Valuable but costly? University students’ expectancy-value-cost profiles in introductory chemistry courses

•Profiles of expectancy, value, and cost were examined in college chemistry courses.•Four profiles showed unique patterns of co-occurring motivational beliefs.•Psychological cost differed from other costs in three of the profiles.•Asian students differed from white students in their profile memberships.•Profiles with higher values and lower costs showed the highest course grades. Students’ motivational profiles are of increasing interest due to their utility for understanding students’ complex, heterogeneous motivational experiences and the correlates of such experiences in real-world educational settings. Motivational profiles may be particularly important to consider in large, gateway STEM courses, which can be both costly and valuable to students and are key settings for students’ developing beliefs about themselves in STEM. This study examines motivational profiles of three task values, self-efficacy, and three perceived costs among undergraduate students taking introductory chemistry courses. Using latent profile analysis, we identified four distinct profiles: High Values and Self-Efficacy with Moderate Psychological Cost, Moderate-High Values and Self-Efficacy with Moderate-Low Costs, Moderate-Low All, and Moderate-High All. We further examined demographic predictors and course grades in relation to profile membership. Although gender did not predict profile membership, Asian students were more likely than white students to be in the Moderate-High All, with the highest levels of psychological costs, compared to two other profiles. Students in the Moderate-Low All profile had the lowest course grades, whereas students in the Moderate-High Values and Self-Efficacy with Moderate-Low Costs and High Values and Self-Efficacy with Moderate Psychological Cost profiles had the highest grades. By examining multiple dimensions of cost alongside positive motivational beliefs, this study broadens our understanding of the complex nature of students’ reasons for engaging in STEM studies and the roles of specific cost dimensions for students’ success.