Constructing Motivation Through Choice, Interest, and Interestingness

• In Event: Roundtable Session 124
  In Roundtable Session: The Motivational Benefits and Detriments of Choosing: Exploring the Complexity of Choice in Educational Contexts

Abstract

Most Americans believe that having choices promotes motivation, health, and happiness. Likewise, psychological theory and research has supported this notion. Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) posits that autonomy is one of three fundamental needs that underlie people’s intrinsic motivation or the propensity to engage in a behavior for its own sake. Providing choice is one way to support a person’s intrinsic motivation through the experience of autonomy. In fact, research has often suggested that providing choices is a powerful strategy by which to facilitate adaptive motivation outcomes (e.g. Patall, Cooper, and Robinson, 2008).

However, the effects of choice have not been ubiquitously positive. Some studies find that choice may have no effect, or even a negative effect on motivation and performance (e.g. Reeve, Nix & Hamm, 2003; Parker & Lepper, 1992). One potential moderator that has yet to receive adequate attention is the role of interest. The purpose of this investigation was to explore how initial interest, defined as a characteristic of the person, and interestingness, defined as a characteristic of the task, influence the effect of providing choice on motivation and performance.

In Study 1, 151 participants were asked to report their preference for choosing given two scenarios. One scenario described a situation in which they were asked to engage in a task they already had a high interest for and the second scenario described a situation in which they had little initial interest in the task. Participants reported a greater preference for choosing aspects of the task they had high compared to low initial interest for.

In Study 2, 28 college students participated in an experiment in which they were either given the opportunity to choose topics for a trivia game or they were assigned topics. Results revealed that choosing enhanced post-game interest and enjoyment only for individuals high in initial interest for trivia games. Among individuals with low initial interest, there was no effect of choosing on post-game interest. Choosing enhanced perceived competence and task performance regardless of initial level of interest.

In Study 3, 172 college students were either given an interesting or boring version of a reading comprehension task. Participants were also randomly assigned to either receive a choice of passages and difficulty level or assigned these aspects. Choosing enhanced task performance regardless of initial interest or the interestingness of the task. However, a three-way interaction was revealed between initial personal interest, interestingness, and choice, such that choosing seemed to enhance willingness to engage in the task only for those high in initial interest for reading comprehension and when the task was boring. There was no effect of choosing when the task was interesting or among those low in initial interest.

Overall, findings suggest the importance of considering initial levels of interest and the interestingness of the task when providing choices as a strategy motivate others.

Author

• Erika Alisha Patall, The University of Texas - Austin