29th Annual Student Research Conference
Useful or Enjoyable: Which Perspective Leads to the Greatest Subsequent Interest?
Megan A. Todd
Dr. Terry Palmer, Faculty Mentor
Given a demanding task, what factors predict participants' performance and interest in future tasks of a similar nature? Previous studies, carried out over several months, suggest gradually emerging relationships between participants' task values and achievement goals with their subsequent interest and performance. The present study, in contrast, examines these variables in a condensed time frame of approximately 45 minutes. 100 participants were individually administered a set of working memory tasks, with blocks of questionnaire items distributed across the experimental session. Results indicated a performance advantage for utility valuation over intrinsic valuation. Furthermore, participants' task valuation interacted with their achievement goals to determine subsequent interest. These findings suggest the existence of quickly emerging relationships between participants' task valuation, achievement goals, and their subsequent interest and performance on comparable tasks, similar in many ways to the slowly emerging effects demonstrated in previous studies.
Keywords: Subsequent Interest, Task Value, Achievement Goal
Topic(s):Psychology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: -1
Location: MG 2050
Time: 8:00