Involvement as a Temporal Dynamic: Affective Factors in Studying for Exams

Changes in indices of involvement, affect, and cognition were observed over successive phases of studying for a test. A total of 92 students, 32 in Study 1 and 60 in Study 2, gave ratings related to involvement and mood over several study phases. These studies were methodological improvements over previous ones on this topic, the first study because it did not depend on simulation and the second because it reduced the memory component of the rating task. Yet results replicated those of earlier studies in indicating that involvement increases and that other affective reactions tend to show correlated decreases across phases of studying. These results support our earlier descriptions of involvement as a dynamic, multifaceted phenomenon with both cognitive and affective components.