Skip to main content
Log in

Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation: A developmental perspective

  • Published:
Educational Psychology Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

I consider Eccles et al.'s (1983) expectancy-value model of achievement performance and choice from a developmental perspective, by examining how recent research on the development of young children's competence beliefs, expectancies for success, subjective task values, and achievement goals can be incorporated into the model. The kinds of change in children's achievement beliefs considered include change in the factor structure of children's competence beliefs and values; change across age in the mean level of those constructs; and change in children's conceptions of ability beliefs and subjective values. I also discuss how achievement goals are conceptualized in this model, and how goals are conceived by other current motivation researchers. Changes in the nature of relations among competence beliefs, subjective task values, achievement goals, and achievement behaviors also are considered.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation.J. Educ. Psychol. 84: 261–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, R. C. (1982). Allocation of attention during reading. In Flammer, A., & Kintsch, W. A. (eds.),Discourse Processing, North-Holland, New York, pp 292–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, R. C., Mason, J., and Shirey, L. L. (1984). The reading group: An experimental investigation of a labyrinth.Reading Res. Quart. 20: 6–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asher, S. R., and Markell, R. (1974). Sex differences in comprehension of high- and low-interest reading material.J. Educ. Psychol. 66: 680–687.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asher, S. R., Hymel, S., and Wigfield, A. (1978). Influence of topic interest on children's reading comprehension.J. Reading Behav. 10: 35–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk taking behavior.Psychol. Rev. 64: 359–372.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change.Psychol. Rev. 84: 191–215.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Battle, E. (1965). Motivational determinants of academic task persistence.J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 2: 209–218.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battle, E. (1966). Motivational determinants of academic competence.J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 4: 534–642.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blumenfeld, P. B. (1992). Classroom learning and motivation: Clarifying and expanding goal theory.J. Educ. Psychol. 84: 272–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blumenfeld, P. B., Pintrich, P., Meece, J., and Wessels, K. (1982). The formation and role of self-perceptions of ability in elementary school classrooms.Elementary School. J. 82: 401–420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Covington, M. W. (1984). The motive for self-worth. In Ames, R., and Ames, C. (eds.),Research on Motivation in Education (Vol. 1), Academic Press, New York, pp. 77–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crandall, V. C. (1969). Sex differences in expectancy of intellectual and academic reinforcement. In Smith, C. P. (ed.),Achievement-Related Motives in Children, Russell Sage Foundation, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crandall, V. J., Katkovsky, W., and Preston, A. (1962). Motivational and ability determinants of young children's intellectual achievement behavior.Child Devel. 33: 643–661.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., and Ryan, R. M. (1985).Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior, Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S., and Bempechat, J. (1983). Children's theories of intelligence. In Paris, S., Olsen, G., and Stevenson, H. W. (eds.),Learning and Motivation in the Classroom, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S., and Elliott, E. S. (1983). Achievement motivation. In Hetherington, E. M. (ed.),Handbook of Child Psychology (Vol. IV): Socialization, Personality, and Social Development, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S., and Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality.Psychol. Rev. 95: 256–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S. (1984a). Sex differences in achievement patterns. In Sonderegger, T. (ed.),Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 32), University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, (Parsons), J. S. (1984b). Sex differences in mathematics participation. In Steinkamp, M., and Machr, M. L. (eds.),Advances in Motivation and Achievement (Vol. 2), JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., & Midgley, C. (1989). Stage-environment fit: Developmentally appropriate classrooms for young adolescents. In Ames, C., & Ames, R. (eds.),Research on Motivation in Education (Vol. 3), Academic Press, San Diego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., and Wigfield, A. (in press). In the mind of the achiever: The structure of adolescents' academic achievement related-beliefs and self-perceptions.Person. Soc. Psychol. Bull.

  • Eccles, J., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J., and Midgley, C. (1983). Expectancies, values and academic behaviors. In Spence, J. T. (ed.)Achievement and Achievement Motives, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Adler, T., and Meece, J. L. (1984a). Sex differences in achievement: A test of alternate theories.J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 46: 26–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, (Parsons), J. S., Midgley, C., and Adler, T. (1984b). Grade-related changes in the school environment: Effects on achievement motivation. In Nicholls, J. G. (ed.),The Development of Achievement Motivation, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 283–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., Flanagan, C., Miller, C., Reuman, D., and Yee, D. (1989). Self-concepts, domain values, and self-esteem: Relations and changes at early adolescence.J. Person. 57: 283–310.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., Harold, R., and Blumenfeld, P. B. (1993a). Age and gender differences in children's self- and task perceptions during elementary school.Child Devel. 64: 830–847.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., Midgley, C., Reuman, D., MacIver, D., and Feldlaufer, H. (1993b). Are traditional middle grades schools undermining the academic motivation of early adolescents?Elementary School J. 93: 553–574.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ethington, C. A. (1991). A test of a model of achievement behaviors.Am. Educ. Res. J. 28: 155–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N. T. (1982). Expectancy-value approaches: Present status and future directions. In Feather, N. T. (ed.),Expectations and Actions: Expectancy-Value Models in Psychology, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N. T. (1988). Values, valences, and course enrollment: Testing the role of personal values within an expectancy-value framework.J. of Educational Psychology, 80: 381–391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N. T. (1992). Values, valences, expectations, and actions.J. of Social Issues, 48: 109–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, M. (1992).Human Motivation: Goals, Emotions, and Personal Agency Beliefs, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garner, R., Brown, R., Sanders, S., and Menke, D. (1992). “Seductive details” and learning from text. In Renninger, K. A., Hidi, S., and Krapp, A. (eds.),The Role of Interest in Learning and Development, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 239–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1981). A new self-report scale of intrinsic versus extrinsic orientation in the classroom: Motivational and informational components.Devel. Psychol. 17: 300–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1982). The perceived competence scale for children.Child Devel. 53: 87–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1983). Developmental perspectives on the self-system. In Hetherington, E. M. (ed.),Handbook of Child Psychology (Vol. 4), Socialization, Personality, and Social Development, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1985). Competence as a dimension of self-evaluation: Toward a comprehensive model of self-worth. In Leahy, R. (ed.),The Development of the Self, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S., and Connell, J. P. (1984). A model of children's achievement and related self-perceptions of competence, control, and motivational orientation. In Nicholls, J. G. (ed.),Advances in Motivation and Achievement (Vol. 3): The Development of Achievement Motivation, JAI Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S., and Pike, R. (1984). The pictorial scale of perceived competence and social acceptance for young children.Child Devel. 55: 1969–1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heyman, G. D., Dweck, C. S., and Cain, K. M. (1992). Young children's vulnerability to self-blame and helplessness: Relationships to beliefs about goodness.Child Devel. 63: 401–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W. (1989). Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self-concept: Preadolescence to early adulthood.J. Educ. Psychol. 81: 417–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W. (1990). The structure of academic self-concept: The Marsh/Shavelson model.J. Educ. Psychol. 82: 623–636.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., and Hocevar, D. (1985). The application of confirmatory factor analyses to the study of self-concept: First and higher-order factor structures and their invariance across age groups.Psychol. Bull. 97: 562–582.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., and Holmes, I. W. M. (1990). Multidimensional self-concepts: Construct validation from responses by children.Am. Educ. Res. J. 27: 89–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., and Shavelson, R. (1985). Self-concept: Its multifaceted hierarchical structure.Educ. Psychol. 20: 107–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, H. W., and Weinstein, R. S. (1984). Classroom factors affecting students' self-evaluations: An interactional model.Rev. Educ. Res. 54: 301–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Barnes, J., Cairns, L., and Tidman, M. (1984). Self-Description Questionnaire: Age and sex effects in the structure and level of self-concept for preadolescent children.J. Educ. Psychol. 76: 940–956.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Craven, R. G., and Debus, R. (1991). Self-concepts of young children 5 to 8 years of age: Measurement and multidimensional structure.J. Educ. Psychol. 83: 377–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meece, J. L., Wigfield, A., and Eccles, J. S. (1990). Predictors of math anxiety and its consequences for young adolescents' course enrollment intentions and performances in mathematics.J. Educ. Psychol. 82: 60–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G. (1978). The development of the concepts of effort and ability, perceptions of academic attainment, and the understanding that difficult tasks require more ability.Child Devel. 49: 800–814.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G. (1979a). Development of perception of own attainment and causal attributions for success and failure in reading.J. Educ. Psychol. 71: 94–99.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G. (1979b). Quality and equality in intellectual development: The role of motivation in education.Am. Psychol. 34: 1071–1084.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G. (1984). Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice, and performance.Psychol. Rev. 91: 328–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G. (1990). What is ability and why are we mindful of it? A developmental perspective. In Sternberg, R. J., and Kolligian, J. (eds.),Competence Considered, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G., and Miller, A. T. (1984). Development and its discontents: The differentiation of the concept of ability. In Nicholls, J. G. (ed.),Advances in Motivation and Achievement, (Vol. 3): The Development of Achievement Motivation, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G., and Thorkildsen, T. (1987). Achievement Goals and Beliefs: Individual and Classroom Differences. Paper presented at the Meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, Charlottesville, VA.

  • Nichols, J. G., Patashnick, M., and Mettetal, G. (1986). Conceptions of ability and intelligence.Child Devel. 57: 636–645.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G., Cheung, P., Lauer, J., and Patashnick, M. (1989). Individual differences in academic motivation: Perceived ability, goals, beliefs, and values.Learning Individual Diff. 1: 63–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G., Cobb, P., Wood, T., Yackel, E., and Patashnick, M. (1990a). Assessing students' theories of success in mathematics: Individual and classroom differences.J. Res. Math. Educ. 21: 109–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. G., Cobb, P., Yackel, E., Wood, T., and Wheatley, G. (1990b). Students' theories about mathematics and their mathematical knowledge: Multiple dimensions of assessment. In Kulm, G. (ed.),Assessing Higher Order Thinking in Mathematics, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, J. E., and Ruble, D. N. (1977). The development of achievement-related expectancies.Child Devel. 48: 1075–1079.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pintrich, P. R. (1989). The dynamic interplay of student motivation and cognition in the college classroom. In Maehr, M., and Ames, C. (eds.),Advances in Motivation and Achievement (Vol. 6), JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 117–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pintrich, P. R., and DeGroot, E. (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance.J. Educ. Psychol. 82: 33–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renninger, K. (1992). Individual interest and development: Implications for theory and practice. In Renninger, K. A., Hidi, S. and Krapp, A. (eds.),The Role of Interest in Learning and Development, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 361–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rokeach, M. (1973).The Nature of Human Values, Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rokeach, M. (ed.) (1979).Understanding Human Values, Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shirey, L. L. (1992). Importance, interest, and selective attention. In Renninger, K. A., Hidi, S. and Krapp, A. (eds.),The Role of Interest in Learning and Development, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 281–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stipek, D. J. (1984). Young children's performance expectations: Logical analysis or wishful thinking? In Nicholls, J. G. (ed.),Advances in Motivation and Achievement (Vol. 3): The Development of Achievement Motivation, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stipek, D. J., and Daniels, D. (1988). Declining perceptions of competence: A consequence of changes in the child or in the educational environment?J. Educ. Psychol. 80: 352–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stipke, D. J., and MacIver, D. (1989). Developmental change in children's assessment of intellectual competence.Child Devel. 60: 521–538.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stipek, D. J., Recchia, S., and McClintic, S. (1992). Self-evaluation in young children.Monogr. Soc. Res. Child Devel. 57 (1, Serial No. 226).

  • Wades, S. E. (1992). How interest affects learning from text. In Renninger, K. A., Hidi, S., and Krapp, A. (eds.),The Role of Interest in Learning and Development, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 255–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wade, S. E., and Schraw, G. (1990). Effects of Importance and Interest on Strategic Reading. Paper presented at the Meeting of the National Reading Conference, Miami.

  • Weiner, B. (1979). A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences.J. Educ. Psychol. 71: 3–25.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Werner, H. (1957). The concept of development from a comparative and organismic point of view. In Harris, D. B. (ed.),The Concept of Development: An Issue in the Study of Human Development, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 125–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigfield, A. (1984). Relations Between Ability Perceptions, Other Achievement-Related Beliefs, and School Performance. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.

  • Wigfield, A. (1992). Long-Term Predictors of Adolescents' Performance and Choice in High School Mathematics. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Washington, D.C.

  • Wigfield, A. (in press). Why do I have to learn this? Adolescents' valuing of school. In Machr, M. L., and Pintrich, P. R. (eds.),Advances in Motivation and Achievement (Vol. 8), JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.

  • Wigfield, A., and Eccles, J. S. (1989). Relations of Expectancies and Values to Students' Math Grades and Intentions. Paper presented at the Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.

  • Wigfield, A., and Eccles, J. S. (1992). The development of achievement task values: A theoretical analysis.Devel. Rev. 12: 265–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigfield, A., Eccles, J., MacIver, D., Reuman, D., and Midgley, C. (1991). Transitions at early adolescence: Changes in children's domain-specific self-perceptions and general self-esteem across the transition to junior high school.Devel. Psychol. 27: 552–565.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigfield, A., Harold, R., Eccles, J. S., Blumenfeld, P. B., Aberbach, A., Freedman-Doan, C., and Yoon, K. S. (1992). The Structure of Children's Ability Perceptions and Achievement Values: Age, Gender, and Domain Differences. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.

  • Wigfield, A., Eccles, J., Harold, R. D., Blumenfeld, P., Arbreton, A., Freedman-Doan, K., and Yoon, K. S. (submitted).Longitudinal Change in Children's Competence Beliefs, Subjective Task Values, and General Self-Esteem Across the Elementary School Years.

  • Wylie, R. C. (1989).Measures of the Self-Concept, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wigfield, A. Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation: A developmental perspective. Educ Psychol Rev 6, 49–78 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02209024

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02209024

Key Words

Navigation