KNOWLEDGE-SEEKING AND SELF-SCHEMA - A CASE FOR THE MOTIVATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF EXPOSITION

Based on the work of Rosenblatt, a reader's response to text has been conceptualized as lying on a continuum from an efferent to an aestheti c stance. Those assuming an efferent stance are described as detached and passive, with a focus on taking information away from the reading event. In the aesthetic stance, by contrast, readers are focused on th e experience of the moment and on losing themselves in the pleasure an d beauty of the story. Within the reading literature, motivation more often is associated with an aesthetic stance and with narrative text, whereas knowledge-seeking via exposition is linked to the more passive and uninspiring efferent stance. It is my contention that knowledge-s eeking through exposition is indeed motivating because it contributes positively to readers' self-schemata. To support this argument, I offe r a more expanded view of motivation than typically is considered in t he literary research. This view is based on the writings in goal orien tation, interest, and agency. Further, I provide an example from the l iteracy research that illustrates how these dimensions work in classro oms to enhance students' motivations.