Theory of planned behaviour

• Theory of planned behaviour

  Formulated by Icek Ajzen (1985; 1991)

  the theory of planned behaviour aims to

  explain how we change behaviours that

  we control

  • deliberate behaviour

  The TPB asserts that behaviour can be

  predicted from our intention to behave in a certain way. 

  Applied to addiction the TPB tries to link intentions to give up with actual changes in behaviour

  The theory says that intentions arise from 3 key influences
• Theory of planned behaviour

  Attitudes

  This refers to the entire collections of the person’s attitudes towards their addiction. It amounts to whether their opinion of the addiction is favourable or not. 

  People work this out by taking into account the outcomes associated with their addiction

  The individual’s overall attitude is formed from weighing up 

  the balance of positive and negative evaluations
• Theory of planned behaviour

  Subjective norms

  The individual’s beliefs about whether the people who matter most to them approve or disapprove of their addictive behaviour. 

  The beliefs are based on what these people believe to be ‘normal’ behaviour - norms

  The addicted person considers what their friends and family would think if they knew about their addiction
• Theory of planned behaviour

  Subjective norms

  Factors that influence this subjective view may be:

  If the conclusion reached by the gambler is “my friends and family would be very unhappy with me for gambling” they would be less likely to intend to gamble, so less likely to actually gamble

  If the conclusion reached by the gambler is “my friends and family don’t care or wouldn’t mind” they would be more likely to intend to gamble, so more likely to actually gamble
• Theory of planned behaviour

  Subjective norms

  NOTE: It is not the reality of other people’s approval or disapproval of gambling in general that influences intentions. It is the perception of the people closest to you’s opinion of your gambling specifically
• Theory of planned behaviour

  Perceived behavioural control

  This is about how much control we believe we have over our behaviour - our self efficacy. 

  E.g. does the addicted gambler believe that giving up gambling is an easy or difficult thing to do? This depends on their perception of the resources available to them. 

  This perception of resources can be both external (money, time, support) and internal (ability, skill, determination)
• Theory of planned behaviour

  Perceived behavioural control

  According to the TPB, perceived behavioural control has two possible effects

  1. It can influence our intention to behave - the more control I have over my ability to stop, the stronger my intention to do so

  It can also influence behaviour directly - the greater my perceived control over my gambling, the longer and harder I will try to stop