EX: THE THEORY OF REASONED ACTION (pp.

1-4)
Problem Scenario
Mark has chosen to live off-campus next quarter, and he must find transportation to get
him to classes and back to his new apartment. He has enough money to buy either an old
four-door sedan or a used motorcycle. Assume that Mark has answered the questions on
the following questionnaire in the manner shown (his answers to each Question below
are indicated by an X above each respective scale):
Please place an X on each of the scales to reflect your level of agreement or
disagreement with the following statements:
1.

How Good or Bad is it that my transportation is comfortable through all four

seasons?
x
Bad
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Good

2.

I believe that if I buy the motorcycle I will have comfortable transportation

through all four seasons.
Strongly
Disagree

3.

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Strongly
Agree

I believe that if I buy the car I will have comfortable transportation through all
four seasons.
Strongly
Disagree

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Strongly
Agree

4.

How Good or Bad is it that I not waste a lot of time searching for parking
spaces on campus?
x
Bad
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Good

5.

I believe that if I buy the motorcycle I will be able to easily find parking
places on campus.
Strongly
Disagree

6.

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Strongly
Agree

I believe that if I buy the car I will be able to easily find parking places on
campus.
Strongly
Disagree

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Strongly
Agree

7.

How Good or Bad is it that I be able to transport my roommates to campus

and back?
x
Bad
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 Good

8.

I believe that if I buy the motorcycle I will be able to transport my

roommates.
Strongly
Disagree

9.

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Strongly
Agree

I believe that if I buy the car I will be able to transport my roommates.

Strongly
Disagree

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Strongly
Agree

10.

How Good or Bad is it for me to go along with what my parents want me to

do?
x
Bad
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Good

11.

I believe that my parents want me to buy the motorcycle.

Strongly
Disagree

12.

Strongly
Agree

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Good

I believe that my friends want me to buy the motorcycle.

Strongly
Disagree

15.

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

How Good or Bad is it to go along with what my friends want me to do?

Bad
14.

Strongly
Agree

I believe that my parents want me to buy the car.

Strongly
Disagree

13.

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Strongly
Agree

I believe that my friends want me to buy the car.

Strongly
Disagree

x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

Strongly
Agree

The formula for the Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) is as follows:

BI = wl [A(act)] + w2 [SN(act)]

BI
w1 and w2
A(act)
SN(act)

= Behavioral Intent
= weights (typically these are previously determined)
= Attitude toward an action (e.g., purchase)
= Subjective Norm
m
A(act) = (Bi x Ei)
i= 1

Where:
Bi
= Belief that an action (e.g., purchase) will lead to a consequence i
Ei
= Evaluation of the consequence i in terms of its Goodness or Badness,
Importance/Unimportance, or Desirability/Undesirability, etc.
i
= Consequences 1,2,...m
x
= multiply these respective terms (variables) of the model in the
appropriate manner
n
SN(act) = Summation (j=1 -> n) of (NBj x MCj)
j=1

NBj
MCj
j

Where
= Belief that a reference group (j) wants you to perform a certain action (e.g.,
purchase)
= Motivation to comply with reference group j
= Reference groups 1,2,...n

In similar studies, it has been found that the Attitude Toward the Act (A(act))
component is a slightly more important determinant of Behavioral Intent than is the
Subjective Norm (SN(act)) component. Therefore, w1 is set at 0.6 and w2 is set at
0.4.
Consequences (m = 3):
1. Having comfortable transportation through all four seasons.
2. Having the ability to easily find parking spaces.
3. Having the ability to transport roommates.
Reference Groups (n = 2):
1. Parents.
2. Friends.

Homework Task
Please use the Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) formula, the preceding
information regarding wl and w2, and Mark's questionnaire answers (shown in Q1
through Q15 above) to calculate his Behavioral Intent toward each of the two options:
BI(buying the motorcycle) and BI(buying the car).
Show all of your work, and discuss the implications of your results, including a discussion
of the A(act) and SN(act) results for each purchase option, as well as your prediction
of which purchase Mark will make.
Hint: You may want to begin by identifying the type of information each of the
items on the questionnaire is designed to gather/measure: B, E, NB, or MC.

Professor Michael Munson