ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates how people make decisions when the benefits and costs vary. It examines the value ratio as a predictor of engaged reading about artworks. The chapter reports on three museum simulation studies that examined the role of interest, workload, and the value ratio on engaged reading. The purpose is to isolate the decision-making processes that people use both in museums and in making everyday choices. Simulation studies need to be validated by examining similar visitor reactions in museums. The chapter explores that a high correlation between interest rating and partially engaged reading. Interest may become more important when the workload is high. Interest seems to motivate the reader to read at least some of a passage in the face of a heavy workload. More research within the museum setting itself will hopefully shed light on the interrelationships among workload, interest, value, and reading of text material.
