The Science of Interest
Abstract
This exceptional volume analyzes the intricate roles interest plays in cognition, motivation and learning, and daily living, with a special focus on its development and maintenance across life domains. Leading experts discuss a spectrum of interest ranging from curiosity to obsession, and trace its functions in goal-setting, decision-making, self-regulation, and performance. New research refines the current knowledge on student interest in educational settings and the social contexts of interest, with insights into why interest levels change during engagement and in the long run. From these findings, contributors address ways to foster and nurture interest in the therapy room and the classroom, for optimum benefits throughout life. Among the topics covered: · Embedding interest within self-regulation. · Knowledge acquisition at the intersection of situational and individual interest. · The role of interest in motivation and engagement. · The two faces of passion. · Creative geniuses, polymaths, child prodigies, and autistic savants. · The promotion and development of interest. A robust guide to a fascinating area of study, The Science of Interest synthesizes the field's current knowledge of interest and indicates future directions. Its chapters contribute depth and rigor to this growing area of research, and will enhance the work of researchers in education, psychologists, social scientists, and public policymakers. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017. All rights reserved.
Chapters (11)
This chapter examines contemporary theories of interest highlighting some of the issues and questions that require further investigation. A major challenge for contemporary theories and perspectives on interest is the identification of basic processes operating when interest is activated. The dynamics of processes that distinguish situational interest from individual interest, and interest from interests, are examined. In particular, the Four-Phase Model of Interest Development (Hidi and Renninger, Educ Psychol 41(2):111–127, 2006) and Silvia’s (Exploring the psychology of interest. Oxford University Press, New York, 2006) appraisal theory of interest and interests are explored. Developmental implications of these theories are also examined. Particular attention is given to identifying different perspectives on how immediate experiences of interest arising from environmental triggers and/or personal factors can be distinguished. Some answers are starting to emerge from research profiling affective and temporal processes and from research mapping variance in interest due to situation-specific, cross-situational, and individual interest factors. Similar emphasis on process is characteristic of theories that locate interest in the ongoing self-regulatory system that directs behavior. While recent research on interest has built a sound knowledge base, examination of the underlying process dimensions of interest experiences highlights that there are issues and questions as yet unresolved that can readily be investigated using the tools of psychological science.
When thinking about how people sustain motivation over the longer term, even for an important activity, their experience during the activity (not just why they started doing it) matters. Thus, we focus on the experience of interest and describe a model that embeds interest within a self-regulation framework. We review research that illustrates the implications of this model for individuals’ choices and actions when they are deciding whether to engage with an activity or domain (prior to engagement), engaged with an activity (during engagement), and evaluating their experience (after engagement). The research suggests that rather than certain activity features always being associated with greater or lesser interest, it is important to know whether those factors match or are congruent with the person’s goals. Moreover, individuals actively monitor and react to their experiences and take these anticipated or actual experiences into account when deciding whether to start, persist, or re-engage with an activity or related activities. This active role includes engaging with activities in ways that make them more congruent with goals (and thereby more interesting), as well as engaging with the activity in ways that makes the experience more interesting whether or not it advances progress toward the goal. How individuals engage with the activity has implications for performance as well as subsequent evaluations of performance and of interest by one’s self and by others upon completion. We discuss the implications of this dynamic self-regulatory model for understanding “effective” regulation, as well as how this perspective can contribute to our understanding of ostensible group-based differences in interest in certain domains (e.g., gender differences in STEM interest).
In this chapter, we review research demonstrating the role of interest in motivation and engagement. First, we discuss the psychological experience of interest, examining how attention and affect shift during a state of interest. Here, studies suggest that, on the one hand, interest is often associated with narrowed attention, eliciting focused engagement, such as when one experiences a state of flow. On the other hand, interest is also linked to broadened attention, eliciting exploratory engagement. We then discuss the implicit theories people hold about interests—whether interests are believed to be inherent and fixed versus able to develop and grow. Recent research suggests that believing interests are developed (vs. fixed) increases interest in new areas and enables people to respond adaptively to motivational challenges by buffering them against a loss of interest when a new activity becomes difficult. Next we review research on how interest affects task performance and persistence, and consider the roles of focused and exploratory modes of engagement. Finally, we examine interest as an outcome of engagement, discussing processes ranging from cognitive dissonance to social interactions. Together, the research reviewed in this chapter converges to highlight the multiple means by which interest is powerfully linked to human motivation and engagement.
The objective of this chapter is to illuminate the role of interest in knowledge acquisition. In this chapter, we make a distinction between situational interest and individual interest and explain how both are related to knowledge. We will argue that the relations between these three concepts are at the heart of the education endeavor. We present empirical findings showing that situational interest is a causal factor in the acquisition of knowledge. Individual interest is shown to be a by-product of knowledge and a causal factor in the emergence of situational interest. In the concluding paragraphs, we will propose a model that integrates our findings and present directions for future research.
Concepts related to interest, curiosity, and learning motivation appear in a wide swath of scholarship. This chapter develops a perspective on curiosity that is grounded in modern models of motivation and emotion. A functional approach seeks to understand human curiosity in terms of the functions it serves for near-term adaptation and long-term human development. I suggest that curiosity serves three related functions: (1) it motivates people to learn for its own sake; (2) it serves as a counterweight to anxiety, which motivates avoiding new things; and (3) it serves as a counterweight to enjoyment, which motivates sticking with tried-and-true sources of reward. The chapter ends by considering some definitional issues (such as whether “interest” and “curiosity” are different states), exploring relationships between curiosity and other emotional states (e.g., surprise, confusion, and awe), and examining individual differences related to curiosity.
The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development is currently the most frequently used theoretical underpinning of research on interest. Under this model, situational interest can designate two very different phenomena: state interest and less-developed interest. While state interest is an experience of interest in the moment, less-developed interest describes individuals who are in the initial phases of a developing interest. This chapter shows that researchers have implicitly embraced these different meanings, which have led to two different lines of research. To foster conceptual clarity, the chapter promotes using “state interest” and “less-developed interest” as standard terminology instead of “situational interest.” This seems to be the more parsimonious and less ambiguous option.
Individual interest is a relatively enduring motivation to acquire knowledge and experience within a particular domain for the purpose of having that knowledge and experience. As such, the decision to select tasks within a domain of individual interest is essential to its nature. This chapter lays out a theoretical causal model that attempts to explain how the components of individual interest—stored knowledge and stored value—put into motion other key processes that lead to the selection of domain-relevant tasks. These key processes have been developed in somewhat diverse research traditions, and they include desired possible selves, mastery goals, implicit and explicit goal schemas, and level of construal, among others. All of these processes focus on how experiences with the domain contribute to the developing self-concept. Moreover, once task engagement begins, these key processes can also support task engagement in the moment because they promote individuals’ willingness and ability to care about doing well, perceive themselves as sufficiently competent, and become absorbed in the task. Finally, we speculate about how memories of past task engagement contribute to the recognition of a domain of individual interest as a feature of the self.
Although the construct of passion goes back to the early times of philosophers, it has been largely neglected in contemporary psychology until recently. Passion deserves our attention because it reflects a reality for a majority of individuals in a variety of cultures and leads to important life outcomes. In this chapter, I address a number of issues. First, I discuss the concept of passion and in so doing introduce the Dualistic Model of Passion that my colleagues and I have developed. I also present a brief history of the passion concept and compare it to interest and highlight similarities and differences between the two constructs. Second, I review initial research on passion followed by research on the development of passion distinguishing between the factors involved in the initial and the ongoing development of passion. I then review research on the effects of passion for a number of outcomes. Finally, I end the chapter with some concluding thoughts and suggestions for future research.
The impact of interests and obsessions is examined with respect to four types of exceptional personal performance: the creative genius, the polymath, the child prodigy, and the autistic savant. This examination entails seven influential factors: (a) domain-specific expertise, deliberate practice, and the 10-year rule; (b) the genetic and environmental foundations of interests and obsessions; (c) openness to experience, divergent thinking, and cognitive disinhibition; (d) inter- and intradomain versatility; (e) general intelligence; (f) asymmetrical development; and (g) early versus late bloomers. By combining the four types with the seven factors, it becomes evident that the developmental connection between creative achievement and interests or obsessions is extremely complex.
It is tempting to consider the development of interest as an intra-individual process. That is, whether a person becomes interested in a topic can be attributed mostly to individual differences in temperament and personality characteristics. However, motivation in general, and interest development in particular, is also a social phenomenon that may be influenced by one’s interactions with people while engaging in the activity of interest. In this chapter, we first outline the role of perceived value in the development of interest. Second, we review a program of research designed to enhance interest by facilitating perceptions of value for an activity. Third, we discuss how other people in our lives both directly and indirectly influence value and, as a result, the development of interest. Although the majority of the extant research literature is focused on direct interventions to influence value, and thereby interest, we outline several indirect pathways through which the social context can also contribute to an individual’s perception of value. We encourage researchers to explore the direct and indirect influences of the social context on value through both observational and experimental studies so that we can discover additional mechanisms that help explain how interest develops.
The present chapter explores the hypothesis that an important influence on interest is the perceived or subjective social context in which a task is completed—the perception of the relationship between the self, a task, and other people engaged in the task. We call this the triadic relationship in which a task is completed. We theorize that this triadic relationship is a key driver of interest from early in life, and sets the stage for the development of interest into childhood and adolescence. Specifically, we hypothesize that when people perceive themselves to be connected to others engaged in a task, or when they see themselves as working with others on a task rather than separately from others, this will inspire greater interest. In the present chapter, we review theoretical and empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis from both developmental and social psychology. We then map out the implications of this insight for interventions to improve individuals’ interest and academic performance.
... What mindset contributes to this type of integrative thinking? To answer this question, we considered the beliefs people hold about the nature of interest, as interest can intrinsically motivate people to learn about new topics and fields (see Fredrickson, 1998;O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017;Renninger & Hidi, 2015;Silvia, 2006). If people are open to the possibility that they could experience interest, and potentially see some value, in topics outside of their well-established interests, they may be more likely to explore those outside areas and see how they connect with their established interests. ...
... Why? Interest can increase learning (see O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017;Renninger & Hidi, 2015;Silvia, 2006 for reviews). Research has shown that interest is associated with deeper processing of new information (Schiefele & Krapp, 1996), increased task performance (e.g., O'Keefe & Linnenbrink-Garcia, 2014), and higher course grades (e.g., Harackiewicz et al., 2008;Hulleman & Harackiewicz, 2009). ...
... The present studies also advance our scientific understanding of interest processes. In recent decades, research on interest has surged (see O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017), yielding important insights into the different phases of interest, from curiosity (e.g., Kashdan, Rose, & Finchman, 2004;Silvia, 2017) to passion (see Vallerand, 2015), from situationally-triggered to well-developed individual interest (see Hidi & Renninger, 2006), and into the function of interest for learning and exploration, self-regulation, and motivation (see Fredrickson, 2001;Izard, 2013;O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017;O'Keefe, Horberg, & Plante, 2017;Tomkins, 1962). Little work, however, has considered how beliefs about the nature of interest might shape how people think and behave. ...
Innovations often arise when people bridge seemingly disparate areas of knowledge, such as the arts and sciences. What leads people to make connections that others might miss? We examined the role of implicit theories of interest-the belief that interests are relatively fixed (a fixed theory of interest) or developed (a growth theory of interest) among people with established interests either in the area of arts or sciences. A stronger growth theory predicted that participants spontaneously noticed more stimuli from the area outside their interests (Studies 2 and 3) and generated better integrative ideas (Study 1). Furthermore, they were more likely to generate ideas that bridged the arts and sciences (Study 2), which was also found after inducing fixed or growth theories, establishing causality (Study 3). Finally,perceived utility of the outside area mediated this relation (Study 4). These results suggest that a growth theory may be important for integrative thinking and innovation across traditional disciplinary boundaries.
... As far as the COI construct is concerned, a cross-domain individual interest contradicts the theory of interest. There has always been a consensus that a general academic interest, detached from specific content, does not exist [121][122][123][124][125]. In other words: "Individuals are not 'interested' in the same way that they may be 'extraverted'. . . ...
... Concerning scholastic interests, we have already noted that academic interests obviously and indisputably develop from a student's engagement with subject-tied content. Thus, for many years, interest theory and interest research have contradicted the underlying assumption of the COI construct in that individual interests are object unspecific and can be validly measured across domains [13,[121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][166][167][168][169][170]. Such subject-linked relationships with academic achievement may also be relevant for the POE construct. ...
The importance of self-related constructs in predicting academic achievement has been increasingly emphasized in recent decades. Typically, bivariate associations of self-related variables with achievements have been reported. Research quantifying the combined predictive power of more than two self-variables has been scarce. Moreover, except for the academic self-concept, these variables have almost always been measured across domains, i.e., without considering the specifics of individual school subjects. The current study aimed to statistically predict academic achievement (operationalized via school grades) in three major subjects (Chinese (native language), mathematics, and English (foreign language)) by using subject-tied scales, namely academic self-concept, conscientiousness, need for cognition, perseverance of effort, and consistency of interest. The sample comprised 791 Chinese adolescents. Each scale was related separately to each of the three school subjects. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were run. The control variable, biological sex, accounted for 2% of Chinese grades and 8% of English grades, but not of mathematics grades. Adding subject-specific self-concept scales increased the explained variance to 7% (Chinese), 16% (mathematics), and 32% (English). Further additions to the other four self-related scales did not increase the variances that were accounted for. The discussion underlines the relevance of subject-specific academic self-concepts as predictors for subject-tied academic achievements.
... When students are interested in their coursework, it can enhance the learning process (see O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017;Renninger & Hidi, 2015). Studies show that increased interest in coursework can improve students' motivation (e.g., Harackiewicz et al., 2008), self-regulatory efforts (see Thoman et al., 2017), and learning (e.g., Hulleman & Harackiewicz, 2009;Ranellucci et al., 2015) and can encourage further engagement in a subject (e.g., Harackiewicz et al., 2008;Hulleman et al., 2008). ...
... In the present research, we examined effects on students' interest and grades in mandatory first-year math-and science-related courses. We were particularly interested in students whose preexisting academic identity fell outside these fields and who, therefore, would presumably lack intrinsic reasons (like interest) to engage with these courses and may risk doing poorly in them as a result (see O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017), despite an ability to do well. To investigate this question, we worked with selective universities where students are proficient in math/science yet vary in their identification with these fields. ...
College students are often urged to “find their passion,” but if students believe that passions or interests are fixed, they may not develop interest in fields beyond the academic identity with which they enter college. Can a brief intervention that portrays interests as developable, not fixed, boost interest, and even grades, in mandatory math and science coursework among students who do not identify as a “math or science person”? This would be especially significant because college provides the foundation for developing skills and interests that guide later professional paths. After a successful pilot study at a small liberal arts college (N = 175), we conducted a randomized, controlled field-experiment with matriculating first-year undergraduates (N = 580) in the school of arts and social sciences of a large university. Students completed a 30-min growth-theory-of-interest (vs. control) online module before starting school. At the end of their first and second semesters, they reported their interest in their two required first-year math/science courses. Official final grades were obtained at the end of the year. As predicted, among those who entered college less identified with math and science, the intervention (vs. control) increased interest and final grades in both first-year math/science courses (one conditional effect was marginal). The results suggest that by representing interests as not merely “found” but as having the potential to grow, colleges can encourage the development of skilled, interdisciplinary scholars.
... Curiosity is what feeds our minds, and it is a motivational system that ensures that a person will engage with the environment, deepen learning, seek new experiences and ideas. Curiosity can motivate learning so that a person will develop the skills and knowledge he needs [15]. ...
This research aimed to describe students’ perceptions of online lectures on vertebrate zoology. This quantitative descriptive analysis was conducted through questionnaires and interviews distributed to students online. The sample in this study was 32 Biology students. The results of the study showed that 48% of the teaching and learning process needed to be carried out in a variety of ways so that students are motivated, learning objectives can be achieved, and lecturers can facilitate textbooks to be used especially for online learning. The results of the interviews showed that 96.9% of students stated that it was necessary to develop a digital-based textbook on vertebrate zoology. In line with this, 68% of students strongly agreed to add to the collection of photos of the species displayed. As many as 64% of students stated that they had a deeper curiosity about the existence of the animals being studied so that students’ awareness and concern for the environment could grow and increase their knowledge of biodiversity. In addition, as many as 52% of students agreed with using applications in identifying animals in vertebrate zoology courses as the use of technology in learning can increase student knowledge, performance, and motivation so that this study can contribute as an initial study in the development of digital textbooks of vertebrate zoology. Keywords: perception, prospective teacher, biology, online lecture, vertebrata, zoology
... In this study, we also considered states that students align closely with the epistemic emotions that they often feel within a sKBDS, such as activeness and interest. For example, being active refers to the condition of things happening or being done, whereas interest as a psychological concept closely relates to explanations of motivation to learn, attend to a task or an activity (O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017). This inclusion resulted in a final list of widely recognized emotions and states that we attempt to recognize in this study, comprising of surprise, curiosity, enjoyment, confusion, anxiety, frustration, boredom, active, and interest. ...
When students build knowledge and apply critical thinking to real ideas and problems around them, their expressed emotions are important to recognize as drivers of knowledge acquisition of themselves and the world. These epistemic emotions are also critical for knowledge generation and cognitive performance. In this pilot study, we attempt to examine and recognize students' epistemic emotions in an informal learning environment, student Knowledge Building Design Studio (sKBDS), that was designed for cultivating collaborative knowledge creation and enhancement of student agency. A sensing module was developed to collect students' facial and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) data, before using machine learning algorithms and models that are trained on students' data to recognize the different types of epistemic emotions that students exhibit during an empirical knowledge building study. Initial findings are promising and shows the possibility of recognizing students' epistemic emotions in real-time.
... In turn, Chen et al. (2001) examined the dimensional sources of situational interest (i.e., intrinsic motivation) 5 . By drawing partly on Deci's (1992) theoretical 5 In recent years, a discussion has emerged in the field of motivation research that has questioned whether intrinsic motivation and interest should be treated as an integrated psychological construct or as distinct yet interrelated constructs (Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000;O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017). For instance, Hidi and Renninger (Hidi, 2000;Hidi & Renninger, 2006;Renninger, 2000) have distinguished interest from intrinsic motivation, for example, by emphasizing the dispositional and developmental aspects of interest. ...
In my thesis, I examine the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation in two different contexts (laboratory & work). My study focuses on answering the following two questions:
1. Under what reward contingencies and populations will extrinsic rewards have a negative effect, no effect, or positive effect on intrinsic motivation in controlled laboratory experiments? What is the magnitude of the effect?
2. What is the association between extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation in organizational settings? How strong is this association?
A systematic search of published studies from seven electronic databases was carried out to answer these questions. Altogether, 158 peer-reviewed journal articles met the inclusion criteria. Three primary meta-analyses using a random-effects model and a hierarchical analysis framework were followed through. Following Deci et al.’s (1999a) steps, the analysis proceeded from a higher level of analysis examining the effect of all rewards on intrinsic motivation to more specified levels of analysis using reward type and reward contingency as moderators.
Two meta-analyses focused on examining the causal impact of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation by synthesizing the evidence from 142 randomized controlled laboratory experiments (125 published articles). Separate meta-analyses were performed for the two measures of intrinsic motivation: free-choice intrinsic motivation (i.e., free-choice behavior) and self-reported interest/enjoyment. The third primary meta-analysis synthesized the evidence from observational studies conducted in work settings. The goal was to examine the relationship between extrinsic reward and self-reported intrinsic work motivation. Altogether, 42 independent samples from 35 published articles were used in the analyses.
... However, the theory used was not defined. Consequently, this study contribute to seeking the students' and teacher perception based on the theory of the perceiver factor by Robbins and Judge (2013), Robbins et al. (2020), (O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017), and (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2017) For further, this study was guided by the question as follows: What are the students and the teacher's perceptions of English for Young Learners (EFYL)? ...
During technological and scientific developments, young learners were supposed to be accustomed to the English language. Conversely, studies on how children and teachers view English for young learners seem still limited. Thus, this study aims to find out students' and teachers' perceptions of learning English for young learners. A qualitative descriptive was applied in this study and involved 33 students and 2 English teachers in SDS Cahaya Kasih Batam. An observation checklist, questionnaire, and interview were conducted to collect the data. The indicators which were applied in the instruments are cognitive, affective, behavioral, personality, interests, and expectation. The observation checklist was done to observe the classroom situation. Those questionnaires were distributed to the students and English teachers. The last data, students' and teachers' interviews were conducted to become additional and clarify the results obtained from the questionnaire. The outcome of this study highlighted that the students and English teachers positively perceived learning English for young learners. Teaching English at an early age for young learners helps them accustomed to English and capable to deal with science and technology development.
... These results lead us to formulate a theoretical proposal that describes the properties of narrative tension and posits a relationship between various fields interested in the phenomenon of reception. From a theoretical point of view, this proposal allows a connection of fields that until now have been separated: the fields of theory of curiosity (Berlyne, 1960), the theory of interest (O'Keefe & Harackievicz, 2017;Silvia, 2006), and the theory of enjoyment (Eden, 2017). All this contributes to advancing our understanding of the psychological phenomenon of narrative entertainment and the processes of reading in which narrative theory is also interested. ...
Research into narrative tension is of interest in terms of the progress of knowledge of the processes and mechanisms by which stories are received and enjoyed. We have created four versions of an audiovisual story with three different structures of fiction (suspense, surprise, curiosity) and one of non-fiction. We have investigated the effects of the narrative tension of these stories with four groups of subjects (N=94). The results show that the organization of the stories, depending on their structures of suspense, surprise, or curiosity, induces narrative tension, while the non-fictional story, induces cognitive and affective effects of another kind. Narrative tension appears during narrative progression. It is manifested by cognitive-affective responses that include anticipations, diagnoses, retrospections, and emotions. In narrative tension, curiosity plays a triggering and organizing role in suspense and surprise. The emotions and cognitions that result from narrative tension during plot construction underpin the experience of enjoyment. The Multidimensional Narrative Tension Theory of Enjoyment that emerges from this research allows establishing connections between narrative theory concerned with narrative progression and plot, the psychology of interest, and the psychology of media enjoyment.
... This is in line with the study stating that there was a positive perception and interest in sports massage among sports coaches in East Kalimantan (16). Interest refers to feelings of deep pleasure and passion for something, (17). There are two factors influencing interest, namely: Intrinsic factors, namely innate nature and Extrinsic factors including the environment, family and surrounding community. ...
Introduction: Currently, many studies have been carried out on foot massage that are recommended as one of the complementary nursing interventions. However, the reality in the field of foot massage action has not been widely
conducted by nurses. Therefore, researchers are interested in investigating nurses’ perceptions related to nurses’ interest in performing foot massage nursing actions. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of the
relationship between nurses’ perceptions and interests in carrying out foot massage actions in the inpatient room of Muhammadiyah Hospital Bandung. Methods: The correlational quantitative descriptive study with a cross sectional approach was conducted on 40 nurses using total sampling. The instrument used in this study was questionnaire. The data was analyzed using univariate analysis of the frequency distribution while bivariate analysis used Spearman rank. Results: The results of this study indicated that nurses’ perceptions of foot massage were in the good category, while nurses’ interests in carrying out foot massage actions were in the high category. The results of statistical tests indicated a relationship between nurses’ perceptions of foot massage and nurses’ interest in carrying out foot massage actions (p-value = 0.000). Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between nurses’ perceptions of foot massage and nurses’ interest in conducting foot massage actions. Thus, the hospital needs to be facilitated so that nurses are able to carry out foot massage as an independent nursing action in providing nursing interventions.
... This result might be due, at least partially, to low prior knowledge of the topic in question, leading participants to rate their level of interest inaccurately. In addition to an affective component related to emotional engagement in an event or activity, interest has a cognitive component related to the knowledge a person brings to the activity and other aspects of cognitive functions (O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017). However, another possibility suggested by our in-depth analysis of interest in relation to sourcing is that this construct needs to be measured at the situational level or that behavioral indicators need to be used. ...
This article reviews how individual differences have been conceptualized and researched within the area of multiple document literacy, in particular the extent to which proposed relationships between individual differences and the multiple document literacy process of sourcing have been supported by the empirical research. The findings showed that although the majority of the individual differences included in theoretical models of multiple document literacy have been researched, the empirical backing of proposed relationships is rather ambiguous. Still, in-depth analyses of the most researched individual differences in relation to sourcing revealed some interesting and interpretable patterns. Further, the review suggested that relationships between individual differences and sourcing may vary not only with the way sourcing is measured but also with the domain or topic addressed in the reading materials. We discuss the current status of research on individual differences in the context of multiple document literacy with a focus on sourcing and suggest potential avenues for further clarifications.
... The above research on career preferences did not examine passion itself, but rather tangential attributes, such as interest, preferences, and job satisfaction. Although relevant, passion is distinct from interest (see O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017;Vallerand, 2017;Vallerand & Houlfort, 2019), as passions are more personally important than interests and are incorporated into one's identity to a greater extent; further, people are often more intensely engaged with their passions than with their interests. Indeed, even people who are not pursuing a passion as a career could find their work interesting and be relatively satisfied with their job. ...
Are there cultural differences in the extent to which people believe they should follow their passion when pursuing a career? Three experiments demonstrated that people from the U.S., which is a more independent culture, evaluate pursuing a passion as a career more favorably than those from Singapore, a less independent culture. When evaluating others who decided to pursue a passion (vs. a non‐passion) as a career, Americans were more likely than Singaporeans to endorse this decision, and to expect subsequent positive outcomes, such as future success and fulfillment (Studies 1–3). This difference was due to Americans’ stronger belief that passions are inherently motivating (Studies 1 and 2), and to Singaporeans’ stronger belief that passions can be problematic at times, such as when they conflict with obligations (Studies 2 and 3). Moreover, the extent to which participants pursued a passion as a career in their own lives predicted their life satisfaction more strongly for Americans than for Singaporeans (Study 3). These findings challenge the idea that pursuing a passion is a universally valued career philosophy, and instead, suggest that it is culturally constructed.
... Given the strong motivational properties of interest (e.g., O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017;Renninger & Hidi, 2015;Sansone & Harackiewicz, 2000), the SRM model proposes that the experience of interest is embedded within the process of goalstriving and essential to maintaining motivation over time. The problem that individuals must solve is that many of the tasks needed to reach goals are not initially or continually interesting. ...
Beliefs that human qualities are malleable or fixed play important roles in motivation, personality, and development (Dweck, 1999; Dweck, Chiu, & Hong, 1995). The present research extends this distinction to individuals’ beliefs about the malleability of interest. The Self-Regulation of Motivation (SRM) model proposes that experiencing interest at least some of the time is essential for maintaining motivation over time. Therefore, when individuals face an uninteresting but valuable activity, choosing to regulate their experience of interest by changing how they work on the activity increases persistence and the likelihood of later reengagement (Sansone & Harackiewicz, 1996; Sansone & Smith, 2000; Sansone & Thoman, 2005). Implicit theories of interest regulation are proposed as mental frameworks that people use when deciding whether or not to regulate interest. Findings from experimental lab studies that measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Study 2) general implicit theories of interest regulation suggest that whether or not undergraduates believe that interest can be regulated influences their use of interest-enhancing strategies on a boring task. Study 3 utilized repeated within-person measures of implicit theories across several academic domains to reveal that undergraduates’ beliefs about the malleability of interest is highly variable across academic domains, and that students report greater use of interest-enhancing strategies when they encountered boring class assignments in domains in which they reported more malleable (v. fixed) implicit theories of interest. Theoretical implications are discussed for both the SRM model and recently growing work on the role of metamotivational variables in self-regulation.
... Firstly, the perception of OCC is approached in terms of its interest for both parties. The study of interest in educational settings is now a mature field of research (O'Keefe and Harackiewicz 2017;Silvia 2006). Interest has been widely referred to as a specific relationship between an individual and his/her environment implying a readiness to engage in interestrelated tasks activities (Krapp, 1999), and in "particular content such as objects, events, or ideas" (Hidi and Renninger 2006, p. 112). ...
The study looks into the problem of student–faculty communication. It addresses the issue of claimed scarcity of such interaction that exists despite the recognized benefits it can bring to students and instructors. It is suggested that examination and comparison of the participants’ interest and actual engagement in out-of-class communication (OCC) may shed light on this. Two populations from a university in Russia: 148 students and 35 instructors, were analyzed to measure their overall interest and engagement in OCC. The paper also addressed the question whether the studied populations are interested and engage in the same types of OCC. The results demonstrate that the reported overall interest in OCC was higher than the actual engagement in it among both groups of the respondents. Besides, students and faculty chose different types of OCC as most interest evincing and most frequently practiced. The research outcomes may help the parties concerned (scholars, teaching staff, educational managers and students) enhance understanding of the nature of OCC and its specifics and consider ways of harmonizing it in the best interests of all stakeholders.
... En effet, plusieurs chercheurs choisissent de mesurer la motivation exclusivement par l'intérêt que les élèves entretiennent envers une tâche ou un domaine (p. ex., l'intérêt en mathématiques et en langue; voir Hulleman et Harackiewicz, 2009 Harackiewicz, 2017;Renninger et Hidi, 2015;Schiefele, 2009). Bien qu'un intérêt individuel accru soit souhaitable puisqu'il favorise l'engagement et la persévérance scolaires (O'Keefe, Horberg, et Plante, 2017), les intervenants scolaires ont peu d'emprise sur ce type d'intérêt. ...
In school, the importance of motivation to promote achievement is well-recognized. Conceived as what moves people to act and pursue a goal, achievement motivation was studied in light of diverse theoretical approaches. However, these approaches provide distinct but complementary conceptions of achievement motivation, which may make the construct harder to understand, especially for non-experts. This article offers a theoretical review of the three dominant theories of school motivation, namely expectancy-value theory, achievement goal theory, and self-determination theory. It also highlights similarities between each theory and proposes an integrative model to better conceptualize the construct of school motivation.
... The first step involves making 'getting students interested' a curricular goal. Once educators do this and begin searching for strategies to make this possible, they can rely on a rich and constantly growing literature describing interest development (recent book-length examples; Renninger & Hidi, 2017;O'Keefe, & Harackiewicz, 2017). In addition, there are a growing number of publications suggesting practical strategies for enhancing students' interest development across all levels of education (e.g., Harackiewicz, Smith, Priniski, et al., 2016;Renninger et al., 2014;Hulleman, Godes, Hendricks, Harackiewicz, 2010). ...
Motivations-beliefs for learning and their relationship to instructional experiences are a poorly understood aspect of higher education. Notably, interest is an individual difference that both researchers and educators alike believe should be supported. However, this support is too often relegated to the craft of instruction. To be enhanced broadly, interest must be considered from a scientific perspective. In this study the longitudinal connections between students' domain/course-level interest, the instruction students' experienced, students' exam scores and attendance were assessed. First-year university students in Japan (n=1000,Female=271) participated in the study. Students completed surveys at three time points across one semester of study. Students' initial domain interest presented medium-to-large ßs with instructional experiences, future course interest, and exam scores, and positive instructional experiences (autonomy-supportive and structuring). Future course interest presented medium-ß for course attendance. Small relationships were observed between students' sex and their instructional experiences. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. OPEN ACCESS EPRINT-------> https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YW88J9YVR5KHC4FEITKK/full?target=10.1080/03075079.2020.1712692
... The SRM model adds that the experience of working on the activity can emerge during activity engagement as a proximal reason to quit (if boring or overly frustrating) or persist (if interesting). Although interest has been defined in many ways (O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017;Renninger & Hidi, 2011), the SRM model focuses on the motivational properties of the experience of interest, a dynamic state that arises through an ongoing transaction among goals, contexts, and actions . The interest experience creates a generally positive affective tone, directs and focuses attention, and promotes exploration and sustained engagement (Sansone & Thoman, 2005); at its extreme, this may be experienced as "flow" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). ...
Understanding group-based inequalities in education requires attention not only to performance and achievement outcomes, but also to whether and how students sustain motivation for their educational and career paths over long periods of time. The self-regulation of motivation (SRM) model describes how students’ choices to persist are driven by the dynamic interaction between goals-defined motivation, which typically guides choices to start or reengage in an activity, and experience-defined motivation (or interest), which becomes a proximal predictor of persistence once engaged in the activity. Social influences can shape both kinds of motivations in ways that systematically contribute to differences in student persistence across groups and in how people self-regulate motivation. In this paper, we detail the ways in which social roles and group norms, interpersonal bias, and institutional structural barriers can shape motivational experiences and persistence of underrepresented groups of students through several specified processes within the SRM model. We describe how the model might illumine underlying causes of differential participation rates in certain fields, and we discuss key directions for future research.
... Researchers have sought to identify the reasons for males' and females' differing career decisions or preferences for specific domains. Especially relevant is the concept of individual interest (Durik et al. 2017;Hidi and Renninger 2006;Schiefele 2009), the predisposition to reengage in particular content and activities that are personally valued and generally experienced positively (see O'Keefe and Harackiewicz 2017;Renninger and Hidi 2016). Educational and occupational choices have been found to be importantly shaped by the value students place on a topic or task (see Eccles 1987Eccles , 2005Plante et al. 2013b) as well as by their individual interest (Eccles and Wigfield 2002;Nagy et al. 2006). ...
This study used a novel approach to examine the link between gender ability stereotype endorsement and academic interests by examining not only stereotypes people hold within the domains of mathematics and language arts, but also between them. Grade 6 and 8 students (285 males, 363 females) reported their degree of stereotype endorsement and interest in these two academic domains. Results of path analyses revealed that stereotype endorsement within and between domains accounted for gender differences in interest. In language arts, endorsing a stereotype that females are more competent than males predicted subsequent interest in the domain and accounted for the greater language arts interest among females. In mathematics, however, the perception that males are more competent in mathematics relative to language arts was linked to students’ interest in this domain and accounted for the interest gap between genders. These results suggest that students’ interests relate to endorsed stereotypes that are either driven by a perceived gender superiority within one domain—when females are viewed as more competent than males in language arts—or a gender superiority between two domains—when males are viewed as more competent in mathematics relative to language arts. Considering not only stereotypes favoring a gender within one domain, but also between domains, provides a more accurate portrait of students’ actual stereotypes and can be useful to better understanding how the interest gap emerges.
... A fixed theory may prevent a person from initiating the developmental process in new areas and thwart the process if the person encounters difficulty. In turn, given the way in which interests can engender intrinsic motivation (O'Keefe, Horberg, & Plante, 2017), theories of interest may shape the degree to which people develop intrinsic rather than solely extrinsic (e.g., getting a good grade) motivations (see O'Keefe & Harackiewicz, 2017). ...
People are often told to find their passion, as though passions and interests are preformed and must simply be discovered. This idea, however, has hidden motivational implications. Five studies examined implicit theories of interest—the idea that personal interests are relatively fixed (fixed theory) or developed (growth theory). Whether assessed or experimentally induced, a fixed theory was more likely to dampen interest in areas outside people’s existing interests (Studies 1–3). Individuals endorsing a fixed theory were also more likely to anticipate boundless motivation when passions were found, not anticipating possible difficulties (Study 4). Moreover, when it became difficult to engage in a new interest, interest flagged significantly more for people induced to hold a fixed rather than a growth theory of interest (Study 5). Urging people to find their passion may lead them to put all their eggs in one basket but then to drop that basket when it becomes difficult to carry.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 renowned experts from five curiosity-dominant professional fields (scientists, inventors (high-tech entrepreneurs), artists, explorers, and therapeutic professionals). The five-dimensional curiosity framework proposed by Kashdan and colleagues (comprising joyous discovery, deprivation sensitivity, social curiosity, stress (uncertainty) tolerance, and thrill-seeking) was adopted. The purpose was to explore nuances of curiosity manifestations expressed by the subjects in their own words and related personality and contextual attributes. A directed approach to content analysis was applied to code the interview data; qualitative methods were employed for data analysis, complemented by quantitative ones. Insights gained from the findings regarding the curiosity construct, focusing on differences among the groups in regard to aspects of social curiosity and effects of uncertainty tolerance and thrill-thinking, were discussed, followed by implications for cultivating curious minds.
Motivation is an interdisciplinary concept which encompasses various theories, concepts and frameworks. This paper aims to bring various motivational theories together, with interest development at its core, to develop a more streamlined framework of interest development. Interest is believed to play a vital role in student learning, and this “Growth cycle of interest” framework aims to provide a deeper understanding of interest development in the context of education. This paper begins with a brief overview of major motivational theories, synthesising them into the Growth Cycle of Interest framework, which is then exemplified through case studies.
Academic interest and academic self-concept are important correlated motivational variables. Their common factorial structure and their shared (confounded) and non-shared (unique) power for predicting subject-tied academic achievement has not yet been satisfactorily investigated. This study investigated 588 Chinese adolescents. Two subject-tied interests and the corresponding subject-tied self-concepts were measured. The associated school marks were collected. The major subject German (first foreign language) was chosen to represent the verbal oriented school subjects, the major subject Maths was chosen to represent the numerical oriented ones. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) evidenced two motivational factors (academic interest and academic self-concept) within each school subject and two subject factors (German and Maths) within each motivational construct. Joined CFAs (which included all interest as well as all self-concept items) revealed four factors (interest German, interest Maths, self-concept German, self-concept Maths). Accordingly, four motivational scales were formed. Each scale consisted of five items. The scales had high reliabilities and displayed good convergent-divergent validities. Both motivational scales together accounted for 41.0 % (German) and 22.3 % (Maths) of the total achievement variance. Of these, the common (fused) shares were 19.8 % (German) and 12.4 % (Maths). The proportions of the total achievement variance that could be explained exclusively by only one of the two motivational variables amounted to 0.3 % (interest) and 20.9 % (self-concept) for German. Theses figures were 0.1 % (interest) and 9.8 % (self-concept) for Maths. The discussion underscores that subject-specific academic interest and subject-specific academic selfconcept, while highly correlated, should still be considered distinct constructs. A subject-tied self-concept remains an important predictor of academic achievement even after controlling for the assigned interest. The situation is different in the case of subject-tied interest. Its predictive power for academic achievement collapses after controlling for the associated selfconcept. Schulfachspezifische Interessen und schulfachspezifische Selbstkonzepte: Faktorielle Strukturen und geteilte sowie nicht-geteilte Vorhersagekräfte für Leistungen in zwei schulischen Hauptfächern
---------------
Akademische Interessen und akademisches Selbstkonzepte sind relevante pädagogisch-psychologische Motivationsvariab-len. Ihre gemeinsame faktorielle Struktur und ihre geteilten (konfundierten) und nicht geteilten (spezifischen) Vorhersagekräfte für schulische Leistungen in unterschiedlichen Schulfächern sind noch nicht zufriedenstellend geklärt. In dieser Studie wurde 588 chinesische Jugendliche unter-sucht. Erhoben wurden das Interesse an zwei Hauptfächern, die entsprechenden Selbstkonzepte sowie die zugehörigen Zensuren. Die Fächer wa-ren Deutsch (erste Fremdsprache) und Mathematik. Konfirmatorische Faktorenanalysen (CFAs) belegten zwei Motivationsfaktoren (akademisches Interesse und akademisches Selbstkonzept) innerhalb eines jeden Schulfachs sowie zwei Fachfaktoren (Deutsch und Mathematik) innerhalb eines jeden Motivationskonstrukts. Eine gemeinsame CFA, die auf allen Interessenitems und allen Selbstkonzeptitems basierte, führte zu vier Faktoren: Interesse Deutsch, Interesse Mathematik, Selbstkonzept Deutsch und Selbstkonzept Mathematik. Entsprechend wurden vier hoch reliable Skalen (pro Skala fünf Items) gebildet, die gute konvergent-divergente Konstruktvaliditäten aufwiesen. Im Fach Deutsch klärten beide motivationalen Ska-len (Interesse, Selbstkonzept) zusammen 41.0 % der totalen Leistungsvarianz auf, im Fach Mathematik 22.3 %. Die geteilten (konfundierten) Antei-le betrugen 19.8 % (Deutsch) und 12.4 % (Mathematik). Die nicht geteilten (also exklusiv nur durch eine der beiden Motivationsvariablen aufklärba-ren) Anteile an Leistungsvarianz, beliefen sich in Deutsch bzw. Mathematik für die Interessen auf 0.3 % bzw. 0.1 % und für die Selbstkonzepten auf 20.9 % bzw. 9.8 %. Die Diskussion betont, dass fachspezifisches akademische Interesse und fachspezifisches akademisches Selbstkonzept unter-schiedliche-wenn auch höher korrelierte-Konstrukte sind und dass das schulfachbezogene Selbstkonzept auch nach Kontrolle des zugeordne-ten schulfachbezogenen Interesses ein wichtiger Prädiktor für akadem ische Leistung bleibt. Anders liegt der Fall beim schulfachbezogenen Inter-esse: Seine Vorhersagekraft für schulische Leistung bricht bei Kontrolle des entsprechenden schulfachbezogenen Selbstkonzepts zusammen.
Formative assessment is a crucial element of teaching and learning which allows students to identify challenging course concepts and enables educators to assess the effectiveness of their teaching strategies. Web-based student response systems have gained popularity for their ability to provide instant feedback to students and instructors while simultaneously promoting active learning and student engagement. Kahoot!, a competitive game-based student response system, has recently been used to assess students at various academic levels across numerous disciplines, though its effectiveness in undergraduate general chemistry classrooms remains unclear. This paper presents the use of Kahoot! during sequential semesters of General Chemistry I and II with the same group of undergraduate students. The utility of using Kahoot! as an assessment tool is evaluated by analyzing anonymous student feedback surveys. The student response to using Kahoot! is encouraging and indicates that Kahoot! may be an enjoyable, engaging, and effective assessment tool when used in undergraduate general chemistry classrooms.
In their situated expectancy-value theory, Eccles and Wigfield (2020) assume students’ competence and value beliefs to be situation-specific and thereby to be “situative” in nature. Even though motivation research has gradually been developing an understanding of this situative nature, for instance, by disentangling time-consistent and fluctuating proportions of competence and value beliefs at the analytical level of the individual, most studies still have not disentangled them at the class level. The present study sought to close this gap by applying a multilevel modeling approach based on data from 1,617 ninth-grade students in 78 classrooms across five consecutive math lessons. Our findings revealed significant proportions of trait variance and state residual variance in students’ competence beliefs, value beliefs, and their perceptions of autonomy-supportive teaching behaviors at the individual and class levels. Larger amounts of variance could be attributed to the individual level compared with the class level and to fluctuating compared with time-consistent proportions (across levels). Furthermore, students’ perceptions of autonomy-supportive teaching behaviors predicted their situation-specific competence and value beliefs, whereby time-consistent differences, both between students and between classes, explained more variance than fluctuations within students and within classes. Thus, our findings supported the situative nature of competence and value beliefs but also revealed that, by and large, time-consistent differences in the perceptions of autonomy-supportive teaching behaviors between students and classes had more predictive power for students’ competence and value beliefs than intraindividual and intraclass fluctuations over time.
Too often, students fall short of their potential. Although structural and cognitive factors can contribute to this underperformance, how students subjectively construe themselves and their educational contexts can also play significant roles. Social-psychological interventions can increase student motivation, resilience, and achievement by altering these construals. To provide general recommendations for their implementation, we focus on interventions that address common student concerns, which stem from maladaptive beliefs that (a) intelligence cannot be improved; (b) some academic topics are uninteresting and personally irrelevant; (c) learning is an unplanned, passive activity; and (d) others think that “people like me” do not have the potential for success. These interventions tend to be relatively brief, easily implemented, highly scalable, and low in cost, time, and labor. Through a partnership of psychological scientists and practitioners, these carefully contextualized, theory-driven interventions can help students achieve their potential.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.