You Belong With Me: Experimentally Examining the Place of Cost in Expectancy-Value Theory (Poster 46)

• In Event: Thursday Poster Session 4:20 pm
  In Poster Session: Motivation, Social Identity, and Understudied Populations

Abstract

Situated expectancy-value theory posits that an individual’s motivation is the product of both their expectations of success and perceptions of value. Where exactly “costs” fit into this model has become a subject of recent debate amongst scholars. Evidence informing both sides of the debate comes primarily from studies utilizing correlational and longitudinal approaches. However, an experimental approach, allowing for the isolation and manipulation of one variable at a time, may provide fresh insight. Across two studies, we employed such an approach, attempting to separate the effects of costs from expectancies and values. Surprisingly, we found that even experimental conditions struggle to isolate costs; as perceptions of cost changed, so too did expectancies and values. Implications for theory are discussed.

Authors

• Luke D. Rutten, University of Texas at Austin

• Katherine M. Muenks, University of Texas at Austin