The Evolution and Hotspots of Expectancy-Value Theory Research

The Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT) has undergone rapid, which has guided many researches related to social cognition and learning motivation, and effectively addressing practical challenges across various scientific domains. However, a research gap exists regarding the quantification and visualization of the evolutionary trajectory of EVT. Therefore, this study utilizes 704 research articles related to EVT published between 1999 and 2023, this paper employs bibliometric and content analysis methods to delineate the developmental stages of EVT research. A framework is proposed, “theory-context-method” knowledge, to comparatively analyze the research content across different developmental stages. The main findings are: ①EVT research can be divided into three periods based on publication volume: the initial stage, slow development stage, and rapid publication stage; ②The developmental trajectory of EVT research from 1999 to 2023 is clear and can be divided into the instrumental stage (1999-2006), application exploration stage (2007-2016), and feedback optimization stage (2017-2023), each with distinct research themes and focal points; ③Current research focuses on the interdisciplinary and systematic study of EVT in fields such as education, psychology, and sociology, leading to a renewed understanding and further development of the theory itself; ④The research status and deficiencies of EVT are systematically discussed from the three aspects of the knowledge framework. This study reveals the research progress and trend systematically and intuitively on the EVT based on published literature, and to contribute to a deeper understanding and development of the theory itself.