Module 11
Interest
Interest is another factor that can increase motivation. An activity has interest to the extent that it is intriquing or enticing. An important result of interest is an increase in postive affect or positive emotional states. There are several general categories of interest.
Personal Interest
Personal interest remains relatively stable over time. Personal interest comes from prior experience or association. Recall the early module on classical conditioning. Personal interest may be "conditioned" over time.
Situational Interest
Situational interst is assocaited with something in the environment. A variety of characteristics have been associated with situational interest. These include:
- Topical: death, destruction, danger, money, romance, sex
- New, different, unusual materials, tasks, or situations
- High activity level of emotional content
- Characters with whom the individual can identify
- Information the individual can easily follow
- Challenging tasks: Interstingly this last one seems to be most true for children. Adults appear to be less motivated by challenging tasks than are children.
