The Distinct Roles of Proximal and Distal Utility Values in Academic Behaviors: Future Time Perspective as a Moderator

Utility value for long-term goals, named distal utility value, can be differentiated from utility value for short-term goals, named proximal utility value. The purposes of the present study were (1) to examine the distinct roles of proximal and distal utility value in predicting academic outcomes, (2) to test the mediating role of effort cost in the relationship between these two types of utility value and academic outcomes, and (3) to examine whether future time perspective moderates the role of distal utility value. The results from two independent studies provided compelling evidence for the distinct roles of proximal and distal utility value in predicting academic outcomes, as well as the mediating role of effort cost and the moderating role of future time perspective. Study 1, in which 598 Chinese students participated, demonstrated that proximal utility value negatively predicted effort cost, which in turn negatively predicted academic choice intentions. However, distal utility value did not predict effort cost but did directly predict academic choice intentions. Just as in Study 1, Study 2, in which 891 Korean students participated, found that proximal utility value negatively predicted avoidance intentions and procrastination, directly and indirectly, by lowering effort cost perception. By contrast, distal utility value positively predicted effort cost, which in turn positively predicted avoidance intentions and procrastination. Although distal utility value negatively predicted procrastination directly, the total effects of distal utility value on both academic behaviors were not significant. In Study 2, we also found that future time perspective moderated the relationship between distal utility value and effort cost. The findings of the present study extend the scope of expectancy-value theory, bridge expectancy and value theory with future time perspective theory, and provide guidelines for utility value intervention.