Providing meaningful choice during a lesson increases perceived autonomy and triggered situational interest in undergraduates learning statistics¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2025 · checked against its sources 2026-10-25 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 The choice manipulation increased perceived autonomy by more than .9 standard deviations relative to control (d = 0.92, p < .001). → Asher 2025 q3 i? The choice manipulation increased triggered situational interest by .24 standard deviations relative to control (p < .001), significantly stronger than the utility value manipulation (p = .043). → Asher 2025 (2)

Evidence¶

Asher 2025¶

Asher, M. W., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2025). Using Choice and Utility Value to Promote Interest: Stimulating Situational Interest in a Lesson and Fostering the Development of Interest in Statistics. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000921

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Internal meta-regression of a series of seven lab experiments (total N = 2,019) with undergraduates learning regression. The choice manipulation (choosing among three dataset-based lesson versions, with yoked no-choice controls) was not part of Studies 1–2: it was introduced in Study 3, so the choice contrasts come only from the later studies that included a choice condition. The meta-analysis found choice "increasing perceived autonomy by more than .9 standard deviations relative to control, d = 0.92, p < .001."

"The choice manipulation was significantly more effective at increasing participants’ perceptions of autonomy during the learning session, p < .001, increasing perceived autonomy by more than .9 standard deviations relative to control, d = 0.92, p < .001."

Asher 2025 (2)¶

Asher, M. W., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2025). Using Choice and Utility Value to Promote Interest: Stimulating Situational Interest in a Lesson and Fostering the Development of Interest in Statistics. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000921

q3 · i? · causal · r?

Meta-regression of the choice contrast on triggered situational interest (from the studies, Study 3 onward, that included a choice condition, within the seven-study series) showed choice "increased triggered situational interest by .24 standard deviations relative to control, p < .001," exceeding the utility value manipulation's effect.

"The choice manipulation increased triggered situational interest by .24 standard deviations relative to control, p < .001, and this effect size was significantly stronger than that of the directly-communicated utility value manipulation, p = .043."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Interest — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Choice decreases self-reported distraction during the lesson, while utility value's effect on distraction depends on baseline interest in statistics — related
• Effects on maintained situational interest and resource requests are mediated by perceived utility value (utility value manipulation) and perceived autonomy and triggered interest (choice manipulation) — related
• Both choice and utility value manipulations increase maintained situational interest in regression by similar small amounts — related
• Meaningful choice about learning tasks increases interest, but only under boundary conditions — a broader claim this one bears on
• Autonomy, meaningful purpose, and interest improve intrinsic motivation and deeper processing — a broader claim this one bears on
• Neither choice nor utility value manipulations improve end-of-session regression test performance, and the two manipulations do not interact — related
• Utility value manipulation, but not choice, increases voluntary requests for statistics resources, a behavioral indicator of emerging individual interest — related
• Triggered situational interest shows anecdotal evidence of being higher in the VR condition while maintained situational interest does not differ — related