Interactives—computers and other multimedia components, physical manipulatives (including whole‐body and tabletop activities), and simulations—occur in all types of museums. There is considerable interest in the nature of the learning that happens when visitors use interactives. Museum professionals have enlisted constructivist theory to support the notion that interactive elements are invaluable components of any exhibition experience, and are effective learning tools that enable active visitor engagement. Interactives are also seen as vital to sustaining institutional image and expanding institutional popularity. Despite the increasing use of interactives in exhibitions and the substantial investments being made in their design and maintenance, there is a paucity of research as to whether these constructivist assumptions are supported. There is little work exploring visitors' perceptions of specific types of interactives, or the role of interactivity in the visitor experience generally. Museum staff thus have a limited ability to make informed decisions about the level and type of interactivity that might enhance exhibition experiences. This paper describes a collaborative effort in 2001 by researchers at the Powerhouse Museum (PHM), Sydney; the Institute for Learning Innovation (the Institute), Annapolis, Maryland; and Curtin University of Technology (Curtin) and Scitech Discovery Centre (Scitech), both in Perth, Western Australia. This study investigated two aspects of interactivity: 1) visitor perceptions of interactivity in two different contexts, a museum and a science center; and 2) the types of short‐ and long‐term learning that resulted from use of interactives in these two institutions.

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Recent research suggests that the availability of well-defined internal knowledge mediates attitude formation processes (Chaiken & Baldwin, 1981). However, the circumstances in which well-defined internal knowledge will be available have not been established. The authors hypothesize that well-defined internal knowledge will be available if individuals have access to immediate sensory data. When this occurs, an information-aggregation process will guide judgment. In contrast, if individuals lack immediate sensory data, well-defined internal knowledge is unavailable and a self-perception process is used to infer attitude. These predictions are supported in three experiments. In these studies, the availability of immediate sensory data is manipulated by making either taste data (immediate sensory data) or consensual data (not-immediate sensory data) available at the time processing is initiated. The attitude process employed is detected by examining whether the presence of an incentive has an enhancing effect (information aggregation) or an undermining effect (self-perception) on attitude. In addition, the moderating impact of individuals' Self-Monitoring Scale scores on the findings is explored.

Although relatively under-researched, behavioral influence strategies commonly are used by marketers to modify consumer demand. Reported here are the results of a field experiment which tested the effectiveness of trial and incentive behavioral influence strategies. The efficacy of using self-perception theory to explain and predict behavior is assessed.

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