Rolf Reber

• Haugen, Linda Josefine Aas; Prenevost, Mathilde H.; Nilsen, Ida B. R.; Bølstad, Evalill; Piulats, Francisco Maria Pons & Reber, Rolf (2025). How children understand aha‐experiences in problem solving. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. ISSN 0261-510X. 43(4), p. 943–957. doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12565. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract Two studies explore how 4–8‐year‐old children develop an understanding of aha‐experiences. Study 1 used a scenario approach to investigate children's understanding of the impact that having an insight has on affect. Children ( N  = 125) rated affect of a story character at different timepoints in problem‐solving scenarios with and without aha‐moments. Study 2 presented children ( N  = 167) with a story character displaying an aha response and two different stories of problem solving that may have led to the response. Results show that from age 4, children associate aha‐experiences with positive affect. However, age differences were observed for triggers of aha‐experiences. While 4‐5‐year‐olds attributed aha‐experiences to external triggers (the solution), 7–8‐year‐olds attributed them to mental triggers (a new insight). These findings indicate that children's understanding of aha‐experiences develops over time, which aligns with theories of emotional development and theory of mind.

• Richter, Jasmin; Landwehr, Jan R. & Reber, Rolf (2025). When does an extinction procedure lead to mere exposure effects and extinction of evaluative conditioning? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. ISSN 0022-1031. 118. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2024.104715. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf; Haugen, Linda Josefine Aas & Martinussen, Liva Jenny (2025). The role of metacognitive feelings in motivation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. ISSN 0140-525X. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X24000359. Full text in Research Archive
• Martinussen, Liva Jenny; Riege, Anine Cecilie; Richter, Jasmin; Briseid, Eyvind Martol; Maugesten, Marianne & Reber, Rolf (2025). Prospective mathematics teachers’ situational interest for word problems. Educational Psychology. ISSN 0144-3410. doi: 10.1080/01443410.2025.2477814. Full text in Research Archive
• Bullot, Nicolas J. & Reber, Rolf (2025). The Intuitive Historian: An Inquiry Into the Philosophical Psychology of Intuitive Historical Thinking. Review of Philosophy and Psychology. ISSN 1878-5158. p. 1–23. doi: 10.1007/s13164-025-00777-w. Full text in Research Archive
• Ayele, Samrawit Tariku; Cecchetti, Luca & Reber, Rolf (2025). Ingredients for a Good Meme: Cognitive, Emotional, and Social Factors of Internet Meme Appreciation. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. ISSN 1931-3896. doi: 10.1037/aca0000744. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf; Richter, Jasmin & Prenevost, Mathilde Hallingstad (2024). The development of affective preferences and beliefs: A processing fluency framework. Developmental Review. ISSN 0273-2297. 73. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2024.101148. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  We present a fluency framework of the development of affective preferences and beliefs, two domains often neglected in research on development. Fluency is the subjective ease with which a mental operation can be executed. The fluency framework of the development of preferences and beliefs starts from evidence that effects of fluency are present early in infancy and remain stable across the lifespan. The framework predicts that interindividual differences in preferences and beliefs will be few among newborns but increase with age, a process we call differentiation. Such differentiation goes along with what we call mental narrowing, which denotes the observation that preferences and beliefs become narrower in range and less flexible with increasing age. Therefore, with increasing age, fewer new preferences or beliefs develop, and it is more difficult to change them. We discuss alternative explanations for differentiation and mental narrowing and outline empirical tests for the predictions.

• Prenevost, Mathilde Hallingstad; Nilsen, Ida B. R.; Bølstad, Evalill; Piulats, Francisco Maria Pons; Harris, Paul L. & Reber, Rolf (2024). Young Children’s Understanding and Experience of Insight. Developmental Psychology. ISSN 0012-1649. doi: 10.1037/dev0001807. Full text in Research Archive
• Haugen, Linda Josefine Aas; Prenevost, Mathilde Hallingstad; Nilsen, Ida Bekke Rønneberg & Reber, Rolf (2023). First insights into infants' and children's aha-experiences: A parent report study. Cognitive development. ISSN 0885-2014. 69. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2023.101397. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study provides first insights into aha-experiences in infancy and childhood. In two studies, a content analysis of parental reports from two different populations, a Norwegian sample and an international sample of English-speaking parents, was conducted. Parents described 606 aha-stories of their children (age 3 weeks to 16 years). Three main findings were replicated across two studies: (1) Even infants may have aha-experiences; (2) Children have aha-experiences on various topics related to action and cognition; (3) The focus of aha-experiences shifts from action to cognition with age (3 weeks-8 years, Odds Ratios > 1.567). These findings may have implications for understanding what motivates children's learning and cognitive development and for future research.

• Skaar, Øystein Olav & Reber, Rolf (2022). Alone or together: The role of gender and social context prior to Aha-experiences. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. ISSN 0036-5564. 64(3), p. 302–313. doi: 10.1111/sjop.12883. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Prior research indicates that boys show more interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) than girls do. Given that Aha- experiences yield positive affect and increase interest, the question arises whether there are gender differences in Aha-experiences that could help explain the gender differences in interest. Derived from social role theory, we hypothesized that men report having Aha-experiences alone, whereas women report having Aha-experiences together with others. In a retrospective survey study comprising three independent samples (N = 899), we conducted chi-square analyses to explore the relationship of gender, social context (alone; not alone), domain, and situational interest. Across all participants, we found that men were more probably alone and women more probably together with others when they had an Aha-experience. More fine-grained analyses revealed that the effect was especially pronounced when the Aha-experience increased situational interest within STEM or the personal domain. The study suggests that social context played a different role in the occurrence of Aha-experiences in men and women. We discuss the implications of our findings for STEM instruction at school.

• Lindell, Trym; Zickfeld, Janis Heinrich & Reber, Rolf (2022). The Role of Affect in Late Perceptual Processes: Evidence From Bi-Stable Illusions, Object Identification, and Mental Rotation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. ISSN 0096-1523. 48(12), p. 1347–1361. doi: 10.1037/xhp0001059. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Computational views of perception do not consider affect to be required to solve a perceptual task. Previous research provided evidence for an affective component in early perceptual processes but it is unclear whether late perceptual processes yield concomitant affect. Three studies using three different tasks explored changes in affect related to late perceptual processes by exposing participants to a visual object and measuring activity in facial muscles (zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii) using facial EMG as indicators for affect. In the first task, change of muscle activity was measured before and after participants indicated that the perspective of bi-stable illusions shifted. In the second task, change of muscle activity was measured before and after participants indicated that they identified an object that emerged from a pattern mask. The third task examined the affective consequences, as measured by facial EMG, of solving mental rotation tasks. The three studies found that shifts in bi-stable illusions, identification of objects, and solving mental rotation problems yielded increasing zygomaticus major activity, indicating increased positive affect after task completion. Simultaneously, corrugator supercilii activity decreased after successful perception. These studies suggest that success in perception is inherently affective, even when memory, comparison, and decision processes are involved.

• Riege, Anine & Reber, Rolf (2022). Availability. In Pohl, Rüdiger F. (Eds.), Cognitive illusions, 3rd ed.. Routledge. ISSN 9780367724245. p. 175–190. Full text in Research Archive
• Nahon, Lea; Teige-Mocigemba, Sarah; Reber, Rolf & Greifeneder, Rainer (2021). Truth feels easy: Knowing information is true enhances experienced processing fluency. Cognition. ISSN 0010-0277. 215. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104819. Full text in Research Archive
• Nadarevic, Lena; Reber, Rolf; Helmecke, Anne Josephine & Köse, Dilara (2020). Perceived truth of statements and simulated social media postings: an experimental investigation of source credibility, repeated exposure, and presentation format. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 5(1). doi: 10.1186/s41235-020-00251-4. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  To better understand the spread of fake news in the Internet age, it is important to uncover the variables that influence the perceived truth of information. Although previous research identified several reliable predictors of truth judgments—such as source credibility, repeated information exposure, and presentation format—little is known about their simultaneous effects. In a series of four experiments, we investigated how the abovementioned factors jointly affect the perceived truth of statements (Experiments 1 and 2) and simulated social media postings (Experiments 3 and 4). Experiment 1 explored the role of source credibility (high vs. low vs. no source information) and presentation format (with vs. without a picture). In Experiments 2 and 3, we additionally manipulated repeated exposure (yes vs. no). Finally, Experiment 4 examined the role of source credibility (high vs. low) and type of repetition (congruent vs. incongruent vs. no repetition) in further detail. In sum, we found no effect of presentation format on truth judgments, but strong, additive effects of source credibility and repetition. Truth judgments were higher for information presented by credible sources than non-credible sources and information without sources. Moreover, congruent (i.e., verbatim) repetition increased perceived truth whereas semantically incongruent repetition decreased perceived truth, irrespectively of the source. Our findings show that people do not rely on a single judgment cue when evaluating a statement’s truth but take source credibility and their meta-cognitive feelings into account.

• Christensen, Bo; Ball, Linden & Reber, Rolf (2020). Perceptual fluency effects in judgments of creativity and beauty: creative objects are perceived fluently yet they are visually complex. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. ISSN 2044-5911. 32(1), p. 45–66. doi: 10.1080/20445911.2019.1689986. Full text in Research Archive
• Skaar, Øystein Olav & Reber, Rolf (2020). Motivation through insight: the phenomenological correlates of insight and spatial ability tasks. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. ISSN 2044-5911. 33(6-7), p. 631–643. doi: 10.1080/20445911.2020.1844721. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In an experiment (n = 430), grounded in an integrative fluency account of the phenomenology of the Aha-experience, we tested the assumption that problem solving through insight is distinct from other strategies of problem-solving in that the affective response invoked by Aha-experiences is more influential than other solution strategies on motivational processes. Results indicated that insight tasks, compared to non-insight tasks, had the strongest affective and motivational outcomes both during and after task solution. Moreover, for insight tasks, sudden insight was the strongest predictor of correct solutions. Interestingly, step-by-step and guessing strategies were positive and negative predictors, respectively, of correct solutions. Finally, only trial and error significantly predicted correct solutions for non-insight tasks. We argue that solution strategies are not mutually exclusive. However, some strategies are more frequently used and possibly more adapted to different types of tasks. The study supports the integrative fluency account and motivational outcomes of Aha-experiences.

• Skaar, Øystein Olav & Reber, Rolf (2019). The phenomenology of aha-experiences. Motivation Science. ISSN 2333-8113. 6(1), p. 49–60. doi: 10.1037/mot0000138. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Aha-experience is the well-known hallmark of sudden insight. An integrative fluency account of the phenomenology of insight connects the four defining features of the Aha-experience: (1) A sudden insight leads to change in (2) processing fluency that increases (3) positive affect and (4) certainty that the insight is true. Several experimental studies have examined individual relationships between these defining features. However, no single study has examined the quantitative interrelationships of all components of the Aha-experience. In a retrospective study, we tested the fluency account of insight to further understand the Aha-experience. Bayesian statistics and structural equation modeling were used to the assess the theoretical model, with data comprising two independent samples (N = 638). Results indicated that sudden insight increases fluency, positive affect, and subjective certainty, although the three dimensions are better seen as underlying components of general metacognitive feelings. In addition, we assessed the relationship among Aha-experience, sense of agency, motivation, and coping. Results indicated that metacognitive feelings mediate the effect of sudden insight on immediate sense of agency and motivation and coping.

• Høgheim, Sigve & Reber, Rolf (2019). Interesting, but Less Interested: Gender Differences and Similarities in Mathematics Interest. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. ISSN 0031-3831. 63(2), p. 285–299. doi: 10.1080/00313831.2017.1336482. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2018). Making school meaningful: Linking psychology of education to meaning in life. Educational review (Birmingham). ISSN 0013-1911. p. 1–21. doi: 10.1080/00131911.2018.1428177. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There is little research about making instruction at school meaningful. This is surprising given that ample research suggests that many students do not find school a meaningful place, as documented by decline in interest during middle school, the frequency of boredom at school and decline in search for meaning among high school students. This article starts with an outline that considers both objective and subjective meaning in life. A review on different aspects of meaning in school, such as teaching meaning, purpose, identity, coherence, caring, aesthetics and agency, suggest that many ways to improve meaning in school have been underused and understudied. The inclusion of the philosophy of meaning in life extends the scope of research on interest by adding new components of objective meaning that may enrich school activities. This article will review both what has been done and what needs to be done. The article concludes that taking the perspective of meaning in life into account would open new avenues for empirical research in educational psychology.

• Reber, Rolf; Canning, Elizabeth & Harackiewicz, Judith (2018). Personalized Education to Increase Interest. Current Directions in Psychological Science. ISSN 0963-7214. 27, p. 449–454. doi: 10.1177/0963721418793140. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A long-standing ideal of school education has been to connect instruction to a student’s life outside school in order to render subject matter interesting. New technologies enable instructors to personalize learning materials to increase situational interest. After distinguishing three main methods to personalize education (context personalization, choice, and active personalization), we review recent intervention studies designed to increase situational interest, which is necessary for the emergence of individual interest. Across all three kinds of interventions, some studies point to the possibility of increasing interest for students low in initial interest. Despite progress in developing personalized interventions for school practice, research on the theoretical mechanisms behind the success of the interventions has just begun.

• Bullot, Nicolas J. & Reber, Rolf (2017). Artistic misunderstandings: The emotional significance of historical learning in the arts. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. ISSN 0140-525X. 40. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X17001625. Full text in Research Archive
• Erle, Thorsten M.; Reber, Rolf & Topolinski, Sascha (2017). Affect from mere perception. Illusory contour perception feels good. Emotion. ISSN 1528-3542. 17(5), p. 856–866. doi: 10.1037/emo0000293. Full text in Research Archive
• Høgheim, Sigve & Reber, Rolf (2017). Eliciting Mathematics Interest: New Directions for Context Personalization and Example Choice. Journal of Experimental Education. ISSN 0022-0973. 85(4), p. 597–613. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2016.1268085. Full text in Research Archive
• Silva, Rita R.; Garcia-Marques, Teresa & Reber, Rolf (2017). The informative value of type of repetition: Perceptual and conceptual fluency influences on judgments of truth. Consciousness and Cognition. ISSN 1053-8100. 51, p. 53–67. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.02.016. Full text in Research Archive
• Landwehr, Jan R.; Golla, Benedikt & Reber, Rolf (2017). Processing fluency: An inevitable side effect of evaluative conditioning. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. ISSN 0022-1031. 70, p. 124–128. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2017.01.004. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf & Greifender, Rainer (2017). Processing fluency in education: How metacognitive feelings shape learning, belief formation, and affect. Educational Psychologist. ISSN 0046-1520. 52(2), p. 84–103. doi: 10.1080/00461520.2016.1258173. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Processing fluency—the experienced ease with which a mental operation is performed—has attracted little attention in educational psychology, despite its relevance. The present article reviews and integrates empirical evidence on processing fluency that is relevant to school education. Fluency is important, for instance, in learning, self-assessment of knowledge, testing, grading, teacher–student communication, social interaction in the multicultural classroom, and emergence of interest. After a brief overview of basic fluency research we review effects of processing fluency in three broad areas: metacognition in learning, belief formation, and affect. Within each area, we provide evidence-based implications for education. Along the way, we offer fluency-based insights into phenomena that were long known but not yet sufficiently explained (e.g., the effect of handwriting on grading). Bringing fluency (back) to education may contribute to research and school practice alike.

• Folgerø, Per Olav; Hodne, Lasse; Johansson, Christer; Andresen, Alf Edgar; Sætren, Lill Charlotte & Specht, Karsten [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2016). Effects of facial symmetry and gaze direction on perception of social attributes: A study in experimental art history. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 10:452(2016). doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00452. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article explores the possibility of testing hypotheses about art production in the past by collecting data in the present. We call this enterprise “experimental art history”. Why did medieval artists prefer to paint Christ with his face directed towards the beholder, while profane faces were noticeably more often painted in different degrees of profile? Is a preference for frontal faces motivated by deeper evolutionary and biological considerations? Head and gaze direction is a significant factor for detecting the intentions of others, and accurate detection of gaze direction depends on strong contrast between a dark iris and a bright sclera, a combination that is only found in humans among the primates. One uniquely human capacity is language acquisition, where the detection of shared or joint attention, for example through detection of gaze direction, contributes significantly to the ease of acquisition. The perceived face and gaze direction is also related to fundamental emotional reactions such as fear, aggression, empathy and sympathy. The fast-track modulator model presents a related fast and unconscious subcortical route that involves many central brain areas. Activity in this pathway mediates the affective valence of the stimulus. In particular, different sub-regions of the amygdala show specific activation as response to gaze direction, head orientation and the valence of facial expression. We present three experiments on the effects of face orientation and gaze direction on the judgments of social attributes. We observed that frontal faces with direct gaze were more highly associated with positive adjectives. Does this help to associate positive values to the Holy Face in a Western context? The formal result indicates that the Holy Face is perceived more positively than profiles with both direct and averted gaze. Two control studies, using a Brazilian and a Dutch database of photographs, showed a similar but weaker effect with a larger contrast between the gaze directions for profiles. Our findings indicate that many factors affect the impression of a face, and that eye contact in combination with face direction reinforce the general impression of portraits, rather than determine it.

• Topolinski, Sascha; Erle, Thorsten M. & Reber, Rolf (2015). Necker's smile: Immediate affective consequences of early perceptual processes. Cognition. ISSN 0010-0277. 140, p. 1–13. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.03.004. Full text in Research Archive
• Høgheim, Sigve & Reber, Rolf (2015). Supporting interest of middle school students in mathematics through context personalization and example choice. Contemporary Educational Psychology. ISSN 0361-476X. 42, p. 17–25. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2015.03.006. Full text in Research Archive
• Christensen, Bo T.; Kristensen, Tore & Reber, Rolf (2015). Contributions of consumer-perceived creativity and beauty to willingness-to-pay for design products. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation. ISSN 2165-0349. 3(3-4), p. 164–176. doi: 10.1080/21650349.2014.981216. Full text in Research Archive
• Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Silva, Rita R; Reber, Rolf & Unkelbach, Christian (2015). Hearing a statement now and believing the opposite later. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. ISSN 0022-1031. 56, p. 126–129. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2014.09.015. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Existing findings on the truth effect could be explained by recollection of the statements presented in the exposure phase. In order to examine a pure fluency account of this effect, we tested a unique prediction that could not be derived from recollection of a statement. In one experiment, participants judged the truth of a statement that had the same surface appearance as a statement presented earlier but contradicted it, for example “crocodiles sleep with their eyes open” one week after having heard “crocodiles sleep with their eyes closed”. We predicted and found that participants judged contradictory statements as being more false than new statements after a delay of only a few minutes, but judged them as more likely to be true after one week. In contrast to earlier findings, this result cannot be explained by accounts relying on recollection of the previously presented statements.

• Reber, Rolf; Christensen, Bo T. & Meier, Beat (2014). Effects of meaning and symmetry on judgments of size. Frontiers in Psychology. 5. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01270. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research has shown that people judge words as having bigger font size than non-words. This finding has been interpreted in terms of processing fluency, with higher fluency leading to judgments of bigger size. If so, symmetric numbers (e.g., 44) which can be processed more fluently are predicted to be judged as larger than asymmetric numbers (e.g., 43). However, recent research found that symmetric numbers were judged to be smaller than asymmetric numbers. This finding suggests that the mechanisms underlying size judgments may differ in meaningful and meaningless materials. Supporting this notion, we showed in Experiment 1 that meaning increased judged size, whereas symmetry decreased judged size. In the next two experiments, we excluded several alternative explanations for the differences in size judgments between meaningful and meaningless materials in earlier studies. This finding contradicts the notion that the mechanism underlying judgments of size is processing fluency.

• Reber, Rolf (2014). Mindfulness in education. In Ie, Amanda; Ngnoumen, Christelle T. & Langer, Ellen J. (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Mindfulness. Wiley-Blackwell. ISSN 9781118294871. p. 1054–1070. Full text in Research Archive
• Bullot, Nicolas J. & Reber, Rolf (2013). A psycho-historical research program for the integrative science of art. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. ISSN 0140-525X. 36(2), p. 163–180. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X12002464. Full text in Research Archive
• Bullot, Nicolas J. & Reber, Rolf (2013). The Artful Mind Meets Art History: Toward a Psycho-Historical Framework for the Science of Art Appreciation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. ISSN 0140-525X. 36(2), p. 123–137. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X12000489. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research seeking a scientific foundation for the theory of art appreciation has raised controversies at the intersection of the social and cognitive sciences. Though equally relevant to a scientific inquiry into art appreciation, psychological and historical approaches to art developed independently and lack a common core of theoretical principles. Historicists argue that psychological and brain sciences ignore the fact that artworks are artifacts produced and appreciated in the context of unique historical situations and artistic intentions. After revealing flaws in the psychological approach, we introduce a psycho-historical framework for the science of art appreciation. This framework demonstrates that a science of art appreciation must investigate how appreciators process causal and historical information to classify and explain their psychological responses to art. Expanding on research about the cognition of artifacts, we identify three modes of appreciation: basic exposure to an artwork, the artistic design stance, and artistic understanding. The artistic design stance, a requisite for artistic understanding, is an attitude whereby appreciators develop their sensitivity to art-historical contexts by means of inquiries into the making, authorship, and functions of artworks. We defend and illustrate the psycho-historical framework with an analysis of existing studies on art appreciation in empirical aesthetics. Finally, we argue that the fluency theory of aesthetic pleasure can be amended to meet the requirements of the framework. We conclude that scientists can tackle fundamental questions about the nature and appreciation of art within the psycho-historical framework.

• Høgheim, Sigve & Reber, Rolf (2012). Økt interesse for læring. Tangenten - Tidsskrift for matematikkundervisning. ISSN 0802-8192. 23(4), p. 48–51. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2012). Critical Feeling: The Strategic Use of Processing Fluency. In Unkelbach, Christian & Greifeneder, Rainer (Ed.), The Experience of Thinking. How feelings from mental processes influence cognition and behaviour. Psychology Press. ISSN 9781848720657. p. 169–184. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781107446755.010. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2012). Processing fluency, aesthetic pleasure, and culturally shared taste. In Shimamura, Arthur P. & Palmer, Stephen E. (Ed.), Aesthetic Science. Connecting Minds, Brains, and Experience. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780199732142. p. 223–249. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780199732142.003.0055. Full text in Research Archive
• Chen, Weiqin & Reber, Rolf (2011). Writing Wikipedia articles as course assignment. In Hirashima, Tsukasa; Biswas, Gautum; Supnithi, Thepchai & Yu, Fu-Yun (Ed.), Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Computers in Education: ICCE2011. Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education. ISSN 9786161201883. p. 692–696. Full text in Research Archive
• Meier, Beat; Wartburg, Philipp von; Matter, Sibylle; Rothen, Nicolas & Reber, Rolf (2011). Performance predictions improve prospective memory and influence retrieval experience. Canadian journal of experimental psychology. ISSN 1196-1961. 65(1), p. 12–18. doi: 10.1037/a0022784. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In retrospective memory, performance predictions have been found to enhance performance on subsequent memory tests. In prospective memory, the influence of metacognitive judgments on performance has not been investigated systematically. In the present study, 140 undergraduate students performed a complex short-term memory task that included a prospective memory task. Half of them gave performance predictions after the prospective memory task instructions. In addition, the specificity of the prospective memory task was manipulated by instructing participants either to perform an action when a word that belongs to the category of musical instruments was presented or to respond when the word "trumpet" was presented. The results showed that performance predictions enhanced performance, but only for the categorical task. Additional analyses of retrieval experience showed that performance predictions lead to an increase in search experiences while cue specificity was accompanied by an increase in pop up experiences. The results indicate that performance predictions can improve prospective performance and thus may be a valuable strategy for assisting prospective memory.

• Reber, Rolf & Slingerland, Edward G. (2011). Confucius meets cognition: new answers to old questions. Religion, Brain and Behavior. ISSN 2153-599X. 1(2), p. 135–145. doi: 10.1080/2153599X.2011.598329. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Early Chinese Confucian virtue ethics saw effortless harmony with the ‘‘Way’’ as essential for ethical life, but raised the problem of how one can, through effort, reach a state of effortless perfection. We decompose this paradox into three subparadoxes and review evidence from cognitive psychology relevant to each of them. First, how can one attain spontaneity by expending effort? Second, how can one come to love what one does not already love? Third, why is a deed considered not virtuous if consciously done for the sake of attaining virtue? We discuss how the cognitive sciences can contribute to potential solutions to an ancient ethical tension, and what the humanities can contribute to problems psychologists have only recently begun to explore.

• Reber, Rolf; Wurtz, Pascal; Knapstad, Marit & Lervik, Linn Vathne (2010). Polarity correspondence in comparative number magnitude judgments. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. ISSN 1069-9384. 17(2), p. 219–223. doi: 10.3758/PBR.17.2.219. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  When asked which of two digits is greater, participants respond more quickly if physical size corresponds to number magnitude, such as in 3 7, than when the two attributes contradict each other, such as in 3 7. This size congruence effect in comparative number judgments is a well-documented phenomenon. We extended existing findings by showing that this effect does not depend on physical size of the number alone but can be observed with number symmetry. In addition, we observed that symmetric numbers are judged as being smaller than asymmetric numbers, which renders an interpretation of the number symmetry congruence effect in terms of physical size implausible. We refer to the polarity correspondence principle (Proctor & Cho, 2006) to explain the present findings

• Topolinski, Sascha & Reber, Rolf (2010). Gaining Insight Into the "Aha" Experience. Current Directions in Psychological Science. ISSN 0963-7214. 19(6), p. 402–405. doi: 10.1177/0963721410388803. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The literature on insight lists four main characteristics of this peculiar experience: (1) Suddenness: The experience is surprising and immediate; (2) ease: Compared to the obstacles experienced before, the task solution proceeds smoothly and easily; (3) positive affect: Insights yield positive affective experience; (4) the feeling of being right: After an insight, problem solvers judge the solution as being true and have confidence in this judgment, even before assessing its rightness. Although the phenomenology of insight is well-known, no theory has combined the four characteristics. Hence, we propose a fluency account of insight. The sudden appearance of the solution for a problem and the concomitant surprising fluency gain in information processing trigger positive affect and increase judged truth, and confidence. In the following, we will review evidence and relate it to insight concerning the impact of fluency on (1) positive affect, (2) perceived truth and confidence in one’s own judgment, and (3) the importance of suddenness. The discrepant fluency-hypothesis of insight promises the transition from a first-person account of insight based on self-reports to a third-person account based on more objective data.

• Reber, Rolf & Unkelbach, Christian (2010). The epistemic status of processing fluency as source for judgments of truth. Review of Philosophy and Psychology. ISSN 1878-5158. 1(4), p. 563–581. doi: 10.1007/s13164-010-0039-7. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article combines findings from cognitive psychology on the role of processing fluency in truth judgments with epistemological theory on justification of belief. We first review evidence that repeated exposure to a statement increases the subjective ease with which that statement is processed. This increased processing fluency, in turn, increases the probability that the statement is judged to be true. The basic question discussed here is whether the use of processing fluency as a cue to truth is epistemically justified. In the present analysis, based on Bayes’ Theorem, we adopt the reliable-process account of justification presented by Goldman (1986) and show that fluency is a reliable cue to truth, under the assumption that the majority of statements one has been exposed to are true. In the final section, we broaden the scope of this analysis and discuss how processing fluency as a potentially universal cue to judged truth may contribute to cultural differences in commonsense beliefs.

• Rice, Diana R.; Abrams, Dominic; Badea, Constantina; Bohner, Gerd; Carnaghi, Andrea & Dementi, Lyudmila I. [Show all 18 contributors for this article] (2010). What did you just call me? European and American ratings of the valence of ethnophaulisms (ethnic labels). Journal of Language and Social Psychology. ISSN 0261-927X. 29(1), p. 117–131. doi: 10.1177/0261927X09351696. Full text in Research Archive
• Topolinski, Sascha & Reber, Rolf (2010). Immediate truth - temporal contiguity between a cognitive problem and its solution determines experienced veracity of the solution. Cognition. ISSN 0010-0277. 114(1), p. 117–122. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2009.09.009. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A temporal contiguity hypothesis for the experience of veracity is tested which states that a solution candidate to a cognitive problem is more likely to be experienced as correct the faster it succeeds the problem. Experiment 1 varied the onset time of the appearance of proposed solutions to anagrams (50 ms vs. 150 ms) and found for both correct and incorrect candidates that faster appearing solutions were more frequently judged as being correct, although participants were not aware of the difference in onset delay. Experiment 2 replicated this effect with mathematical equations, shorter onset latencies (0 ms vs. 50 ms), and a reversed sequence (presenting first the solution and then the problem). Experiment 3 showed that the probability of judging a word as the solution of a remote associate insight problem decreases linearly with increasing onset delay (50 ms, 150 ms, 300 ms). Possible neurobiological-cognitive explanations for this effect are proposed.

• Chen, Weiqin & Reber, Rolf (2010). Example Choice and ExampleWiki. In Chang, Ben; Hirashima, Tsukasa; Ogata, Hiroaki; Wong, Su Luan; Kong, Siu Cheung & Yu, Fu-Yun (Ed.), Joint Proceedings of the WWIP and IYR Symposium at the 18th International Conference on Computers in Education. Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education. ISSN 9789834251260. p. 60–62. Full text in Research Archive
• Oyserman, Daphna; Sorensen, Nicholas; Reber, Rolf & Chen, Sylvia Xiaohua (2009). Connecting and separating mindsets: Culture as situated cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. ISSN 0022-3514. 97(2), p. 217–235. doi: 10.1037/a0015850. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  People perceive meaningful wholes and later separate out constituent parts (Navon, 1977). Yet there are cross-national differences in whether a focal target or integrated whole is first perceived. Rather than construe these differences as fixed, the proposed culture-as-situated cognition model explains these differences as due to whether a collective or individual mindset is cued at the moment of observation. Eight studies demonstrate that when cultural mindset and task demands are congruent, easier tasks are accomplished more quickly and more difficult or time-constrained tasks are accomplished more accurately (Study 1 Koreans, Korean Americans; Study 2 Hong Kong Chinese, Study 3 European- and Asian heritage Americans, Study 4 Americans, Study 5 Hong Kong Chinese, Study 6 Americans, Study 7, Norwegians, Study 8, African-, European- and Asian-heritage Americans). Meta-analyses (d = .34) demonstrate homogenous effects across geographic place (East-West), racial-ethnic group, task and sensory mode -- differences are cued in the moment. Contrast and separation are salient individual mindset procedures, resulting in focus on a single target or main point. Assimilation and connection are salient collective mindset procedures, resulting in focus on multiplicity and integration.

• Reber, Rolf; Hetland, Hilde; Chen, Weiqin; Norman, Elisabeth & Kobbeltvedt, Therese (2009). Effects of example choice on interest, control, and learning. The Journal of the Learning Sciences. ISSN 1050-8406. 18(4), p. 509–548. doi: 10.1080/10508400903191896. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  We investigated example choice as a new method for the teaching of formal theoretical principles. Formal principles are presented with several examples from different topics, and students choose the one that interests them most. Example choice might be related to prior knowledge, interest, and perceived control. In an experimental study, we examined the effects of degree of example choice and degree of prior knowledge on interest, perceived control, and learning outcomes in a presentation on confirmation bias. The main finding was that participants who could choose an example showed more interest for the presentation of the formal principle than participants who either were given an example by the experimenter or only saw the presentation. Control was lowest for the group without example and without prior knowledge. Finally, prior knowledge, but not example choice increased performance in a transfer of knowledge task. Example choice thus offers a new approach to close the gap between formal principles as presented at school and a student’s interests.

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• Reber, Rolf (2021). Psychologie: Grundlagen, Methoden, Therapien. C.H. Beck. ISBN 9783406765827. 128 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2019). Psychology -- the basics. Routledge. ISBN 9781138552265. 184 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2016). Critical Feeling. How to Use Feelings Strategically. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107629769. 308 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How can we develop the sensitivity necessary for playing music or making crafts? How can teachers make their lessons interesting? In what ways can consumers avoid undue influence? How do we acquire refined tastes, or come to believe what we want to believe? Addressing these issues and providing an account for tackling personal and societal problems, Rolf Reber combines insights from psychology, philosophy, and education to introduce the concept of 'critical feeling'. While many people are familiar with the concept of critical thinking, critical feeling denotes the strategic use of feelings in order to optimize an outcome. Reber discusses the theoretical and empirical foundations of critical feeling and provides an overview of applications, including well-being, skill learning, personal relationships, business, politics, school, art, morality, and religion. This original and thought-provoking study will interest a broad range of researchers, students, and practitioners.

• Reber, Rolf (2015). Hverdagslivets psykologi.Forstå livet bedre (Orig. tysk; oversetter: Lars Holm-Hansen). Pax Forlag. ISBN 9788253038094. 160 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Hvorfor er det så vanskelig å si nei i rette øyeblikk? Hvorfor blir vi aldri helt kvitt et rykte? Finnes det en forelskelsens logikk? Hvorfor er førsteinntrykket så viktig? Og hvorfor er det nesten umulig å forutse hvor mye tid vi vil bruke på en oppgave? Disse og en lang rekke andre hverdagspsykologiske spørsmål forsøker denne boken å svare på gjennom illustrerende funn fra ulike vitenskapelige undersøkelser. Forfatteren, som er professor i psykologi, er særlig opptatt av hvordan våre egne tenkemåter, følelser og handlinger kan hindre oss i å oppnå det vi vil. Du får ikke bare aha-opplevelser og ny innsikt, men også enkle tips for en bedre hverdag. Visste du for eksempel at muligheten til faktisk å få gjort det du har planlagt å gjøre, stiger dramatisk om du setter deg presise og konkrete mål for nøyaktig hva du skal gjøre og akkurat når det skal skje? Eller at du lærer veldig mye bedre gjennom mange korte økter enn om du holder på timevis om gangen? Boka forsøker å formidle noe av fascinasjonskraften ved moderne psykologi og passer særlig for lesere som har et åpent sinn for kunnskap som går på tvers av deres egne forestillinger.

• Reber, Rolf (2010). [A brief psychology of everyday life] Chinese translation of "Kleine Psychologie des Alltäglichen", München: Beck. Global Group Holdings, Ltd.. ISBN 9789861854212. 224 p. Full text in Research Archive

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• Prenevost, Mathilde Hallingstad; Nilsen, Ida Bekke Rønneberg; Bølstad, Evalill; Piulats, Francisco Maria Pons; Harris, Paul L. & Reber, Rolf (2024). Children's Experience and Understanding of Aha-Moments. Full text in Research Archive
• Nilsen, Ida Bekke Rønneberg; Bølstad, Evalill; Piulats, Francisco Maria Pons; Harris, Paul L. & Reber, Rolf (2024). Children’s experience and understanding of aha-experiences. Full text in Research Archive
• Prenevost, Mathilde Hallingstad; Haugen, Linda Josefine Aas; Nilsen, Ida Bekke Rønneberg; Bølstad, Evalill; Piulats, Francisco Maria Pons & Reber, Rolf (2023). Young Children’s Understanding of the Affective Implications of Insight – A First Study. Full text in Research Archive
• Martinussen, Liva Jenny; Riege, Anine Cecilie; Nilsen, Ida Bekke Rønneberg & Reber, Rolf (2023). Writing your own story about a statistical graph is more interesting than reading one. Full text in Research Archive
• Haugen, Linda Josefine Aas; Prenevost, Mathilde Hallingstad; Nilsen, Ida Bekke Rønneberg & Reber, Rolf (2023). First insights into children’s aha-experiences: A parent report study. Full text in Research Archive
• Haugen, Linda Josefine Aas; Prenevost, Mathilde Hallingstad; Nilsen, Ida Bekke Rønneberg & Reber, Rolf (2022). Aha-experiences in childhood. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf; Riege, Anine & Martinussen, Liva Jenny (2021). Question asking, storytelling, and problem posing as interventions to trigger situational interest and learning in STEM-topics: A user-based approach to intervention-development. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2020). Appreciation Modes in Empirical Aesthetics. In Nadal, Marcos & Vartanian, Oshin (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Aesthetics. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780198824350. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198824350.013.38. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf & Bullot, Nicolas J. (2019). Conditional objectivism: A strategy for connecting the social sciences and practical decision-making,. In Valsiner, Jaan (Eds.), Social Philosophy of Science for the Social Sciences. Springer Nature. ISSN 9783030330989. p. 73–92. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2018). Beauty and truth in mathematics: Evidence from cognitive psychology. In Bangu, Sorin (Eds.), Naturalizing Logico-Mathematical Knowledge: Approaches from Philosophy, Psychology and Cognitive Science. Routledge. ISSN 9781138244108. p. 252–267. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf & Norenzayan, Ara (2018). Shared fluency theory of social cohesiveness: How the metacognitive feeling of processing fluency contributes to group processes,. In Proust, Joëlle & Fortier, Martin (Ed.), Metacognitive Diversity. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780198789710. p. 47–67. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2017). Availability. In Pohl, Rüdiger F. (Eds.), Cognitive illusions: Intriguing phenomena in thinking, judgment and memory. Routledge. ISSN 9781138903425. p. 147–163. Full text in Research Archive
• Skaar, Øystein Olav & Reber, Rolf (2017). Gender differences in Aha-Experiences. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2017). Gender differences in Aha-experiences. Full text in Research Archive
• Skaar, Øystein Olav & Reber, Rolf (2016). Insight and Attitudes: Understanding the Aha-experience. Full text in Research Archive
• Høgheim, Sigve & Reber, Rolf (2015). Triggering and maintaining situational interest with context personalization and example choice. Full text in Research Archive
• Høgheim, Sigve & Reber, Rolf (2014). The effect of personalization and example choice on students' interest in mathematics. Full text in Research Archive
• Stibric, Marina & Reber, Rolf (2013). The effects of example choice on students' interest and performance in mathematics. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf; Bullot, Nicolas J.; Blikstad, Camilla & Scocciolini, Giulia (2013). How artists use disfluency. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf & Bullot, Nicolas J. (2013). Artistic understanding matters to musical judgment Comment on "From everyday emotions to aesthetic emotions: Towards a unified theory of musical emotions" by Patrik N. Juslin. Physics of Life Reviews. ISSN 1571-0645. 10(3), p. 273–274. doi: 10.1016/j.plrev.2013.06.006. Full text in Research Archive
• Bullot, Nicolas J. & Reber, Rolf (2012). The artful mind meets art history: A psycho-historical foundation for empirical aesthetics. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2012). Normative Issues in Psychological Research about Processing Fluency. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf & Bullot, Nicolas (2012). Cognitive Science Meets Art History. A Psycho-Historical Framework for Psychological and Neuroaesthetics. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2012). People’s judgements of the truth of propositions, and its application to intuitive decisions about the correctness of mathematical solutions. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf; Chen, Weiqin & Hetland, Hilde (2011). Hvordan vil ExampleWIki-metoden øke interessen for matematikk og maturfag? Full text in Research Archive
• Chen, Weiqin & Reber, Rolf (2011). Interests, Relevance, Motivation and Learning. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2011). How Norms and Values Influence Human Judgment (Keynote Lecture). Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2011). How to Increase Interest. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2011). A Fluency Account of the Insight Experience. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2011). How to assess processing fluency (within symposium "Issues in the Measurement of Facets of Metacognition"). Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf & Topolinski, Sascha (2011). The phenomenology of insights (within symposium "Current directions in fluency research: Integration and expansion beyond classic effects"). Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf; Hetland, Hilde; Chen, Weiqin; Norman, Elisabeth & Kobbeltvedt, Therese (2010). Effects of example choice on topic interest and perceived control. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2010). A Fluency Theory of Culturally Shared Taste. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2010). Perception as Affective Experience. Full text in Research Archive
• Chen, Weiqin & Reber, Rolf (2010). ExampleWiki. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf & Topolinski, Sascha (2009). Semplice + bello = vero. Mente & Cervello. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2009). Processing fluency: An interface between cognition and affect. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf & Topolinski, Sascha (2009). Einfach + schön = wahr [simple + beautiful = true]. Gehirn & Geist. ISSN 1618-8519. p. 20–23. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf; Wurtz, Pascal; Knapstad, Marit & Lervik, Linn Vathne (2009). A Polarity Correspondence Account of Comparative Number Magnitude Judgments. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2009). The Shared Fluency Theory of Social Cohesiveness. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2009). Perception and Affect. Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2009). What Are Aesthetic Tools in Science? Full text in Research Archive
• Reber, Rolf (2009). Die Fluency-Heuristik bei intuitiven Urteilen. Full text in Research Archive
• Hvidsten, Helene Mathisen; Reber, Rolf; Stänicke, Line Indrevoll; Tidemann, Ida Therese & Hume, Simpson Kathrine (2021). Hvordan oppleves det å være forelder til et barn i barnehagealder som stammer? En tematisk analyse. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive
• Skaar, Øystein Olav & Reber, Rolf (2019). Moments of Brilliance: Understanding the Aha-experience through Bayesian Statistics. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Regarded as the product of prolonged and sustained efforts, creativity is still often associated with the rare moments when a solution to a problem suddenly bursts into consciousness: the hallmark of sudden insight. The present thesis aims to provide evidence for a better understanding of the phenomenology connected with these moments, colloquially termed as the Aha-experience. Founded on an integrative fluency account, linking sudden insight to the ease with which information is processed, positive affect and subjective certainty in the newfound solution, the thesis delves into different aspects of educational, cognitive, personality and social psychology, providing diverse and new understanding of motivation and creativity associated with the Aha-experience. Paper I utilized the integrative fluency account to understand metacognitive feelings in relation to change in motivation and coping from Ahaexperiences. Paper II applied social role theory to help explain gender similarities and differences in Aha-experiences. Paper III examined elapsed time since last memorable Aha-experience to explore the relationship between Openness to Experience and the frequency of Aha-experiences. Based on a large, retrospective survey, utilizing multiple independent samples, the strength of the project is the overall coherence between the individual studies. The design allows drawing conclusions across the three papers, which is the main purpose of this dissertation. All three studies applied bfw, a Bayesian framework, developed in tandem with the ongoing PhD project. The framework provided several modules to conduct linear and non-linear, hierarchical analyses, and allowed the use of custom Bayesian models specifically devolved for the project. The goal of the framework was to easily estimate parameter values and the stability of estimates and conduct convergence diagnostics. In other words, to assess the certainty, and uncertainty, associated with the presented results. Thus, the development of bfw aided the process of gaining a deeper understanding of the phenomenology of insight. An important aspect of this thesis is to present the methodological considerations of the Bayesian approach. Paper I aimed to test the integrative fluency account and examine the relationship between Aha-experiences and motivation within a given domain. Results indicated that fluency, positive affect and subjective certainty are underlying facets of metacognitive feelings elicited by sudden insight. The study strengthens the hypothesis that fluency is marked hedonically and epistemically, and therefore generally conforms to the proposed fluency account. Moreover, the study links the Aha-experience with an increase of motivation and coping. Paper II explored the situational aspects of Aha-experiences. Prior research indicates that boys show more interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) than girls, where traditional STEM education is marked as highly competitive and individualoriented. We applied a social role theory perspective to explain the role of gender in interest. Social role theory argues that society’s division of labor between men and women forms social roles and gender stereotypes, and that an interaction of biological and social processes influences sex-differentiated dispositions and behaviors. Results indicated that men, compared to women, were more likely to be alone during the Aha-experience. The effect was most credible for participants who reported increased interest in personal and STEM domains. The study is consistent with previous findings that women, relative to men, find more interest from cooperation. The study concludes that biosocial influences have led, in part, women to adopt more communal roles and men more agentic roles. Paper III examined the relationship between personality traits and the frequency of Ahaexperiences. Openness to Experience appears to be the strongest predictor of creativity and creative self-efficacy, and the Aha-experience is a phenomenon associated with creativity. Results linked Openness to Experience to recollecting autobiographical memories, and it is argued that feelings in the fringe of consciousness serve as a retrieval function, mainly through metacognitive feelings associated with a specific insight. Furthermore, the relationship between Openness to Experience and frequency of Aha-experiences was dependent on elapsed time since the last memorable Aha-experience, indicating that the relationship depends on creative achievement in the form of Aha-experiences and not just creative aptitude. Paper III concludes that to understand the relationship between Openness to Experience and Aha-experiences, and creativity in general, it is essential to consider the effect of motivational processes. Drawn together, the current thesis suggests that understanding situational aspects, phenomenological dimensions and individual differences are crucial in order to understand the Aha-experience itself. The thesis discusses these implications and draws inferences based on the overall perception of the independent studies. In sum, the work presented herein states that the Aha-experiences are multifaceted and without the context in which the sudden insight occurred, the Aha-experience will remain a mythical phenomenon.

• Høgheim, Sigve; Reber, Rolf; Federici, Roger Andre; Krumsvik, Rune Johan & Stadler, Matthias Gregor (2017). Making math interesting. An experimental study of interventions to encourage interest in mathematics. Universitetet i Bergen. ISSN 9788230838778. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Many students lose interest in mathematics as they progress through school. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to examine ways to encourage interest in mathematics by investigating two instructional interventions among middle school students. This article-based dissertation is comprised of three articles and an extended summary. The extended summary includes a review of the theoretical field of interest in education, theoretical framing, method and research design, a summary of results, and a general discussion. The theoretical framing was based on the model of interest development by Hidi and Renninger, which focuses on how situated experiences of interest during learning (situational interest) can promote long-term motivational disposition (individual interest) for specific content. Environmental features can encourage situational interest; however, those with an individual interest in mathematics are more likely to be interested in learning math. Therefore, the overarching aim of this research was to identify ways to encourage situational interest among students who are not disposed to interest in math. The theoretical framing was based on the instructional interventions used to promote interest, context personalization and example choice, which involve different ways to connect concepts students need to learn with knowledge they are already familiar with or interested in. Methodologically, a quantitative approach to the research field was adopted, including an experimental random-control group design, to examine the effect of the interventions. Article I is a quantitative analysis of the relation between individual and situational interest for different grade levels and genders. The findings showed that although girls reported less individual interest than boys, they experienced the same level of situational interest when learning mathematics. For the grade levels, there were similarities between reports of individual and situational interest. These findings suggest that age-related declines in individual interest can also be observed in specific learning situations, unlike gender differences. Article II is an experimental study of three types of instructional interventions on situational interest: context personalization based on students’ out-of-school interests, example choice, and a “one-size-fits-all” approach that provides all students with an example. The findings showed that context personalization and example choice had positive effects on situational interest, particularly among those with low individual interest and perceived competence in mathematics, as well as on effort. The “one-size-fits-all” approach did not have any effect on interest or effort. Neither intervention affected students’ problem-solving skills during the experiment. Article III is an experimental study of three instructional interventions: context personalization based on students’ preferences, example choice with selected topics, and a “one-size-fits-all” approach that provides all students with an example that other students find interesting. Example choice had a small effect on triggered situational interest, whereas context personalization did not positively influence situational interest. Based on the findings from the three articles, the main contribution of this project is the introduction of a new theoretical distinction for the context personalization literature related to the differences between interest and preference-based approaches used to encourage students’ interest. It also contributes to increasing knowledge regarding the more newly developed interventions of example choice. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that not all observed differences in individual interest correspond to differences in situational interest, which can influence the ways schools and teachers approach changes in individual interest.

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