Recognizing that the classroom of the 1990s will be more participatory and interactive, this study compared career ladder and preservice teachers who have stronger interactive qualities with other educators on 15 affective variables of the Canfield Learning Styles Inventory. The study sought to determine which affective variables differed significantly between the educators with stronger interactive qualities and educators with weaker interactive qualities, and which affective variables contributed significantly to the discriminant analysis. The sample was composed of 93 public school teachers and 71 teacher education students. Results of the study indicated relevant differences between career ladder/preservice teachers with interactive qualities and other educators. Interactive teachers were judged to have strong interactive qualities by their scores on peer conditions and people interest. It is suggested that when interactive teachers use cooperative instructional strategies they are fulfilling a personal need and reinforcing their intrinsic motivational core. Cooperative or collaborative learning techniques are a natural outgrowth for realizing their teaching potential. (JD)