In this month’s Contents magazine, Daniel Eizans makes a thoughtful (and entertaining) plea for content strategists to consider the emotional aspects of content. Looking at the brain’s functions and how users comprehend information, Eizans advocates focusing not only on the “what” of information, but also on the “how” and “why.”
Certainly a good technical foundation (chunking, subheads, clear explanations) are table stakes when developing good content. But content should also connect with the user in a meaningful manner in order to drive comprehension and retention. (Comprehension and retention being exceptionally important in education. Thank you, Mrs. Sayers.)
A slew of books and studies in recent years have shown that emotional responses not only “cement” retention, but that emotional responses often lead to better decision-making than analytic responses. (Which explains a lot for those of us who’ve relied on the intellect…. See, for example, How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer.) 
The inclusion of emotion as a consideration in developing content also fits in nicely with the hierarchy of content needs. There are dozens of versions of the hierarchy (based on Maslow’s hierarchy, of course), but all show a progression from basic content function toward content that is truly meaningful. And it is this pursuit of meaningfulness that requires the consideration of emotion.