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How task experience influences students' performance expectancies: the role of certainty
Oliver Dickhäauser1, Marc-André Reinhard, Chris Englert
1School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Germany. oliver.dickhaeuser@uni-mann-heim.de
Psychological Reports
|January 14, 2012
Summary
Certainty of performance expectancies, not just the expectation itself, predicts academic success. Higher certainty in expectations leads to more accurate performance predictions, especially after gaining task experience.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Expectancy-value models are crucial for understanding behavior prediction.
- These models often overlook the certainty associated with expectancies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if task experience increases expectancy certainty.
- To determine if certainty and mean expectancies are distinct.
- To assess if highly certain expectancies improve performance prediction accuracy.
Main Methods:
- 273 8th-grade students reported performance expectancies and certainty before and after a math exam.
- Actual exam grades were collected.
- Statistical analysis examined relationships between expectancy, certainty, and performance.
Main Results:
- Certainty of expectancies increased from pre- to post-exam.
- Expectancy and certainty were independent variables.
- Higher initial certainty correlated with more accurate performance predictions.
Conclusions:
- Task experience enhances expectancy certainty.
- Certainty of expectancies is a valuable addition to expectancy-value models.
- Considering expectancy certainty improves behavioral prediction in academic settings.
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