Intrinsic interest and the novelty‐familiarity interaction

According to the interaction hypothesis of interest, the inherent interestingness of a communication or a situation will be maximal when novel and familiar elements are simultaneously present. This is illustrated in three experimental demonstrations, where students were to indicate their interest (a) in book titles (more and less well-known authors best and least known works); (b) in reports by foreign journalists about everyday life in Norway (familiar topic) and in Honduras (less familiar); and (c) in meeting tourists of different nationalities at more and less familiar geographical locations. The results show that the preference function for novelty will be ascending or descending dependent upon the familiarity or unfamiliarity of other aspects of the situation. Thus, Norwegian subjects were not very curious about unfamiliar British authors least known works, whereas they would very much like to read what journalists from unfamiliar countries write about Norway. Also, they preferred meeting tourists from unfamiliar countries, as long as the meeting took place in a familiar city. In a foreign city, the order of preference was reversed.