Theory of Planned Behaviour

Nursing theories

Nursing theories and models

Theory of Planned Behaviour

Key points

  • The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is a social cognitive theory that connects beliefs to behaviour, having three core components as attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.(1)
  • Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) proposes that human behavior is guided by three kinds of considerations:
1.    beliefs about the likely consequences of the behavior (behavioral beliefs),
2.    beliefs about the normative expectations of others (normative beliefs), and
3.    beliefs about the presence of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of the behavior (control beliefs).(2)
  • Behavioral beliefs produce a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the behavior.
  • Normative beliefs result in perceived social pressure or subjective norm.
  • Control beliefs give rise to perceived behavioral control or self-efficacy.
  • TPB postulates that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intention, and intention along with perceived behavioral control predicts actual behavior.(3)
  • Theory of planned behavior (TPB) can be integrated within the theory of self-care (SCT) to explore the predictive value of extending TPB to measure attitudes and beliefs regarding a behavioral goal, and determine the ability of goal belief in nursing situations.(3)
  • Graphical Presentation of the Theory of Planned Behaviour by Ajzen @ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7909498/figure/f2/
  • Utility of theory of planned behaviour has been demonstrated in chronic conditions including non-communicable diseases.(4)
  • TPB is an expectancy-value theory that provided a framework for the study of behavioral and normative beliefs affecting health behaviors.(5)
  • Theory of planned behaviour can be used as a framework for empowering patients with less control over their self-care behaviors and planning group-specific behavioral interventions to be considered for improving self-care behaviors in such patients.(6)
  • Theory of planned behaviour has been proven to be a framework for promoting adherence to healthy dietary patterns which allow programme designers to identify antecedents of dietary patterns and design effective interventions.(7)

References

  1. Progress on theory of planned behavior research: advances in research synthesis and agenda for future research - PMC [Internet]. [cited 2025 Jun 10]. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11893630/
  2. Bosnjak M, Ajzen I, Schmidt P. The Theory of Planned Behavior: Selected Recent Advances and Applications. Eur J Psychol. 2020 Aug 31;16(3):352–6.
  3. Peters RM, Templin TN. Theory of Planned Behavior, Self-Care Motivation, and Blood Pressure Self-Care. Res Theory Nurs Pract. 2010;24(3):172–86.
  4. Paul B, Kirubakaran R, Isaac R, Dozier M, Grant L, Weller D, et al. A systematic review of the theory of planned behaviour interventions for chronic diseases in low health-literacy settings. J Glob Health. 2023 Sep 8;13:04079.
  5. Young HM, Lierman L, Powell-Cope G, Kasprzyk D, Benoliel JQ. Operationalizing the theory of planned behavior. Res Nurs Health. 1991 Apr;14(2):137–44.
  6. Pourmand G, Doshmangir L, Ahmadi A, Noori M, Rezaeifar A, Mashhadi R, et al. An application of the theory of planned behavior to self-care in patients with hypertension. BMC Public Health. 2020 Aug 26;20(1):1290.
  7. Ms M, M O, T S, Ej B, T C, D I, et al. The Theory of Planned Behaviour and dietary patterns: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Prev Med [Internet]. 2015 Dec [cited 2025 Jun 10];81. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26348455/
This page was last updated on:10/06/2025