Eccles, Jacquelynne, and the Expectancy-Value Model of Achievement Choice

Allan Wigfield

Jacquelynne Eccles and her colleagues developed an expectancy-value model of achievement performance and choice that has been influential in the achievement motivation field. The model helps us understand motivational factors contributing to individuals' choices of which activities to pursue and performance on them. The model has been used to explain individuals' performance and choice in a variety of different achievement domains, including mathematics, English, computer activities in the academic achievement domain, and different activities in the domain of sports. Expectancy-value models have a relatively long history in the achievement motivation field (see Wigfield & Eccles, 1992). Building on earlier work of Lewin and Tolman, Atkinson (1957) developed the first formal expectancy-value model in an attempt to explain different kinds of achievement-related behaviors, such as striving for success, choice among achievement tasks, and persistence. Atkinson (1957) postulated that achievement behaviors are determined by achievement motives, expectancies for success, and incentive values. ...

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