Expectancy-value theory

Introduction

Expectancy-value theory was originally created in order to explain and predict individual's attitudes toward objects and actions. Originally the work of psychologist Martin Fishbein, the theory states that attitudes are developed and modified based on assessments about beliefs and values. Primarily, the theory attempts to determine the mental calculations that take place in attitude development. Expectancy-value theory has been used to develop other theories and is still utilized today in numerous fields of study.

History

Dr. Martin Fishbein is credited with developing the expectancy-value theory (EVT) in the early to mid 1970's. It is sometimes referred to as Fishbein's expectancy-value theory or simply expectacy-value model. The primary work typically cited by scholars referring to EVT is Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen's 1975 book called "Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research". The seed work of EVT can be seen in Fishbein's doctoral dissertation, "A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of the Interrelation between Belief about an Object and the Attitude toward that Object" (1961, UCLA) and two subsequent articles in 1962 and 1963 in the journal "Human Relations". Fishbein's work drew on the writings of researchers such as Ward Edwards, Milton Rosenberg, Edward Tolman, and John B. Watson.

Concepts

EVT has three basic components. First, individuals respond to novel information about an item or action by developing a belief about the item or action. If a belief already exist, it can and most likely will be modified by new information. Second, individuals assign a value to each attribute that a belief is based on. Third, an expectation is created or modified based on the result of a calculation comprised of beliefs and values. For example, a student finds out that a professor has a reputation for being humorous. The student assigns a positive value to humor in the classroom, so the student has the expectation that their experience with the professor will be positive. When the student attends class and finds the professor humorous, the student calculates that it is a good class. EVT also states that the result of the calculation, often called the “attitude”, stems from complex equations that contain many belief/values pairs. Fishbein and Azjen (1975) represented the theory with the following equation where attitudes (a) are a factorial function of beliefs (b) and values (v).

Current Usage

In the late 70's and early 80's, Fishbein and Ajzen expanded expectancy-value theory into the theory of reasoned action (TRA). Later Ajzen posited the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in his book "Attitudes, Personality, and Behavior" (1988). Both TRA and TPB address predictive and explanatory weaknesses with EVT and are still prominent theories in areas such as health communication research, marketing, and economics. Although not used as much since the early 80's, EVT is still utilized in research within fields as diverse as advertising (Shoham, Rose, & Kahle 1998; Smith & Vogt, 1995), child development (Watkinson, Dwyer, & Nielsen, 2005), education (Eklof, 2006; Ping, McBride, & Breune, 2006), health communication (Purvis Cooper, Burgoon, & Roter, 2001; Ludman & Curry, 1999), and organization communication (Westaby, 2002).

References

Ajzen, I. (1988). "Attitudes, personality, and behavior" (U.S. ed.). Chicago, IL: Dorsey Press.

Eklof, H. (2006). Development and validation of scores from an instrument measuring student test-taking motivation. "Educational & Psychological Measurement", 66, 643-656.

Fishbein, M. (1961). "A theoretical and empirical investigation of the interrelation between belief about and object and the attitude toward that object" (pp. 162): University of California, Los Angeles. Unpublished dissertation.

Fishbein, M. (1963). An investigation of relationships between beliefs about an object and the attitude toward that object. "Human Relations", 16, 233-240.

Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). "Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior : an introduction to theory and research". Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub.

Fishbein, M., & Raven, B. (1962). The AB scales: An operational definition of belief and attitude. "Human Relations", 15, 35-44.

Ludman, E. J., & Curry, S. J. (1999). Implementation of outreach telephone counseling to promote mammography participation. "Health Education & Behavior", 26, 689.

Ping, X., McBride, R. E., & Bruene, A. (2006). Fourth-grade students' motivational changes in an elementary physical education running program. "Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport", 77, 195-207.

Purvis Cooper, C., Burgoon, M., & Roter, D. L. (2001). An expectancy-value analysis of viewer interest in television prevention news stories. "Health Communication", 13, 227-240.

Shoham, A., Rose, G. M., & Kahle, L. R. (1998). Marketing of risky sports: From intention to action. "Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science", 26, 307-321.

Smith, R. E., & Vogt, C. A. (1995). The effects of integrating advertising and negative word-of-mouth communications on message processing and response. "Journal of Consumer Psychology", 4, 133.

Watkinson, E. J., Dwyer, S., & Nielsen, A. B. (2005). Children theorize about reasons for recess engagement: Does expectancy-value theory apply? "Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly", 22, 179.

Westaby, J. D. (2002). Identifying specific factors underlying attitudes toward change: Using multiple methods to compare expectancy-value theory to reasons theory. "Journal of Applied Social Psychology", 32, 1083-1106.

External links

* [http://www.people.umass.edu/aizen/ Icek Ajzen's webpage]