Cause of Motivational Patterns

What are the causes of motivational patterns in expectancy theory?

Cause of low expectancy beliefs

Low expectancy beliefs may be caused by reinforcing those beliefs through behaviors. Furthermore, if a student has a low expectation of their own performance, this may be because of a number of factors that have led to this belief. One factor could be previous experience of not performing well at a task, so this leads the student to have low expectations for how their performance on their next assignment will be. If a student walks into a classroom with a preconceived notion about their ability to do a task, such as "I am smart; this will be easy" or "this is challenging; I cannot do it," the student's performance will reflect these perceptions (Reyna 2000). Another factor that may lead to low expectancy beliefs is students not seeing value in the reward of completing the task. If valence does not exist, the student will continue to be unmotivated.

The expectations that students set for themselves are critical and impact their education. These kinds of experiences shape the student's mindset to expect themselves to do poorly as a precursor to any future task they may attempt. "Failures" such as these may form a pattern of a student believing that they are "not good at math," therefore impacting their motivation to try again next time. If a student expects that they will not do well, they will not perform with the belief that they will do well. Supporting students through their failures and successes can change their expectations by motivating them and changing their perceptions of themselves.

Causes of cognitive biases

A cognitive bias can lead students to seek out information that validates their own beliefs or expectations. If a student expects themselves to do well, this may be because they have a cognitive bias that reinforces their ability and confidence that they will do well on a task. On the other hand, if a student believes that they will do poorly, they may have a cognitive bias to focus on the negatives of a situation based on a low expectation. By seeking out aspects of a situation that confirm their original expectations, this will affect a student's performance. A student may develop a cognitive bias through interactions with their environment. If a teacher is reinforcing positive characteristics in a student, making them feel capable and prepared, they may develop a positive cognitive bias that will support the student's confidence.

Lexi Baldwin