ABSTRACT
The theory of reasoned action (TRA) has been successfully used for both applied and basic research into the determinants of many social behaviours. With its elegant theoretical formulation and methodology, TRA has been especially popular for problem-oriented research designed to produce policy recommendations and interventions. In research on HIV-preventive behaviour, which this book is about, there is a burgeoning literature using the framework of TRA. Nevertheless, TRA has its critics. In this chapter, we will review some recent criticisms of TRA, and we will suggest how they may best be dealt with by researchers interested in safer sex. This chapter is written from within the framework of psychological theories of decision-making and attitude-behaviour relations, and we will not consider criticisms of TRA from outside this framework (see Kippax & Crawford, this volume, for criticism based on a social-constructionist perspective).
