In Study 2 we addressed the question: (2) Does awareness of a
knowledge deficiency result in increased levels of situational interest?
The knowledge-deprivation hypothesis predicts that situational interest
will only arise if students become aware of a discrepancy between
their current knowledge state and the knowledge required to
fully understand the problem. In this study we presented secondaryschool
students with a topic, coastal erosion of the Singapore shoreline,
and asked themto rate their knowledge level with regard to that
topic. In addition, we measured situational interest in the topic. Subsequently,
we presented themwith a causes-of-erosion problem and
asked them to think about possible explanations. Finally, we asked
them to rate knowledge level and situational interest again