Relative to other emotions, interest is poorly understood. On the basis of theories of appraisal process and structure, it was predicted that interest consists of appraisals of novelty (factors related to unfamiliarity and complexity) and appraisals of coping potential (the ability to understand the new, complex thing). Four experiments, using in vivo rather than retrospective methods, supported this appraisal structure. The findings were general across measured and manipulated appraisals, interesting stimuli (random polygons, visual art, poetry), and measures of interest (self-reports, forced-choice, behavioral measures). Furthermore, the appraisal structure was specific to interest (it did not predict enjoyment, a related positive emotion), and appraisals predicted interest beyond relevant traits (curiosity, openness). The appraisal perspective offers a powerful way of construing the causes of interest.

Since Berlyne's seminal research, the study of experimental aesthetics has examined interest as a response to art. The present research explores the implications of appraisal theories of emotion for the study of interest as an emotion relevant to aesthetics. Participants viewed pictures of modern experimental visual art and rated each picture for interest and for appraisals of complexity and comprehensibility. Multilevel modeling assessed the within-person effects of appraisals on interest. As predicted by appraisal theories, both appraisals significantly and strongly predicted interest at the within-person level. The within-person relationships were not moderated by individual-differences relevant to interest in art (e.g., trait curiosity). Theories of “aesthetic response” should capitalize on modern theories and findings in emotion psychology.

Individual differences related to emotions are typically represented as emotion traits. Although important, these descriptive models often do not address the psychological dynamics that underlie the trait. Appraisal theories of emotion assume that individual differences in emotions can be traced to differences in patterns of appraisal, but this hypothesis has largely gone untested. The present research explored whether individual differences in the emotion of interest, known as trait curiosity, consist of patterns of appraisal. After completing several measures of trait curiosity, participants read complex poems (Experiment 1) or viewed simple and complex pictures (Experiment 2) and then gave ratings of interest and interest's appraisal components. The effect of trait curiosity on interest was fully mediated by appraisals. Multilevel analyses suggested that curious people differ in the amount of appraisal rather than in the kinds of appraisals relevant to interest. Appraisal theories can offer a process-oriented explanation of emotion traits that bridges state and trait emotional experience.

Many decades of research have shown that creativity and intelligence are modestly related. Some studies, however, have found that creativity and intelligence are essentially unrelated. The best example may be Wallach and Kogan's ( 1965 Wallach , M. A. , & Kogan , N. ( 1965 ). Modes of thinking in young children: A study of the creativity–intelligence distinction . New York : Holt, Rinehart, & Winston . [Google Scholar] ) landmark study of 151 children. In that study, 10 measures of creativity didn't correlate with 10 measures of intelligence and academic achievement (average r = .09). The present research reanalyzed these data using latent variable analysis, which can (a) assess the relations between latent creativity and intelligence variables and (b) model method variance shared by the creativity tasks. Consistent with past research, the latent originality and fluency variables significantly predicted intelligence. The relations' magnitude (around r = .20) was consistent with past research, suggesting that Wallach and Kogan's data replicate other studies of creativity and intelligence.