Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Motivation and Its Relation to Learning
- Part I The Self and Its Impact
- Part II Rewards, Incentives, and Choice
- 6 Neuroscientific and Psychological Approaches to Incentives
- 7 Incentive Motivation
- 8 Attention, Information-Seeking, and Active Sampling
- 9 Open Digital Badges and Reward Structures
- 10 The Promise and Peril of Choosing for Motivation and Learning
- Part III Interest and Internal Motivation
- Part IV Curiosity and Boredom
- Part V Goals and Values
- Part VI Methods, Measures, and Perspective
- Index
- References
8 - Attention, Information-Seeking, and Active Sampling
Empirical Evidence and Applications for Learning
from Part II - Rewards, Incentives, and Choice
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2019
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Motivation and Its Relation to Learning
- Part I The Self and Its Impact
- Part II Rewards, Incentives, and Choice
- 6 Neuroscientific and Psychological Approaches to Incentives
- 7 Incentive Motivation
- 8 Attention, Information-Seeking, and Active Sampling
- 9 Open Digital Badges and Reward Structures
- 10 The Promise and Peril of Choosing for Motivation and Learning
- Part III Interest and Internal Motivation
- Part IV Curiosity and Boredom
- Part V Goals and Values
- Part VI Methods, Measures, and Perspective
- Index
- References
Summary
In this chapter, we present an overview of the literature addressing the neuroscience of attention, information-seeking, and active sampling, and we discuss its potential significance for learning and learning progress. First, we review the emerging hypothesis that attention is an active mechanism for information sampling and exploration in the environment. We then turn to a discussion of how reward motivates attention and how attention can be employed to reduce uncertainty about knowledge of one's current state. We further consider the way rewards interact with other factors (including novelty, surprise, and task relevance). Throughout the review, we particularly focus on the distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, highlighting curiosity as a key example of the latter in motivating the search for intrinsically desirable information that benefits learning on both long and short timescales. Finally, we discuss the role of cognitive control in directing attention during learning, as well as the way neural systems underlying cognition and motivation have implications for informing techniques for teaching and learning in wider educational contexts.
- Type
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- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning , pp. 183 - 208Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019
References
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