The effects of choice and interest as motivators of text search performance
LE3 .A278 1999
1999
Symons, Sonya
Acadia University
Master of Science
Masters
Psychology
This study investigated the effects of the motivational variables of choice and situational interest on children's search of informational text. Eighty-four grade three children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) choice--game-like format, (2) choice--standard format, (3) no-choice--game-like format, and (4) no-choice--standard format. In addition, the study measured and attempted to tease apart potential contributions of prior knowledge and topic interest by including them as covariates. Choice of topic facilitated children's text search performance and process measures while format aided process measures only. Prior knowledge emerged as a significant contributor to accuracy and time to locate answers to search questions. Topic interest had no significant effects on text search strategies, but was related to post-search interest ratings. Results suggest that text search researchers should integrate affective and motivational factors along with cognitive aspects in studies of information-seeking skills.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2737
