Expectancy-Value Theory

Expectancy-value theory has been developed in many different fields including education, health, communications, marketing, and economics. It was developed by John William Atkinson in the 1950s and 1960s to understand the achievement motivation of individuals. According to this theory, students' achievement and achievement related choices are determined by two factors: expectancies for success and subjective task values. Although useful in many fields this learning model has most widely been applied and used for research in the field of education.