How does positive mood modulate time-based event expectancy?

Cognitive Processing - In the present study, we investigated how positive mood affects the formation of time-based event expectancies. After positive or neutral mood inductions, participants...     

Why do men have higher expectancy than women?

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that sex differences in expected academic achievement could be explained by corresponding differences in perceived intellectual ability, and to explore the relationship between perceived ability and the sex role related traits of instrumentality and expressiveness. Results showed sex differences both in expectancy and perceived ability. When perceived ability was controlled, sex no longer related to expectancy. A small correlation was found between expectancy and a measure of instrumentality. The latter variable correlated substantially with perceived ability. A measure of expressiveness was unrelated both to expectancy and perceived ability. Path analysis gave results consistent with the hypotheses that men have higher perceived ability than women because men think of themselves as more instrumental than women do, and that instrumentality determines expectancy indirectly through its relationship to perceived ability.     

Field dependence: experimenters' expectancy, sex difference or no difference?

The possibility that sex differences found in previous research on field dependence may have been due partly to experimenters' expectancy, was investigated. Three pairs of naive student-experimenters received different information about expected outcomes for males and females on the Rod and Frame Test and the Embedded Figures Test. There was no evidence of an experimenters' expectancy effect, but there was also no significant difference in the performance of men and women on these two tests of field dependence.     

On the meaningfulness of behavior: An expectancy x value approach

Our research examines people’s concept of ‘meaningful behavior’ from an expectancy x value perspective. Specifically, we argue that people consider two elements when inferring the meaningfulness of behavior: the value of the goals that the behavior relates to and the degree to which the behavior is useful for the achievement of these goals. A series of five studies demonstrates that behavior is considered to be ‘meaningful’ if it is highly instrumental for a highly valued goal. Our expectancy x value approach offers a straightforward yet crucial perspective of how people infer whether or not everyday life behaviors are meaningful to them. The implications of our findings for research on meaningfulness, meaning-regulation, and sense making are discussed.     

Math-gender stereotypes and career intentions: an application of expectancy–value theory

Exposure to negative math-gender stereotypes undermines the intentions of female college students to engage in careers in the math field, yet the mechanisms by which such stereotypes relate to girls’ career intentions remain unclear. We simultaneously tested multiple mediators in a sample of 186 female students from one high school in central China. Participants completed five questionnaires that measured mathematics-related gender stereotypes, competence beliefs, task value, sexual attraction beliefs and career intentions. The path analysis results indicated that math-gender stereotypes were negatively related to adolescent girls’ career intentions in math fields through negative relationships with students’ mathematics-related competence beliefs, task value and sexual attraction beliefs. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for theory and educational practice.     

Four mediation models of teacher expectancy effects on students’ outcomes in mathematics and literacy

The study tested 4 direct and 28 indirect teacher expectancy effects on students’ results in the mathematics and literacy sections of the matriculation test, and their final marks in the 12th-grade mathematics and literacy class. The following were considered as mediators: student self-esteem, their self-expectancy, and time spent learning mathematics and literacy. The study involved 1374 first year college students. Conducted path analyses revealed: (1) the total teacher expectancy effects was the strongest for final marks in mathematics, followed by test results in mathematics, test results in literacy, and final marks in literacy; (2) the direct effect was stronger than the total indirect teacher expectancy effects in the case of mathematics, while for literacy outcomes, the order of the effects was reversed; (3) the direct teacher expectancy effects were positive; the indirect effects reversed after including student self-esteem/student self-expectancy into relations between teachers’ expectancy and mathematics and literacy outcomes; (4) teachers’ expectancy was mediated most strongly by student self-esteem, time spent learning, and student self-expectancy, or by student self-expectancy and time spent learning, respectively for mathematics and literacy outcomes; (5) the impact of teachers’ expectancy was stronger than student self-expectancy for mathematics, but was the same or weaker for literacy outcomes, respectively. The obtained results were discussed in the light of the theory and results of studies concerning teacher expectancy effects.     

What do you mean "drunk"? Convergent validation of multiple methods of mapping alcohol expectancy memory networks

The configuration and activation of memory networks have been theorized as mechanisms that underlie the often observed link between alcohol expectancies and drinking. A key component of this network is the expectancy "drunk." The memory network configuration of "drunk" was mapped by using cluster analysis of data gathered from the paired-similarities task (PST) and the Alcohol Expectancy Multi-Axial Assessment (AEMAX). A third task, the free associates task (FA), assessed participants' strongest alcohol expectancy associates and was used as a validity check for the cluster analyses. Six hundred forty-seven 18-19-year-olds completed these measures and a measure of alcohol consumption at baseline assessment for a 5-year longitudinal study. For both the PST and AEMAX, "drunk" clustered with mainly negative and sedating effects (e.g., "sick," "dizzy," "sleepy") in lighter drinkers and with more positive and arousing effects (e.g., "happy," "horny," "outgoing") in heavier drinkers, showing that the cognitive organization of expectancies reflected drinker type (and might influence the choice to drink). Consistent with the cluster analyses, in participants who gave "drunk" as an FA response, heavier drinkers rated the word as more positive and arousing than lighter drinkers. Additionally, gender did not account for the observed drinker-type differences. These results support the notion that for some emerging adults, drinking may be linked to what they mean by the word "drunk." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Understanding perfectionism and depression in an adult clinical population: Is outcome expectancy relevant to psychological functioning?

Perfectionism is a personality trait defined by high standards of performance, which has been identified as a risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD). The present study examined if outcome expectancy involved in perfectionism differs for individuals with depression compared to non-depressed controls, and how outcome expectancy relates to depression symptoms. This study included 49 depressed and 42 non-depressed participants. Perfectionism and depression severity were measured via self-report instruments. This study is the first to provide preliminary evidence that outcome expectancies involved in perfectionism may be related to psychological functioning in depression. Individuals with depression demonstrated higher negative and lower positive outcome expectancies associated with perfectionism compared to non-depressed participants. Perfectionism outcome expectancies are also related to depression severity and symptoms. Future research should prospectively investigate relationships of outcome expectancy involved in perfectionism in individuals at risk for depression.     

Tonal centers and expectancy: facilitation or inhibition of chords at the top of the harmonic hierarchy?

Harmonic priming studies have shown that a musical context with its tonal center influences target chord processing. In comparison with targets following baseline contexts, which do not establish a specific tonal center, processing is facilitated for a strongly related target functioning as the tonic, but inhibited for unrelated (out-of-key) and less related (subdominant) targets. This study investigated cost and benefit patterns for the processing of the 3 most important chords of the harmonic hierarchy. Response time patterns reflected the chords' ranking: Processing was fastest for the tonic, followed by the dominant, and then the subdominant. The comparison with baseline contexts replicated the benefit of processing for tonic targets (Experiments 1 and 3) and the cost of processing for subdominant targets (Experiment 3), while dominant targets were situated at baseline level (Experiments 1 to 3). Findings indicate that listeners implicitly understand fine differences in tonal stabilities and confirm the special status of the tonic being the most expected and solely facilitated chord at the end of a tonal context. Findings are discussed with references to sensory and cognitive approaches of music perception.     

Are you feeling successful?: Examining postsecondary student perceptions of success with an expectancy value theory lens

Expectancy Value Theory (EVT) is a prominent theory on student motivation. To add to the growing research in this area, we investigated students within a large, mandatory course outside of the STEM areas, to examine perceptions of success utilizing an EVT lens. The aim of our study was twofold. First, to examine students' open-ended responses about what makes them feel successful. Second, to determine if students’ indorsement of expectancy, value, and control could predict their feelings of success. The study consisted of 210 students who completed an online questionnaire with items related to demographics, EVT components, and questions about their success in the course. Deductive coding was utilized to examine their feelings of success based on the EVT components. Regression analysis was utilized to predict perceptions of success. Students identified several components of their course that were associated with expectancy, value, and cost. Students' perceptions of success were positively predicted by expectancy and negatively predicted by cost while value was not a significant predictor. Our results speak to the importance of expectancy, value, and cost when designing large, mandatory courses. We provided several recommendations for instructors when designing courses, and also highlight limitations and future research directions.

     

Meowing dogs: can dogs recognize cats in a cross-modal violation of expectancy task (Canis familiaris)?

Animal Cognition - Dogs can recognize conspecifics in cross-modal audio–video presentations. In this paper, we aimed at exploring if such capability extends to the recognition of cats, and...     

Motivational pathways to STEM career choices: Using expectancy–value perspective to understand individual and gender differences in STEM fields

The United States has made a significant effort and investment in STEM education, yet the size and the composition of the STEM workforce continues to fail to meet demand. It is thus important to understand the barriers and factors that influence individual educational and career choices. In this article, we conduct a literature review of the current knowledge surrounding individual and gender differences in STEM educational and career choices, using expectancy–value theory as a guiding framework. The overarching goal of this paper is to provide both a well-defined theoretical framework and complementary empirical evidence for linking specific sociocultural, contextual, biological, and psychological factors to individual and gender differences in STEM interests and choices. Knowledge gained through this review will eventually guide future research and interventions designed to enhance individual motivation and capacity to pursue STEM careers, particularly for females who are interested in STEM but may be constrained by misinformation or stereotypes.     

The S-S construct of expectancy versus the S-R construct of fear: which motivates the acquisition of avoidance behavior?

The authors provided a differential test between stimulus-stimulus (S-S) and stimulus-response (S-R) theory predictions in regard to the roles that the constructs of expectancy and of fear play in maintaining classically conditioned fear responding within the context of a human conditioned-avoidance paradigm. After the participants had developed sustained avoidance responding, their shock electrodes and avoidance response apparatus were removed to enhance the cognitive expectancy that the conditioned stimulus (CS) would not be followed by the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). This manipulation of expectancy was successful in 96% of the participants. The study was conducted over a 2-day period and involved 1 experimental group and 3 control groups. During the test trials, the authors used autonomic and self-report indices of fear to assess the presence or absence of fear to the CS. The data disconfirmed the prediction of the S-S theory that fear to the CS would be extinguished. The authors discuss the implications of this finding for S-S theories and for approaches in cognitive behavior therapy.     

Is there really very rapid forgetting from primary memory? The role of expectancy and item importance in short-term recall

In two experiments, subjects recalled one of two letter segments following a digit-filled retention interval. In Experiment 1, recall expectancy was manipulated by using precues that correctly informed or misinformed subjects concerning which letter segment wou;d be tested for recall. In Experiment 2, item importance was varied by precuing one segment as important but requiring that the uncued segment be recalled first. Recall performance was very low under conditions of low expectancy and low segment importance, but the slopes of the retention-functions did not demonstrate more rapid forgetting than under standard -conditions. The previous observations of very rapid forgetting from primary memory may be a function of an elevated initial recall level in the earlier studies. Our retention functions were compared with predictions of the Estes perturbation model. The findings suggested that when secondary memory processes were reduced, forgetting order information from primary memory occurred at the same rate as that estimated on the basis of previous studies using the standard distractor task.