Interestingness—A Neglected Variable in Discourse Processing

Abstract

Symptomatic of a contemporary concern with affective factors in cognitive processing, a corpus of research is now emerging on the role of interestingness in discourse processing. This research has concentrated on narrative prose and has adopted a structural approach, arguing for the centrality of event and discourse structure in producing an affect like interest. The authors point out that this approach considers only one type of interest—knowledge‐triggered—to the exclusion of another important type—value‐triggered. A more comprehensive understanding of interest will only be achieved by researching other genres, such as exposition, and by considering the multiple sources of interest‐producing conditions. We suggest the notion of “informational significance” as an inclusive term, and underline the need for a process‐based understanding of interest.

Middle-and High-School Students’ Interest in Nanoscale Science and Engineering Topics and Phenomena

“…The students in this study tended to be interested in NSErelated questions and activities that seemed to be novel to them, which is consistent with research on characteristics that have an effect on students' interest (Bergin, 1999;Eccles & Wigfield, 2002;Haussler & Hoffmann, 2002;Hidi & Baird, 1986;Schiefele, 1999). It should be noted, however, that novelty worked best when the topic was something that was neither too familiar to the students nor too foreign.…”

“…The students did not want to just manipulate materials, however; they said that they would be more interested in a topic if they had to think about it and visualize the process first-hand. The relationship between the students' level of interest and the extent to which they were involved in a question or activity is consistent with prior work that suggested a direct connection between the level of students' interest in a topic and the level of their activity (Hidi & Baird, 1986;Schiefele et al 1992;Eccles & Wigfield, 2002).…”

“…When students find that a topic relates to their everyday life or to achieving a goal they have, they are more apt to be interested in the topic being discussed (Haussler & Hoffman, 2002;Sandoval, 1995;SchwartzBloom & Haplin, 2003). This increased interest has also been shown to relate to better recall and enhanced learning (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002;Hidi and Baird, 1986;Schiefele, 1999). Schwartz-Bloom and Haplin (2003) found that when high-school students are taught science concepts using material that is interesting and relevant to their own lives, significant gains in achievement can be made.…”

“…The four-phase model of interest development (Hidi & Renninger, 2006 Stohr-Hunt, 1996) because students become more engaged in the topic. The more involved students become in the task or topic, the higher their interest (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002;Hidi & Baird, 1986;Schiefele, 1999).…”

“…Novelty has also been found to influence interest (Bergin, 1999;Eccles & Wigfield, 2002;Haussler & Hoffmann, 2002;Hidi & Baird, 1986;Schiefele, 1999). Prior work suggests that people do not report an increase in interest if the stimulus is too familiar to them, or if the stimulus is too unfamiliar for them to understand (Bodner, 2001).…”