Induction of Curiosity via Rhetorical Questions and Its Effect on the Learning of Factual Materials

S ummary . Lectures were delivered in two versions: one containing rhetorical question‐and‐answer sequences and the other with identical content but without the questions. The presence of rhetorical questions significantly enhanced the learning and recall of the facts presented in the lectures when artificially high levels of attention were counteracted by distraction or by the prior induction of boredom.