Theory of planned behaviour

TPB attempts to explain how likely individuals are to convert their intentions into actual goal-directed behaviours. 

Three sets of beliefs and attitudes contribute to the likelihood that someone will adopt a particular behaviour in pursuit of a desired goal.

• Behavioural beliefs and attitudes — the extent to which you believe that the behaviour will help to achieve the intended outcome and the desirability of the intended outcome — Will this get me what I want?

• Normative beliefs and subjective norms — the extent to which you believe that other people want you to adopt the behaviour and the value you place on your relationship with those people — Do people I care about want me to do this?

• Control beliefs and perceived control — the extent to which you believe that you are capable of performing the behaviour and the degree to which you perceive it will be easy or difficult — Will I be able to do this?

TPB can be used to explore why you or other people behaved in particular (unexpected) ways in specific situations (and why you or they might have failed to act).

• What intended outcomes are their behaviours consistent with?

• How might they believe that their behaviours will get them what they want?

• What doubts might they have about the efficacy of certain more obvious behaviours?

• What social expectations might have affected their behaviours?

• Which people were they most trying to please?

• Which obvious behaviours might they have avoided because of social pressure?

• How confident were they in their behaviours?

• How might they have been choosing the options they perceived as easiest?

• What obvious behaviours might they have avoided because they perceived them as too difficult?

TPB can also be used to help you think about how you might increase your likelihood of implement your learning goals.