A comparison of behavioural alternative models in the context of the theory of reasoned action

In Fishbein & Ajzen's theory of reasoned action, behaviour is predicted by the behavioural intention, which in turn is determined by a personal attitudinal and a social normative factor. These variables are usually measured with respect to the behaviour of interest, ignoring the choice process between behavioural alternatives that precedes the performance of behaviour. Several methods that take account of this choice process are discussed and empirically compared. It is shown that a direct comparison of behavioural alternatives can be made and that such a method is preferable to both the usually applied method and an indirect comparison of behavioural alternatives. It improves the predictive value of the model of reasoned action, is efficient in the number of items administered to subjects and allows for analysis on an interval level.