Using think-alouds to examine reader-text interest

Using multiple measures, this two-part investigation examined what text characteristics readers considered interesting and uninteresting, the relationships among these text characteristics, and how interest affected recall in two different expository texts on a high-interest topic-dinosaurs. Based on think-alouds and postreading verbal reports of college students in the first experiment, five text characteristics were most associated with interest: (a) information that Nas important, new, and valued; (b) information that was unexpected; (c) connections readers made between the text and their prior knowledge or experience; (d) imagery and descriptive language; and (e) authors' connections (e.g., comparisons and analogies). Characteristics that made the texts uninteresting involved problems related to comprehension-specifically, lack of adequate explanation and background information, difficult vocabulary, and lack of coherence. In addition, lack of credibility interfered with the value of the new information and theories presented in the texts. In the second experiment, rating results indicated that interest and importance were highly correlated. In recall, a statistically significant interaction was found between interest and importance, with information rated as both interesting and important recalled best. Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical and empirical literature on interest, with implications for curriculum development and research.