The Role of Choice and Interest in Reader Engagement

ABSTRACT. The authors examined the effects of choice, topic interest, and situational interest on reading engagement, attitude, and learning. The outcomes were measured using scores on a multiple-choice test, a content essay, and a personal reaction essay, and completion of an attitude checklist. Experiment 1 found a small negative effect for choice on the writing of content essays. Students in the control group, who were not given choice, wrote higher quality content essays. Situational interest had a positive effect on attitude. There were no effects for topic interest on any measure. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using a different text. Once again, situational interest had a positive effect on attitude. In addition, higher quality content essays were associated with situational interest. No effects were found for choice or topic interest. These findings support the claim that situational interest, rather than choice or topic interest, promotes engagement.