Measurement of Science Museum Visitors’ Emotional Experiences at Exhibits Designed to Encourage Productive Struggle

Abstract

Abstract This study measured science museum visitors’ emotional experiences at exhibits designed to encourage productive struggle (PS), an emotional experience where visitors productively persist through challenge. The study included 105 youth visitors ages 10–17 who interacted with one of three science exhibits designed to promote PS. Emotion was measured using a convergent mixed‐methods design, including self‐report ratings of the extent to which 13 emotions were experienced, coupled with narrative data generated through guided recall activities. Results indicated that most visitors experienced the constellation of emotions characteristic of PS, and that experiences of PS took on varied forms. These findings validated and enriched the emotional components expected to comprise PS, and suggested that the construct of PS can meaningfully characterize patterns of effortful engagement. Attending to visitors’ emotional meaning‐making, particularly through the productive resolution of challenge, can inform the purposeful design of exhibits that harness emotions to deepen visitor learning and engagement.

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