Content area
Full text
Key Words expectancies, task value, goal theory, efficacy, volition, self-regulation
* Abstract This chapter reviews the recent research on motivation, beliefs, values, and goals, focusing on developmental and educational psychology. The authors divide the chapter into four major sections: theories focused on expectancies for success (self-- efficacy theory and control theory), theories focused on task value (theories focused on intrinsic motivation, self-determination, flow, interest, and goals), theories that integrate expectancies and values (attribution theory, the expectancy-value models of Eccles et al., Feather, and Heckhausen, and self-worth theory), and theories integrating motivation and cognition (social cognitive theories of self-regulation and motivation, the work by Winne & Marx, Borkowski et al., Pintrich et al., and theories of motivation and volition). The authors end the chapter with a discussion of how to integrate theories of self-regulation and expectancy-value models of motivation and suggest new directions for future research.
OVERVIEW
The Latin root of the word "motivation" means "to move"; hence, in this basic sense the study of motivation is the study of action. Modern theories of motivation focus more specifically on the relation of beliefs, values, and goals with action. In this chapter we review the work growing out of these theories of achievement motivation with a particular emphasis on developmental and educational psychology. Furthermore, although motivation theories have emerged from different intellectual traditions (Weiner 1992), we focus on those that are most closely linked to expectancy-value models of behavior. Expectancies refer to beliefs about how one will do on different tasks or activities, and values have to do with incentives or reasons for doing the activity. We use this perspective to organize our presentation, by grouping motivational theories into four broad categories. The first focuses on beliefs about competence and expectancy for success. The second focuses on the reasons why individuals engage in different activities; these theories include constructs such as achievement values, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, interests, and goals. The third integrates expectancy and value constructs. The fourth draws links between motivational and cognitive processes. We consider each perspective in turn.
THEORIES FOCUSED ON EXPECTANCY
Several theories focus on individuals' beliefs about their competence and efficacy, expectancies for success or failure, and sense of control over outcomes; these beliefs are directly related to the...