goal is to change an attitude, norm, intention or behavior, must be directed at one of the individual’s beliefs. Therefore to change a person’s attitude it is necessary to know the primary beliefs on which the attitude is based.

Then a message that provides information to change those beliefs must be constructed. Likewise, a subjective norm can be changed by attacking either the specific normative beliefs or the motivation to comply. By changing the beliefs underlying either attitudes or subjective norms behaviors can be changed (Petty and Cacioppo, 1981).

As a facilitator communication with each individual of the group is very important. If an individual decides that they do not want to do the project, the facilitator’s job is to figure out why and then decide the best way to change those beliefs. Each individual in the group has to believe that creating the project is important to them and the group. For example, if an individual is having technical problems with their part of the project, they may start to believe that they are not able to finish and in turn stop working on the project all together.

As a technical facilitator, you have to help them with their part of the project and show them how important they are to the group. Research conducted over the years to test the theory of reasoned action has provided evidence that the relationship between attitude toward a behavior and actual performance of that behavior are highly intertwined (Zanna, 1982). This means that as long as each individual’s beliefs are changed, then the desired outcome will be reached.

The theory of reasoned action, explains how an individual decides which action they should take. It is this theory that explains how a technical facilitator should deal with each individual’s beliefs. By understanding their beliefs on the project, then you should be able to properly communicate with each member of the group and show them how to meet the assigned task in a timely and professional matter.