Abstract
Utility value for long-term goals, named distal utility value, can be differentiated from utility value for short-term goals, named proximal utility value. The purposes of the present study were (1) to examine the distinct roles of proximal and distal utility value in predicting academic outcomes, (2) to test the mediating role of effort cost in the relationship between these two types of utility value and academic outcomes, and (3) to examine whether future time perspective moderates the role of distal utility value. The results from two independent studies provided compelling evidence for the distinct roles of proximal and distal utility value in predicting academic outcomes, as well as the mediating role of effort cost and the moderating role of future time perspective. Study 1, in which 598 Chinese students participated, demonstrated that proximal utility value negatively predicted effort cost, which in turn negatively predicted academic choice intentions. However, distal utility value did not predict effort cost but did directly predict academic choice intentions. Just as in Study 1, Study 2, in which 891 Korean students participated, found that proximal utility value negatively predicted avoidance intentions and procrastination, directly and indirectly, by lowering effort cost perception. By contrast, distal utility value positively predicted effort cost, which in turn positively predicted avoidance intentions and procrastination. Although distal utility value negatively predicted procrastination directly, the total effects of distal utility value on both academic behaviors were not significant. In Study 2, we also found that future time perspective moderated the relationship between distal utility value and effort cost. The findings of the present study extend the scope of expectancy-value theory, bridge expectancy and value theory with future time perspective theory, and provide guidelines for utility value intervention.
Highlights
In the field of educational psychology, intervention studies on promoting academic motivation and achievement are increasingly being conducted to fill the gap between theory and practice (Hulleman and Barron, 2016)
Based on Eccles and Wigfield’s (1995) conceptual definition, we developed one more item each for proximal utility value and distal utility value
Unlike in Study 1, in which we found no significant predictive path from distal utility value to effort cost, distal utility value positively predicted effort cost in the present study (β = 0.25, p = 0.003)
Summary
In the field of educational psychology, intervention studies on promoting academic motivation and achievement are increasingly being conducted to fill the gap between theory and practice (Hulleman and Barron, 2016). Utility Value and Future Time Perspective (EVT) This program has been found to enhance students’ academic motivation and achievement (Hulleman and Harackiewicz, 2009). Recent EVT studies have shown that utility value can be subdivided according to whether it applies to short- or long-term goals, and that individual students have different developmental tendencies for each type of utility value (Gaspard et al, 2017). Utility values for short- and long-term goals can play different roles in academic motivation and behavior (Steel and König, 2006); researchers have primarily examined utility value in general. Intervention programs have not clearly distinguished between the two types of utility value, making it unclear which type has the greater effect on academic motivation and behavior
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