Synonyms
Definition
An approach response to stimuli encountered in the environment, accompanied by emotional engagement (often positive), heightened attention, and active cognitive processing.
Introduction
Interest is a particular emotional and cognitive experience that occurs in response to stimuli in the environment. In this sense, interest emerges at the intersection between individuals and available stimuli in the environment (Dewey 1913). In general, interest is the emotion that motivates individuals to approach stimuli in order to experience and think about the environment, for the purpose of having a fuller understanding of the world (Izard 1977). Interest can be thought of either as a current state (feeling interested at a particular moment) or as a trait (a general tendency to value and gravitate toward particular classes of stimuli or domains).
Forms of Interest: State and Trait
Interest as a State Experience
The state of interest is...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Berlyne, D. E. (1960). Conflict, arousal and curiosity. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Dewey, J. (1913). Interest and effort in education. Boston: Riverside Press.
Durik, A. M., Hulleman, C. S., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2015). One size fits some: Instructional enhancements to promote interest. In K. A. Renninger & M. Nieswandt (Eds.), Interest, the self, and K-16 mathematics and science learning. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Hidi, S., & Renninger, K. A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41, 111–127.
Izard, C. E. (1977). Interest–excitement as fundamental motivation. In C. E. Izard & J. L. Singer (Eds.), Emotions, personality, and psychotherapy: Vol. 1, human emotions (pp. 211–238). New York: Plenum.
Krapp, A. (2002). An educational–psychological theory of interest and its relation to SDT. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 405–427). Rochester: University of Rochester Press.
Prenzel, M. (1992). The selective persistence of interest. In K.A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp (Eds.), The role of interest in learning and development (pp. 71–98). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Renninger, K. A. (2000). Individual interest and its implications for understanding intrinsic motivation. In C. Sansone & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.), Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: The search for optimal motivation and performance (pp. 373–404). San Diego: Academic.
Renninger, K. A., Hidi, S., & Krapp, A. (1992). The role of interest in learning and development. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
Schiefele, U. (1991). Interest, learning, and motivation. Educational Psychologist, 26, 299–323.
Silvia, P. J. (2006). Exploring the psychology of interest. New York: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Durik, A.M. (2017). Interest. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_527-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_527-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences