Measuring Situational Interest in Academic Domains

• Published in: Educational and psychological measurement Vol. 70; no. 4; pp. 647 - 671
• Main Authors: Linnenbrink-Garcia, Lisa, Durik, Amanda M., Conley, AnneMarie M., Barron, Kenneth E., Tauer, John M., Karabenick, Stuart A., Harackiewicz, Judith M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-08-2010; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescents; Biological and medical sciences; Context Effect; Educational psychology; Factor Analysis; Factor Structure; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; High School Students; Interest Inventories; Middle School Students; Orientation. Evaluation; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Student Interests; Undergraduate Students; United States (West); situational interest; classroom context; academic motivation; interest development; Context; Human; Questionnaire; University environment; Psychometrics; Student; School environment; Interest; Test validation; Motivation; Adolescent; Young adult; Test construction
• ISSN: 0013-1644; 1552-3888
• DOI: 10.1177/0013164409355699

Three studies were conducted to develop and validate scores on a new measure appropriate for assessing adolescents’ situational interest (SI) across various academic settings. In Study 1 (n = 858), a self-report questionnaire was administered to undergraduates in introductory psychology. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) supported a three-factor model that differentiated between interest generated by (a) the presentation of course material that grabbed students’ attention (triggered-SI), (b) the extent to which the material itself was enjoyable and engaging (maintained-SI-feeling), and (c) whether the material was viewed as important and valuable (maintained-SI-value). CFA analyses in Study 2 (n = 284) and Study 3 (n = 246) also supported the three-factor situational interest model for middle and high school students in mathematics. Moreover, situational interest was shown to be distinct from individual interest and was a statistically significant predictor of change in individual interest across the school year.