The pipeline metaphor used to characterize dwindling interest in science and STEM-related careers has gradually been replaced by alternative models that convey complex pathways into, through and out of science by young men and women. In this chapter, we review literatures from educational psychology, cognitive development, and science education and present our own mixed methods approach to developing a model of the roles that children, parents and teachers play in launching, supporting, and sustaining pathways to science interest from early childhood to the transition to college. We use our longitudinal data to describe cases that illustrate these critical developmental inflection points. These rich cases illustrate the advantages of using qualitative methods, when possible, to augment developmental models derived from more quantitative approaches depicted through path diagrams, phase models, or Sankey diagrams. The cases discussed highlight critical roles that parents and teachers might play in nurturing science interests among males and females. Implications for future research and suggestions for practice are considered.

Students often lose interest in critical introductory courses that act as gateways to successive courses and careers. Utility value writing interventions have been designed to help students find the personal relevance and value of course material in order to promote interest and performance. However, little is known about how best to implement the intervention in terms of how to frame it, particularly in multi-level classrooms where students enter the course with different goals, challenges, and educational backgrounds. In this chapter, we review the research on utility value writing interventions and discuss differential findings across educational contexts. Using a case study in two-year colleges, we consider psychological (e.g., confidence, engagement) and cognitive (linguistic indicators of cognitive processing) mechanisms for the success of the intervention, as well as how the intervention can be beneficial for students with varying levels of interest and performance. We conclude with implications for intervention framing and directions for future research.

This chapter describes the ways in which online affinity networks motivate learning and support interest development. It builds on the model of “connected learning” that posits that learning is most resilient and meaningful when it is tied to social relationships and cultural identities, and spans in-school and out-of-school settings. The analysis draws from ethnographic case studies of youth-centered networks focused on fanfiction, knitting, professional wrestling, anime video remixers, Bollywood dance, YouTube vloggers, and communities surrounding two games, Little Big Planet 2 and StarCraft II. Factors that draw young people to online spaces to pursue their interests are diverse. For some, it is to find a safe space for a stigmatized interest. For others, it is because of an attraction to a narrow niche, leveling up, or technical specialization that is only accessible online. In all cases, however, high functioning online affinity networks are characterized by a strong set of shared values and culture that are the magnet for affiliation. In addition, a set of shared practices provide a focus of activity and engagement.

Developing interest is a powerful support for deeper learning. The presence of even some interest beneficially affects individuals’ attention and memory, as well as their motivation and meaningful engagement. In this chapter, we expand on previous descriptions of the relation between interest and its development as conceptualized in the Four-Phase Model of Interest Development (Hidi & Renninger, 2006; Renninger & Hidi, 2016). We explain that interest has a physiological basis, and therefore is universal – meaning that all persons, regardless of age or context, can be supported to develop at least some interest in topics to be learned. We describe how and when interest is likely to develop. We review findings which provide evidence that the structure of tasks and activities, as well as interactions with other people, may be helpful to interest development, and also that when these supports are mismatched with the learner's phase of interest, they may constrain or impede interest development. We point to interest as a determinant of learners’ understanding, effort, and feedback preferences, and the coordination of their phase of interest development with their abilities to set and realize goals, feel self-efficacy, and self-regulate. We conclude by identifying some open questions concerning the process of interest development and learning.

In this chapter, we review our Self-Regulation of Motivation (SRM) model, which identifies the important role that interest plays in students’ motivational experiences. When learning requires persistence and re-engagement over time, activities, and contexts, the ability to maintain motivation becomes a critical self-regulatory task. The SRM model proposes that while motivation to attain goals can be sufficient to start a learning activity, experiencing interest becomes important once engaged. Aspects of the goal striving process (such as goal congruence and the expectancy-value of goals) affect the interest experience, over and above objective activity characteristics. Moreover, when interest is low but reaching a goal is important, students purposely engage in actions that make the experience more interesting (e.g., by making it more congruent with their goals or by exploratory engagement with the activity and context). Further, the ways in which students try to make the experience interesting can influence performance in both positive and negative ways (e.g., potential trade-offs between short-term output and longer-term persistence, re-engagement, and learning). We discuss evidence for this model across a variety of contexts (including online learning and science classrooms) and discuss the implications for understanding group-level differences (e.g., in gender or ethnicity) in students’ interest and motivation.

Curiosity – the intrinsic desire to acquire new information – is a key factor for learning and memory in everyday life. To date, there has been very little research on curiosity and, therefore, our understanding of how curiosity impacts learning is relatively poor. In this chapter, we give an overview of psychological theories of curiosity and how initial research has focused on curiosity as a specific personality characteristic (i.e. trait curiosity). We then review recent findings on curiosity emerging in experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Rather than examining trait curiosity, this recent line of research explores how temporary states of curiosity affect cognitive processes. Recent findings suggest that curiosity states elicit activity in the brain's dopaminergic circuit and thereby enhance hippocampus-dependent learning for information associated with high curiosity but also for incidental information encountered during high-curiosity states. We speculate how this new line of curiosity research could help to better understand the mechanisms underlying curiosity-related learning and potentially lead to a fruitful avenue of translating laboratory-based findings on curiosity into educational settings.

Boredom has traditionally been viewed as detrimental to learning. We present an alternative perspective. The vast majority of past research on academic boredom has examined judgments about the boringness of a situation and the propensity to feel bored, rather than actual state boredom. While retrospective judgments about the boringness of a task may be a cause of later disengagement, we argue that in-the-moment state boredom is a consequence of disengagement. This claim flows from our definition of boredom as the uncomfortable feeling associated with the unfulfilled desire to be mentally engaged.We propose that in-the-moment feelings of boredom can be an aid to learning. First, boredom is an immediate process indicator of a failure in learning, which can signal the need to correct disengaged, ineffectual learning. Second, boredom is an uncomfortable feeling, so it motivates an engagement of mental resources as a means of eliminating boredom. We believe our theoretical analysis points towards fruitful future empirical inquiry, clarifies the interpretation of existing findings, and highlights areas where theory development and conceptual precision are needed.

A growing body of literature indicates that motivation can critically shape long-term memory formation in the service of adaptive behavior. In the present chapter, we review recent cognitive neuroscience evidence of motivational influences on memory, with a focus on anatomical pathways by which neuromodulatory networks support encoding-related activity in distinct subregions of the medial temporal lobe. We argue that engagement of distinct neural circuits as a function of motivational context at encoding leads to formation of different memory representations, supporting different patterns of adaptive behavior. We present a novel neurocognitive model, the Interrogative/Imperative model of information-seeking, to account for pursuit of learning goals. Interrogative or imperative modes of information-seeking are often, but not necessarily, associated with approach or avoidance motivation, respectively. We also discuss additional influences on motivated memory encoding, including intrinsic motivation, curiosity, choice, and cognitive control processes. Taken together, this body of research suggests that the nature of memory representations depends on an individual's neurophysiological response to, rather than extrinsic qualities of, a given motivational manipulation or context at the time of encoding. Finally, we discuss potential applications of these research findings to real-life educational settings and directions for future research.

Afterschool youth development programs (including, arts, leadership, and STEM programs) are significant learning contexts for adolescents. Participation in high-quality programs is related to the acquisition of cognitive, social-emotional, and occupational skills. It is notable that youth in programs report high motivation, markedly higher than in school. Furthermore, motivation increases over time and becomes more self-sustained. This chapter draws on our extensive qualitative interview research with youth and staff to examine questions about how programs – using a project-based learning model – facilitate high and sustained motivation. We find, first, that effective programs create an interpersonal environment of belonging and safety that allows youth to engage in high-functioning relationships, and that projects facilitate motivation because youth experience agency, increasing competency and comradery in their work. Second, although projects periodically confront youth with difficult challenges, which are sometimes overwhelming and can disrupt motivation, youth are typically resilient, and experienced leaders have well-developed strategies for helping youth navigate and learn from these experiences. Third, youth develop sustained motivation because they develop personal connections to program goals and learn techniques to regulate and preempt situations that disrupt motivation. Some youth report learning strategies to help them sustain motivation in the complex, open-ended work of projects.

In this chapter we review Eccles and colleagues’ expectancy-value theory (EVT) of motivation and discuss its relevance for understanding and improving student learning. According to EVT, students’ expectancies for success and task values are two critical factors impacting their motivation, academic performance, and choice of activities. Recent research has suggested that students’ perceptions of the negative consequences of completing a task, called cost, also impact their academic outcomes. Thus we review the construct of perceived cost alongside our review of expectancies and values throughout this chapter. We define expectancies, task values, and cost, explain how these constructs develop over time and relate to one another, and discuss how they predict students’ academic behavior, performance, and choice. We then review research regarding intervention studies that have improved students’ academic outcomes by targeting their expectancies, values, and/or perceptions of cost. We conclude by listing questions that future research needs to address.

Curiosity – the intrinsic desire to acquire new information – is a key factor for learning and memory in everyday life. To date, there has been very little research on curiosity and, therefore, our understanding of how curiosity impacts learning is relatively poor. In this chapter, we give an overview of psychological theories of curiosity and how initial research has focused on curiosity as a specific personality characteristic (i.e. trait curiosity). We then review recent findings on curiosity emerging in experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Rather than examining trait curiosity, this recent line of research explores how temporary states of curiosity affect cognitive processes. Recent findings suggest that curiosity states elicit activity in the brain's dopaminergic circuit and thereby enhance hippocampus-dependent learning for information associated with high curiosity but also for incidental information encountered during high-curiosity states. We speculate how this new line of curiosity research could help to better understand the mechanisms underlying curiosity-related learning and potentially lead to a fruitful avenue of translating laboratory-based findings on curiosity into educational settings.

In this chapter, we describe psychological and neuroscientific research that demonstrates the unique characteristics of self-related information processing. These characteristics have been shown to produce beneficial effects on basic functions (such as perception, attention, and actions), as well as on higher-order cognitive activities (including memory). The findings are explained by their correspondence to the neurocorrelates of self-related information processing. Northoff's (2016) basic model of the self, which describes self-specificity to be a fundamental aspect of the brain's spontaneous (resting) activity, provides further clarification of these results. After considering the unique characteristics of self-related information processing, we describe the potential benefits of considering findings from neuroscience for educational practice by pointing to the positive outcomes of utility value interventions. More specifically, these types of interventions, which are grounded in the expectancy-value theory of student motivation, are examples of how self-related information processing can have educational benefits by increasing motivation and learning.

Several decades of research highlight the benefits of various motivational beliefs (e.g., perceived competence, achievement goals, task value) in supporting students’ learning and engagement. Much of this research utilizes a variable-focused approach, examining how different forms of motivation uniquely and independently predict educational outcomes. In contrast, a person-oriented approach allows one to examine how motivational processes combine to shape academic engagement and achievement. Person-oriented approaches are especially promising in that they allow one to simultaneously consider variations in several motivational indicators to better understand the multiple ways that students utilize motivational resources to support engagement and achievement. This chapter presents an integrative, person-oriented approach to studying student motivation. Specifically, the approach (1) draws from multiple theoretical perspectives to operationalize motivation, and (2) utilizes person-oriented analyses to model how motivational components combine to shape learning and engagement. Based on prior research and our own work, preliminary conclusions regarding what motivates students and which combinations of motivation are most and least adaptive are discussed. Implications for translating integrative research into effective classroom practices to support student motivation are considered.

The construct of self-concept lies at the core of the positive psychology revolution. Historically, as one of the cornerstone constructs in the social sciences, the approach to self-concept has been adapted to focus on how healthy individuals can thrive in life. In this chapter we differentiate between the historical unidimensional perspective of self-concept (centered on self-esteem) and the evolving multifaceted models discriminating between different aspects of self (such as specific academic, social, physical, and emotional components).

We review:

• the definition of self-concept and the reason it is so important;

• historical and evolving perspectives of self-concept;

• general and domain-specific theoretical models with associated empirical research regarding self-concept, motivation, and performance;

• the way different self-concept domains vary as a function of gender and age;

• the impact of specific psychological and social traits on self-concept development;

• the differentiation between multidimensional perspectives of personality and self-concept;

• theoretical models of academic self-concept formation and its relation to achievement;

• frame of reference effects in self-concept formation;

• a construct-validity approach to self-concept enhancement interventions; and directions for further research.

This chapter examines boredom – an emotion often described as one of the plagues of modern societies. In educational settings, boredom is also often experienced. The chapter first outlines how boredom is defined and operationalized including current approaches to differentiating specific types of boredom. We further review the extent to which boredom has been investigated in the research literature and how it has been assessed. Empirical evidence on the prevalence of boredom in students is outlined, and preliminary findings on the frequency of boredom experiences in teachers is highlighted. Theoretical considerations and empirical findings are subsequently addressed concerning the effects and causes of academic boredom, as are relevant conceptual frameworks and findings on how to most effectively cope with boredom in educational settings. Implications for the prevention and reduction of boredom in the classroom following from empirical literature are then discussed. Finally, we outline potential next steps in research on academic boredom.

In this chapter, we draw on Gibson's (1979) description of affordances to consider cultural differences in motivation and learning. We develop the argument that affordances are at the heart of cultural differences. We address the way culture influences both what and how people learn from the affordances that are available to them in their physical and social environments. Brain processes of neural plasticity and psychological learning mechanisms of repetition and connection drawn from the Unified Learning Model (Shell et al., 2010) are used to explain how our brain and memory store knowledge of affordances, as well as the actions needed to take advantage of these affordances. We then discuss the way attention sits at the intersection of motivation and learning, as well as how motivated attention leads to individual and cultural differences in knowledge and use of affordances, both implicitly and volitionally. Finally, the emergence of cultural differences in attention, learning, knowing, and motivation are discussed, with an emphasis on the impact of culture on learning in school.

Academic effort is a key construct in research on motivational variables such as interest and in research on conscientiousness, one of the Big Five domains of human personality. Surprisingly, the two lines of research have rarely been brought together. In this chapter, we describe the differences and similarities in the theoretical foundation of the two constructs and review research on their predictive power for academic effort. We then introduce the Conscientiousness × Interest Compensation (CONIC) model which postulates that conscientiousness and interest (partly) compensate for each other in predicting academic effort. Subsequently, we present empirical evidence for the model. In the final section of the chapter, we formulate some next steps in a research program on conscientiousness and interest.