GENERAL AGGRESSION MODEL

OVERALL CONCLUSION

THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR/REASONED ACTION

Perhaps the most widely applied theory from social psychology to predict cyberbullying is Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1980) (Fishbein & Azjen, 1975) Theory of Reasoned Action and expanded Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Both theories share many commonalities, but a key difference is the inclusion of one important exogenous variable: perceived behavioral control (cf., Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1992). Due to the overlap between the two theories and the fact that most cyberbullying research has applied the Theory of Planned Behavior (compared to the Theory of Reasoned Action), I will limit my discussion of theory to the Theory of Planned Behavior (see Fig. 5.1). The Theory of Planned Behavior is a model used to predict human actions and what processes govern those actions. This model posits that perceived behavioral control, normative beliefs about a behavior, and attitudes toward the object all influence behavioral intentions which predict subsequent behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Finally, perceived behavioral control directly predicts behavior as well. The behavioral intention to act is a very important variable in this model because it directly predicts action and acts as a mediator between the three exogenous variables (i.e., attitudes, normative beliefs, and perceived behavioral control) and behavior. This does not preclude that the other variables in the model are unimportant; however, behavioral intentions clearly have an important role in the prediction of behavior via the Theory of Planned Behavior. Behavioral Intentions. Ajzen (1991) noted that intentions to behave were an estimate of one’s motivation to behave: that is, the amount of effort exerted to engage in a behavior, amount of resources devoted to a behavior, and the perception of how hard one is willing to work to engage in the behavior. When under volitional control (see the section on perceived behavioral control), the stronger the intention to the behavior, the more likely the behavior will be enacted. Indeed, Webb and Sheeran (2006) meta-analyzed 47 experimental intervention studies that targeted intentions and measured subsequent behavior.