CHAPTER6

InterestandAffect
HistoricalFoundationsofInterestandAffect

EyfectsofEmotionsonLearningandMotivation

PersonalandSituationalInterest

EmotionsandGoals

TestAnxiety

ThreePerspectivesonInterest

MeasuresofInterestandResearchFindings,

DejningTestAnxiety

DevelopmentalandIndividualDifferencesin

EffectsonLearningandPerformance

Interest
SelfWorthTheory
Overview

Interventions

Summary

FurtherReading

ConceptualModel
EmotionsandEducationalOutcomes
TaxonomyofEmotions

Severalhighschoolteachersaretalkinginthelunchroornaboutoneoftheirfavoritetopicsstudent
motivation. The teachers have somewhat dwerent views about motivation, but all are concerned
becausetheirstudentsdonothavemuchinterestinschoolrvork.
Ms.Duncan:

Mr.Anderson:

Mr.Lopez:

Mr.Anderson:

lmreallyworried.Noneofmystudentshasanyinterestinmath.Theyjustdont
careaboutanythingtodowithschool.Theydonthavetherightvalues.Allthey
careaboutaretheirgirlfriendsorboyfriends,instantmessaging,cellphones,and
partying.
Well, I dont know I have some kids who are interested in learning. They do get
involved and l try to make the work meaningful to them, They have to talk and
discuss things; at leastsome ofthem seem to like it. Andsometimes,very rarely,
but on those really great days, the class discussion really gels going and some of
the kids are so into it, you can see that they are so involved they are not really
thinking of anything else. You know I live for those days; thats what makes
teachingworthwhile,
Well,atleastyouhavethoseAPandhonorskids.Theydogetturnedontosome
academicthings.ThekidsIhaveintheregularmathclassesarenotinterestedand
dontthinkitsthatimportant.ButIdosomepuzzlesandgameswiththem.When
wehavegamedaytheygetinterestedforatleastalittlewhile.Ialsotrytoteach
themsomeskills.Theyaregoingtoneedthemwhentheygetintherealworld,sol
trytoholdthemtosomestandards.
Yes, or at least when they go to college, that is always a good thing to try to
motivate them, the threat of college. But, you knout sometimes my kids get so
woundupaboutgoingtocollege,makinggoodgrades,andscoringhighontheSAT
that they get so nervous they bomb the test. You can just see them getting all
anxious before the test, and then during the test, you can see them wriggling

Ms.Duncan:

Mr.Lopez:

around, sweating, looking all panicky. Some of them make themselves sick with
nerves.Someofmybeststudentshavetroubleonthetests.Theywilldogreaton
the homework but then really blow it on the test. I dont know what to do with
them.
Well,Ihavesomelikethat,too.Theydontseemtoointerestedinthemath,but
theydogetanxiousforatest.Ijusttrytomakethemfeelgoodaboutthemselves.
Youknowthatisthebiggestthingforalladolescentstheyresoselfconsciousand
need all the positive strokes and positive feedback and selfesteem we can give
them.Theyaredealingwithsomanythings,itsnowondertheyhaveselfesteem
problems.Ijustwishtheywouldgetmoreinterestedinschool.
Well, I dont know if thats all there is to it. I think selfesteem is important, but
thereismoretomotivationthanthat.Iusedtobereallynervousbeforetests,too.
I would think I was prepared because I could do the problems correctly on
homeworkassignments,butthenonceIstartedonthetest,itseemedlikeIcouldnt
dotheproblems.Iwouldstarttothink,"Ohno,Imgoingtofailthistest,Imgoing
to flunk out, my parents will really be mad because Im doing so badly "I would
lookaroundandeveryoneelseseemedtobejustworkingawaydoingfine,which
wouldjustmakememorenervous.Itwassohardtoconcentrate.EventuallyIhad
a teacher who helped me. He showed me some tricks to help me control my
nerves.HealsohelpedmeseethatifIdidpoorlyIwasnotstupid.Hehelpedme
seethatIhadtheabilitytodomath.Infact,hesprobablythereasonIbecamea
mathteacher.Now,Itrytohelpmystudentsthesamewayhehelpedmeanditis
notjustbygivingthempositivestrokes,orwarmfuzzies,ortryingtoraisetheirself
esteem.Ihavehighstandardsandtrytomakesuremystudentshavetheskillsto
meetthem.Theywillfeelbetteraboutthemselvestheycanactuallydothemath
problemsthanifIjusttellthemhowgreattheyare.Theycanspotaphonyright
away and they think, just like Holden Caulfield, that most adults are phonics, so
theydontneedtheirteacherstobethatway.

This chapter discusses student interests and the various affective or emotional variables that have
beenlinkedtostudentlearningandachievement.Giventhediversityofsuchvariablesthischapteris
notorganizedaroundonetheoreticalperspectiveliketheprecedingchapters,butitincludesthemost
relevantandcommonvariables.
Webeginwithashortdiscussionofthehistoricalfoundationsofinterestandaffecttoinclude
the general issues in research on emotions and affect. We then move to a commonly cited
descriptionandexplanationofmotivation:theroleofinterestinlearningandachievement.Theself
worththeoryofachievementmotivationispresented,whichishighlyrelevanttointerestandaffect.
We then cover research on the role of affects and emotions in achievement settings. The chapter
concludes with a discussion of one of the most researched constructs in achievement motivation
researchtestanxietytoincludehowitcanconstrainlearningandperformance.Afterstudyingthis
chapter,youshouldbeableto:

Distinguishbetweenemotionsandmoodsandunderstandthepotentialemotionalresponses
thatcouldhegeneratedinaclassroomcontext.

Distinguish between situational and personal interest and explain how both are related to
studentmotivationandlearninginachievementcontexts.

Describethemajorpointsoftheselfworththeoryofachievementmotivationandexplainhow
selfworthvariablescanaffectmotivationandachievement.

Discussthemajorfindingsontheroleofemotionsandaffectsinlearningandmotivation.

Definetextanxietyandexplainhowitoperatestoinfluencestudentlearning,aswellashow
classroomcontextscanincreaseordecreaseanxiety.

HIDTORICALFOUNDATIONSOFINTERESTANDAFFECT
Interest refers to the liking and willful engagement in an activity (Schraw & Lehman, 2001).
Researchoninteresthasincreasedinrecentyears,butthetopichasalonghistoryinpsychologyand
education(Hidi,1990).Inthe1800stheGermanphilosopherHerbartwrotethatinterestinasubject
can promote motivation and learning. Many early psychologists emphasized that interest can
energize,amongthemWilliamJames(1890).JohnDewey(1913)explainedhispositionforcefullyby
noting that the individual and the environment interact to raise interest. Thorndike (1935) also
stressedthepersonandthesituationbycontendingthatlearningisaffectedbypeoplesinterestsand
by the interest value of tasks. Bartlett (1932), noted for work in human memory, believed that
interestfacilitatedit.
Researchoninterestwanedwhenbehaviorismbecamedominantinpsychology.Thesituation
did not change immediately when cognitive psychology moved to the forefront because early
cognitive theories focused on information processing to the exclusion of motivational processes.
Fortunatelythatsituationnowhaschangedasresearchersfromeducational,developmental,social,
and cognitive psychology began to integrate motivational and cognitive variables to better explain
student learning and achievement (Hidi, 1990). Researchers today commonly draw a distinction
betweenpersonal(orindividual)interestandsituationalinterest.Personalinterestisamorestable
personaldispositiontowardaspecifictopicordomain,whereassituationalinterestrepresentsamore
temporary, situationspecific attention to a topic (Urdan & Turner, 2005). This distinction is not
uniformly accepted and sometimes become cloudy because researchers always do not attempt to
measure both types. We distinguish these two types because many investigators do and report
resultsoneachtype.

Withrespecttoaffect,wenotedinChapter1thatsomeoftheearliestworkinpsychologywas
focused on affects andemotions. Freudian and psychodynamic theories, in particular, stressed the
importanceofunconsciouswishesordesiresgivingrisetovariousemotionsandbehaviors.However,
as behaviorism came to its dominant position, questions regarding the role of emotions and affect
became less central to mainstream research. With the ascent of cognitive psychology cognitive
models and computer metaphors came to guide much of the research on cognition, learning, and
performance. Although these models were not intentionally designed to ignore affect, they
emphasizedrationalandcognitiveprocesses,notaffectiveoremotionalprocesses.
Thisisnottosaythatresearchonemotionsandaffectwasabsentformanyyears.Therewas
researchconductedonemotionaldevelopmentbydevelopmentalpsychologists(Saarni,Mumme,&
Campos,1998),aswellasresearchonattitudesandemotionsinsocialpsychology(Eagly&Chaiken,
1998; Schwarz & Clore, 1996; Zajonc, 1998); however, research on cognition and learning did not
necessarilyintegratethiswork.Brown,Bransford,Ferrara,andCampione(1983),intheHandbookof
Child Psychology, stated, Bleak though it may sound, academic cognition is relatively effortful,
isolated,andcold...Academiccognitioniscold,inthattheprincipalconcerniswiththeknowledge
and strategies necessary for efficiency, with little emphasis placed on the emotional factors that
mightpromoteorimpedethatefficiency"(p.78).Itisunlikelythatthisstatementwouldbemade
todaybutitreflectsthegeneralzeitgeistofresearchintheheydayofpurecognitivemodels.
In addition, much of the research on achievement motivation has been dominated by
cognitive theories such as expectancyvalue theory attribution theory social cognitive theory goal
theory, and selfdetermination theory Although these theories include emotions, they focus on
cognitionssuchasattributions,judgmentsofselfefficacyandcompetence,goals,andvaluebeliefs.
Attribution theory (Chapter 3) addresses emotions the most directly of all these theories, but in
attributiontheoryemotionsarethedirectoutcomeofacognitiveattributionalanalysisofsuccessor
failure.Inthiscase,cognitions(i.e.,attributions)arestillthemostimportantconstructinthetheory
and emotions flow from the nature of the attributions made in a situation (Weiner, 1986, 1995).
Accordingly, cognition is still the dominant construct, not emotions. As with interest, however,
researchers are increasingly exploring emotion and affect as they recognize their importance in
achievementmotivation.

PERSONALANDSITUATIONALINTEREST

Acommonbeliefisthatpeoplewilllearnordowelliftheyareinterestedandwillnotlearnor
performwelliftheyareuninterested.Forexample,atthebeginningofthischapter,Ms.Duncantalks
abouthowherstudentsarenotinterestedinlearning.Manyparentsbelievethattheirchildrenslow
motivationandpoorperformanceinschoolareduetoalackofinterest.Studentswillsaythatwhen
theydonotlearnitisbecauseschoolandclassesareboringandthattheycannotbecomeinterested
in the work. These intuitive views of motivation propose interest us an important aspect of
motivationthatcausallyinfluencesattention,learning,thinking,andperformance.Inaddition,most
peoplebelievethattheyknowwhatinterestisandthattheyunderstandhowitoperatestoinfluence
learning. Although these intuitive notions about interest are plausible, their popularity has
sometimeshinderedthedevelopmentofcarefulpsychologicalresearchoninterest.
AsnotedinChapter2,theconstructofinterestissimilartowhatEcclesandWigfieldtermed
intrinsicinterest.However,researchoninterest,broadlydefined,hasbeenpursuedbyresearchers
fromanumberofdifferentperspectives,beyondexpectancyvaluetheoryandmotivationaltheories
ingeneral.
Westatedearlierthatresearchoninteresthaswaxedandwanedinpsychologyandeducation
overtheyears(Krapp,Hidi,&Renninger,1992).Earlyviews(e.g.,Herbart,James,Dewey)werebased
moreonphilosophythanonpsychologyandtherewaslittleempiricalresearchtosupporttheirideas.
Duringtheheydayofbehaviorism,therewaslittleresearchoninterestintheUnitedStates,although
relatedconceptssuchascuriosity(Berlyne,1960)andattitudes(Evans,1971)wereexamined(Krapp
et al., l992). However, with the development of cognitive and description and explanation of
motivation:theroleofinterestinlearningandachievement.theselfworththeoryofachievement
motivationpresented,whichishighlyrelevanttointerestandaffect.Wethencoverresearchonthe
roleofaffectsandemotioninachievementsettings.Thechapterconcludeswithadiscussionofone
ofthemostresearchedconstructsinachievementmotivationresearchtestanxietytoincludehowit
canlearningandperformance.
Afterstudyingthischapter,youshouldbeableto:

Distinguishbetweenemotionsandmoodsandunderstandthepotentialemotionalresponses
thatcouldbegeneratedinclassroomcontext.

Distinguish between situational and personal interest and explain how both are related to
studentmotivationandlearninginachievementcontext.

Describethemajorpointsoftheselfworththeoryachievementmotivationandexplainhow
selfworthvariablescanaffectmotivationandachievement.

Discussthemajorfindingsontheroleofemotionsandaffectinlearningandmotivation.

Definetextanxietyandexplainhowitoperatestoinfluencestudentlearning,aswellashow
classroomcontextscanincreaseordegreaseanxiety.

HITORICALFOUNDATIONSOFINTERESTANDAFFECT

Interest refers to the liking and willful engagement in an activity (schraw & Lehman, 2001).
Researchoninteresthasincreasedinrecentyears,butthetopichasalonghistoryinpsicologyand
education(Hidi,1990).Inthe1800stheGermanphilosopherHerbartwrotethatinterestinasubject
can promote motivation and learning. Many early psychologists emphasized that interest can
energize,amongthemWilliamJames(1890).JohnDewey(1913)explainedhispositionforcefullyby
noting that the individual and the environment interact to raise interest. Thorndike (1935) also
stressedthepersonandthesituationbycontendingthelearningisaffectedbypeoplesinterestand
bytheinterestvalueoftask.Bartlett(1932),notedforworkinhumanmemory,believethatinterest
facilitatedit.
Researchoninterestwanedwhenbehaviorismbecamedominantinpsychology.Thesituation
did not change immediately when cognitive psychology moved to the forefront because early
cognitive theories focused on information processing to the exclusion of motivational processes.
Fortunately that situation now has changed as researchers from educational, development, social,
and cognitive psychology began to integrate motivational and cognitive variables to better explain
studentlearningandachievement(Hidi,1990).
Researcherstodaycommonlydrawadistinctionbetweenpersonal(orindividual)interestand
situational interest. Personal interest is more stable personal disposition toward specific topic
domain, whereas situational interest represents a more temporary, situationspecific attention to a
topic(Urdan&Turner,2005).Thisdistinctionisnotattempttomeasurebothtypes.Wedistinguish
thesetwotypesbecausemanyinvestigatorsdoandreportresultoneachtype.


Withrespecttoaffect,wenotedinChapter1thatsomeoftheearliestwork

CharacteristicsotthePerson

Personalinterestasadisposition

CharacteristicsoftheContextlsltuatlon

lnterostingnessoftext,materials,
contenttask,activity,classroom,
context

Figure6.1Threeapproachestointerestresearch

PsychologicalStateotIndividual
Actualizedindividualinterest
Situationalinterest