Interest theories of motivation, as the name implies, posit that students’ interest in a topic is a key factor in explaining their motivation to learn that topic. Theorists separate interest into two forms: individual interest, which is stable, resides within individuals, and involves personal connection to the topic; and situational interest, which is triggered by context and can be brief or sustained (Linnenbrink-Garcia & Patall, 2015).
A particular strength of interest theories is their ability to explain processes by which motivation can be initiated externally and then internalized to become self-sustaining. Research based in interest theories suggests that factors such as autonomy support and instructor approachability support situational interest (Linnenbrink-Garcia & Patall, 2015). Ergo, contextual factors (which are under the control of instructional designers) can spur situational interest. If situational interest is maintained, it can lead to students developing “deeper value for and knowledge of the content” (p. 93). Deeper knowledge, in turn, can serve as “a catalyst for shifts from emerging to well-developed individual interest” (p. 93). In short, interest theories give educational researchers mechanisms for tracing connections from external factors, to situational interest, to deeper knowledge, to individual interest, to sustained motivation across time.
One weakness of interest theories is lack of attention to individual factors and how they might affect shifts from situational to individual interest. For example, interest theories do not offer insight into why the same learning experiences might lead some students to individual interests in STEM and others to individual interests in visual arts.
Hi Katie, I appreciated your description of interest theory and how it can be used to promote external and ultimately internal motivation. I connected it to self-determination theory and the idea that there is a balance between intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing students (Linnenbrink-Garcia & Patall, 2014, p. 93).
Your response also made me reflect on self-efficacy from social-cognitive theory; how do individuals’ beliefs about their capabilities impact their interest (and thereby their motivation) to continue the task? (p. 91) My initial thought is that this must function reciprocally: believing you are good at something leads to interest, just as interest leads to belief in ability. I would be interested in reading a motivation study that blends interest theory with self-efficacy to see their relationship.
Hi Katie – I appreciated the weakness you identified! I am inclined to believe that social norms affect the interplay between individual and situational interest. For example, females who experience situational interest in science class might be less likely to develop individual interest because it doesn’t fit our societal narrative. If this were the case, it would be important to understand more about the shift from situational to individual interest so educators can intervene. This seems especially relevant given that Linnenbrink-Garcia and Patell (2014) note that triggered situational interest undermines involvement for students with high individual interest, yet maintained situational interest was related to increased involvement ONLY for those with high individual interest. These findings suggest a relationship between the two that could have important implications for practice.
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for pointing out the connections to other theories. I really enjoyed this discussions going on in other threads about how theories could work together. I agree that the transition from situational to individual interest seem related to the development of intrinsic (vs extrinsic) motivation. Maybe situational and individual interest are best conceptualized along a continuum as well.
As to the relationship between self-efficacy and interest, I agree that it has the *potential* to be reciprocal, as you say. But I’m not convinced it would happen all the time. I’m interested in music, and played a lot of instruments in my time, but never believed myself to have real talent. Similarly, I’ve been pretty good at doing the little bits of coding I’ve needed for projects, but have no interest in becoming a programmer. So the interesting (ha!) question is: when IS it reciprocal?
Hi Kimberly,
Definitely! As I said on your thread, I do think unpacking these things to see how they’re related can be helpful. But the trouble is, the more we do that, the less clear the appropriate practical action becomes.
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