Good Enough to Persist? Decision-Making Tendencies and Motivation in Early STEM Coursework

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Decisions, Costs, and Weekly Dynamics: New Angles on Situated Expectancy-Value Theory

Abstract

Early college STEM courses often serve as pivotal points where students make important decisions about whether to persist or disengage in STEM fields. Drawing on expectancy-value theory and decision science frameworks, this study examined how college students’ decision-making tendencies (satisficing, alternative search, and decision difficulty) related to their course motivation (expectancy beliefs and task values) and STEM career persistence intentions. We found that satisficing was associated with stronger motivational beliefs and greater intention to pursue a STEM career, whereas decision difficulty was linked to higher perceived costs and reduced certainty about continuing in a STEM path. These findings underscore potential links between decision-making tendencies and students’ motivational beliefs that influence persistence decisions within STEM contexts.

Authors

• Syntia Hadis

• Emily Quinn Rosenzweig, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Patrick N. Beymer, University of Cincinnati