Perceived similarities among academic subjects moderate cross-domain patterns in values, expectancies, and costs

• Autores: John Kane, Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia
• Localización: Journal of educational psychology, ISSN-e 1939-2176, ISSN 0022-0663, Vol. 117, Nº. 4, 2025, págs. 679-699
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Situated expectancy value theory (SEVT) provides a comprehensive framework for understanding motivation and its development in achievement settings. Theorists have recently hypothesized that dimensional comparison theory, which explains how comparisons of performance across two domains informs the development of academic self-concepts in each, could be extended to SEVT to explore the ontogeny of values, expectancies, and costs. Using a sample of 1,566 college students enrolled in an introductory statistics class, we evaluated evidence for dimensional comparison-like effects for SEVT constructs across three domains: statistics, mathematics, and primary major. We tested, for example, if the association between statistics interest value and major-related interest value was moderated by student perceptions of the similarity between these two subjects. The results provided evidence that positive associations between major-related interest and attainment values and those same values for statistics were most strongly moderated by perceptions of domain similarity, displaying both contrast- and assimilation-like effects. Similar but weaker patterns were observed for utility value and self-efficacy models. Positive relations across mathematics and statistics value appraisals and expectancies displayed similar but weaker moderation effects. Fewer cross-domain associations involving costs were moderated by similarity perceptions, and those that were displayed weaker moderation effects, suggesting that costs may display less domain specificity than task values and self-efficacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)