Which features make scientific illustrations more interesting? Study of group effects based on the FsQCA approach

Stimulating public interest in scientific content is a core challenge in science communication. To explore the combination of features that make scientific illustrations engaging, this study, grounded in situational interest theory, examined 67 Chinese undergraduate students. Using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), it investigated how four features— specificity, personal relevance, understandability, and unexpected information—interact to stimulate situational interest. The analysis reveals three effective configurations that result in high situational interest and three configurations associated with low situational interest. Among these, understandability, unexpected information, and specificity emerge as core causal conditions. Personal relevance proved to be a conditional core concept with a “double-edged sword effect.” Notably, the fsQCA analysis further revealed a significant asymmetry in the pathways leading to illustrations being perceived as “interesting” versus “uninteresting,” indicating that the absence of low-interest conditions does not necessarily result in high interest. These findings offer valuable theoretical and practical insights for educators and science communicators, aiding in the design of more effective visual materials to enhance learning engagement and motivational outcomes. • The appeal of scientific illustrations is influenced by multiple interrelated features. • FsQCA results revealed six distinct causal pathways for scientific illustrations' interestingness. • This study explains the asymmetry in pathways leading to illustrations being perceived as “interesting” or “uninteresting”. • Personal relevance is a conditional core concept with a double-edged sword effect.