Achievement motives and emotional processes in children during problem-solving: Two experimental studies of their relation to performance in different achievement goal conditions

In two studies, the influence of key emotional and motivational factors on performance in different achievement goal-type situations is examined. In study 1, based on 314 sixth-graders, two types of goal situations were induced; performance and mastery. The goals were examined with respect to important antecedents (e.g., motive dispositions) and several consequences (e.g., performance, satisfaction, pleasant affect, worry, and emotionality). The results showed that the motive to achieve success (Ms) produced positive affects, satisfaction, and increased performance, whereas the motive to avoid failure (Mf) produced worries and performance reduction. In study 2, based on 331 sixth-graders, three types of goal situations were induced; performance–approach, performance–avoidance, and mastery goals. The findings revealed that the most important single factors positively related to performance were Ms and mastery–goal situation. In addition, high Ms pupils performed better under mastery condition than under performance condition. Finally, avoidance-goal situation accentuate the negative effects of high Mf on performance

Process account of curiosity and interest: a reward-learning perspective

Previous studies suggested roles for curiosity and interest in knowledge acquisition and exploration, but there has been a long-standing debate about how to define these concepts and whether they are related or different. In this paper, we address the definition issue by arguing that there is inherent difficulty in defining curiosity and interest, because both curiosity and interest are naïve concepts, which are not supposed to have a priori scientific definitions. We present a reward-learning framework of autonomous knowledge acquisition and use this framework to illustrate the importance of process account as an alternative to advance our understanding of curiosity and interest without being troubled by their definitions. The framework centers on the role of rewarding experience associated with knowledge acquisition and learning and posits that the acquisition of new knowledge strengthens the value of further information. Critically, we argue that curiosity and interest are the concepts that they subjectively construe through this knowledge-acquisition process. Finally, we discuss the implications of the reward-learning framework for education and empirical research in educational psychology

Engaging Teenagers with Science Through Comics

It is increasingly important for all citizens, and especially youth, to understand how viruses impact our health, communities and environment. Particularly for youth less interested in traditional science learning materials, comics may provide a way to engage teenagers with scientific information about viruses. We compared the impacts of different formats of educational materials on teenagers’ knowledge of, attitudes toward, and engagement with information about viruses. High school students (N = 873) were randomly assigned to read either a high quality comic or essay about viruses. Latent class analysis grouped youth into one of four categories that captured a range from low to high science identity. We compared material type (comic/essay) and science identity (low to high) on knowledge, attitudes and engagement. There were no comic/essay differences on knowledge, nor on attitudes about the importance of or interest in viruses. Across all levels of science identity, however, teenagers in the comic group were significantly more likely to want to read more similar materials than teenagers in the essay group, thus indicating more engagement. This effect was more pronounced among youth in the low compared to the higher identity categories. Our findings support the notion that comics can appeal to a wider audience of learners than traditional essays while still resulting in similar knowledge scores. This suggests that comics can be an important and effective tool to engage a broad spectrum of youth with science learning materials