Abstract

According to expectancy-value theory, achievement motivation depends on the intrinsic value and the utility value of a task. The authors hypothesized that utility value determines achievement motivation only when it is formed in a systematic way, because analyzing the utility of a task is a process requiring cognitive capacity as well as cognitive motivation. This was not assumed for intrinsic value, which was therefore hypothesized to determine achievement motivation independently from cognitive factors. As expected, the findings revealed that the utility value of a specific task predicted achievement motivation only for participants reporting high need for cognition (Study 1) and only when cognitive capacity was high (Study 2). By contrast, intrinsic value predicted motivation independently from those cognitive factors.

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