Mapping the Weekly Dynamics of Expectancy-Value-Cost Beliefs: Subject-Specific Patterns in Motivational Networks

• 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

We tracked 4,219 middle school students over ten weeks to examine dynamics in expectancy, task values, and costs. Using intensive longitudinal data, we constructed and compared between-person, within-person contemporaneous, and temporal networks in math and English. Results revealed that the structure of motivational beliefs varied across networks. Within each week, clusters of expectancy and three types of task values were relatively independent of the cluster formed by the four facets of cost, a pattern observed across both subjects. Temporal networks showed competence beliefs and utility value negatively predicted costs in the following week for math and English, respectively. These findings underscore the domain specificity of motivational beliefs and highlight the value of examining their dynamic interrelations across different analytical levels.

Authors

• Xinyi Shi, McGill University

• Yi Jiang, East China Normal University