Beyond performance: Emotions before and after semi-high-stakes mathematics testing among school-aged students.

The current study examines the relationship between attention bias for positive emotional words and self-reported emotional experience. Previous research suggests that the experience of positive emotion momentarily broadens cognitive processes, potentially allowing individuals to build an array of enduring personal resources. However, it is unknown whether the experience of positive emotion also broadens emotional information processing. Participants included 60 healthy undergraduate students who completed measures of psychopathology, self-reported emotional experience, and an emotional Stroop task designed to measure attentional bias to positive and negative emotional information. Results indicate significant associations between reaction times for high-intensity happiness words and self-reported high levels of positive emotion and low levels of negative emotions. These associations were not present for low intensity happiness words. Findings suggest that individuals who experience high levels of positive emotion and low levels of negative emotion demonstrate an attention bias for positive information and, from an information processing perspective, provide insight into the manner in which positive emotions broaden cognitive processes.

The rapid inclusion of online assessment in higher education has left a void in investigating the relationship this form of assessment has with student emotions. This study examines the influence of frequent online assessment on student emotions in a university setting using a mixed-methods approach. Students' emotions in an online quiz and a traditional classroom test in a second-year mathematics course (n = 91) were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, through the lens of the control-value theory. The study used an adaptation of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) to collect data on reported student emotions in both assessments, as well as qualitative data on student’s views of the frequent online assessment. Students reported higher levels of positive emotions and lower levels of negative emotions in an online quiz compared to the test, and we attempted to identify sources of these differences. The findings are discussed together with implications for habitualisation of assessment emotions. Practically grounded generalisations are outlined as opportunities for disrupting negative emotions and reaffirming positive emotions, which are suitable for implementation in higher education on a broad scale. Implications for practice or policy: For educators designing tertiary assessment aimed at promoting positive and reducing negative emotions, we advise incorporating features that students perceive as allowing them greater control over obtaining success. Specifically, we advise incorporating frequent low stakes online quizzes into tertiary courses. These present opportunities for students to habitualise positive assessment-related emotions, which correlate with performance and constructs such as self-efficacy. The Achievement Emotions Questionnaires (AEQ) can be adapted to investigate achievement emotions in different forms of assessment.

Research on maternal socialization of child emotion regulation often involves measures of general parenting, yet little research has considered how maternal emotion regulation and emotion expressivity relate to children's ability to regulate their emotions. Because emotion regulation can be viewed as intergenerational, mothers who display higher levels of positive emotions and lower levels of negative emotions may create a more optimal emotional climate for children to learn and practice emotion regulation, aiding in the intergenerational transmission of optimal emotion regulation. We tested a mediation model where maternal positive expressivity was hypothesized to mediate the relation of maternal emotion regulation to child emotion regulation. We also examined maternal negative expressivity as a moderator of the association of maternal positive expressivity to child emotion regulation. Maternal emotion regulation, measured as the use of reappraisal, and maternal expressivity were self-reported when children were 4-5 years old (T1). Child emotion regulation, measured as effortful control, was observed at T1. When children were 8-9 years old (T2), a summary score of child emotion regulation was computed from observed and teacher-reported effortful control. Higher levels of maternal reappraisal were related to more maternal positive expressivity, which in turn was associated with better child emotion regulation (T2), controlling for prior levels of child regulation (T1), only when maternal negative expressivity was low. This longitudinal moderated mediation pathway suggests that adaptive emotion regulation strategies used by mothers can be transmitted to children through maternal emotional expressions, specifically the interplay of positive and negative emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The aim of this study was to examine the reciprocal relations between teachers’ work engagement and their emotions, both positive and negative, and experienced in relation to their students, by implementing a two-wave panel design. The predictive role of self-efficacy with respect to teachers’ emotions and work engagement was also explored. The study included a sample of 941 teachers from various state schools in Croatia. A cross-lagged analysis demonstrated the reciprocal nature of the relationship between emotions and work engagement. Teachers who reported higher levels of positive emotions of joy, pride and love at first time point, tended to be more engaged in their work at subsequent assessment. The association between negative emotions and work engagement showed the opposite direction—teachers who experienced more anger, fatigue, and hopelessness in the first measurement point, were also less engaged at second time of assessment. Furthermore, teachers who were more engaged in their work in the first time point, also reported about lower levels of negative emotions but higher levels of positive emotions 6 months later. At last, teachers with higher perceived self-efficacy are more engaged in their work, experience more joy, pride and love, and less anger, fatigue and hopelessness, towards their students. However, these effects did not hold upon control of baseline levels of emotions and work engagement.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of physical activities on human health in forests in countryside and rural areas. The test experiment was conducted in a countryside forest, whereas the controlled experiment was conducted in an urban area where the study participants resided. A total of 22 participants (aged 20.9 ± 1.3 years) were evaluated in this study. Heart rate variability and salivary cortisol level were used as indices of physiological conditions, and semantic differential method, profile of mood states (POMS), and state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) were used to evaluate the participants’ emotional states. The participants were asked to walk around forest and urban areas for 15 min. The results were as follows. As compared to the urban area, in the forest area, (1) the power of the high-frequency (HF) component of the heart rate variability (HRV) was significantly higher; (2) low-frequency (LF)/(LF + HF) was significantly lower; (3) salivary cortisol level was significantly lower; (4) the participants felt more comfortable, natural, relaxed, and less anxious and showed higher levels of positive emotions and lower levels of negative emotions. Consequently, walking in the forest area induces relaxing short-term physiological and psychological effects on young people living in urban areas.

Responses to both potentially traumatic events and other significant life stressors have been shown to conform to discrete patterns of response such as resilience, anticipatory stress, initial distress with gradual recovery, and chronic distress. The etiology of these trajectories is still unclear. Individual differences in levels of negative and positive emotion are believed to play a role in determining risk and resilience following traumatic exposure. In the current investigation, we followed police officers prospectively from academy training through 48 months of active duty, assessing levels of distress every 12 months. Using latent class growth analysis, we identified 4 trajectories closely conforming to prototypical patterns. Furthermore, we found that lower levels of self-reported negative emotion during academy training prospectively predicted membership in the resilient trajectory compared with the more symptomatic trajectories following the initiation of active duty, whereas higher levels of positive emotion during academy training differentiated resilience from a trajectory that was equivalently low on distress during academy training but consistently grew in distress through 4 years of active duty. These findings emerging from a prospective longitudinal design provide evidence that resilience is predicted by both lower levels of negative emotion and higher levels of positive emotion prior to active duty stressor exposure.

This study aimed to classify latent profiles of Korean undergraduates’ academic emotions in an e-learning environment, and to examine the effects of instructional variables on these profiles as well as the differences in their learning outcomes. A survey was conducted among 777 students who participated in online courses offered by a Korean university. Latent profile analysis revealed four types of emotional profiles: a moderate type (MT); a positive type (PT); a negative type (NT); and an ambivalent type (AT). MT comprised 72.5% of the total number of participants and showed medium levels of both positive emotions (PE) and negative emotions (NE). PT comprised 13.1% of the participants and showed high levels of PE and low levels of NE. NT comprised 10.2% of the participants and showed low levels of PE and high levels of NE. AT comprised 4.2% of the participants and both showed high levels of both PE and NE. Further analysis showed that the quality of instructional content, interaction, the system, and evaluation all proved to be predictors of emotional profiles. Moreover, they indicated differences in perceived achievement and in learner satisfaction. Based on these results, this study provides a discussion and suggestions for further studies.

Although the number of studies into grit in second/foreign language (L2) learning is on the rise, available empirical evidence is still scant, particularly in relation to links between the two facets of (L2) grit (i.e. perseverance and interest), positive (i.e. enjoyment, curiosity) and negative (i.e. in-class and after-class boredom, anxiety) emotions as well as motivation. In addition, most research has been quantitative in nature and has mainly targeted Asian contexts. In order to fill these gaps, a mixed-methods study was undertaken among English majors and English student teachers in Hungary. It aimed to: (1) characterize the participants in terms of the variables under investigation, (2) identify their profiles in relation to general grit and L2 grit, and (3) determine the differences between the identified clusters with respect to different emotions and motivation. Quantitative data were collected from 331 students by means of a composite questionnaire while semi-structured interviews with nine participants were employed to gather qualitative data. Among other things, cluster analysis allowed identification of four distinct groups of participants while analysis of variance indicated that, overall, higher levels of (L2) grit were accompanied by higher levels of positive emotions and motivated behavior, and lower levels of negative emotions. Content analysis of the interview data, however, testified to the complexity of (L2) grit, its potential malleability, complex interactions with other variables, and context-dependence.

Daily travel behavior and emotional well-being: Effects of trip mode, duration, purpose, and companionship

Previous studies on academic emotions have mostly used variable-centered approaches. Although these studies have elucidated the relationships between academic emotions and key academic outcomes, they cannot identify naturally-occurring groups of students defined by distinct academic emotion profiles. In this study, we adopted a person-centered approach to explore whether students can be grouped in terms of distinct academic emotion profiles and whether these groups differed in terms of key academic outcomes. Cluster analyses showed four distinct profiles across both domain-general (Study 1) and domain-specific (Study 2) academic emotions. Students with high levels of positive academic emotions and low levels of negative academic emotions exhibited the most adaptive educational outcomes followed by students characterized by high levels of positive emotions and moderately high levels of shame. The most maladaptive profile was exhibited by students who are low in positive academic emotions and high in negative academic emotions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Recent literature has shown that achievement emotions, their regulation, and perceived competence play a compelling role in mathematics learning and achievement. Studies that have looked at these variables have, for the most part, adopted a person-centered approach, which examines relationships between variables found to a similar degree in all individuals of the group. Yet, scholars have outlined emotional inter-individual differences, in particular, in terms of gender and past performance. The present study examined differences among upper elementary students in how achievement emotions are related to each other. Cluster analysis revealed four distinct profiles based on a sample of upper elementary students (N = 354): those with high levels of positive emotions and low levels of negative emotions (positive); those with high levels of boredom and low levels of the other emotions (bored); those with high levels of nervousness, worry, and fear and low levels of positive emotions (anxious); and those with high levels of the six negative distinct emotions assessed and low levels of positive emotions (resigned). Analyses of variance showed that the first profile stood out advantageously from the last two regarding math performance and perceived competence. Findings regarding emotion regulation confirm the risky nature of the resigned profile. The bored profile ascribes no value, whether extrinsic or intrinsic, to problem-solving tasks. Practical implications for educational practices and possible avenues for further research are discussed.

Objectives: In Mongolia, the number of persons aged ≥ 60 years is projected to increase from 125,000 (7%) in 2000 to more than 800,000 (25%) by 2050. Current policies and programs are inadequate to support integrated health services that ensure the physical, functional, and psycho-social components of healthy active aging. The purpose of this study was to assess levels and correlates of affect-balance, an indicator of life satisfaction and general well-being, in older adults in Mongolia. Methods: Data are from an in-person survey with urban and rural adults aged 55 and 88 (N=304). Affect-balance scores were derived from the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) scale for measuring psychological well-being. Results: Both male and female study participants reported high (positive) affect-balance. Self-rated health, educational attainment, loneliness, and engagement in volunteer activities were significantly associated with affect-balance. Volunteering, a key component of ‘productive aging,’ notably contributed to high levels of positive emotions and low levels of negative emotions. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of fostering positive emotions in later life and can inform the development of targeted policies and interventions to enhance older Mongolians’ quality of life and well-being.

Emotion dynamics, how people’s emotions fluctuate across time, represent a key source of information about people’s psychological functioning and well-being. Investigating emotion dynamics in the workplace is particularly relevant, as affective experiences are intimately connected to organizational behavior and effectiveness. In this study, we examined the moderating role of emotional inertia in the dynamic association between both positive and negative emotions and self-rated job performance among a sample of 120 Italian workers (average age 41.4, SD = 14), which were prompted six times per day, for five working days. Emotional inertia refers to the extent that emotional states are self-predictive or carry on over time and is measured in terms of the autocorrelation of emotional states across time. Although inertia has been linked to several indicators of maladjustment, little is known about its correlates in terms of organizational behavior. Findings revealed that workers reporting high levels of positive emotions and high inertia rated their performance lower than workers high in positive emotions, but low in inertia. In contrast, the relation between negative emotions and performance was not significant for either high levels of inertia or low levels of inertia. Taken together, these results suggest the relevance of investigating the temporal dependency of emotional states at work.

Secondary school students' appraisal profiles and their relations with academic emotions in mathematics

The first goal of the current research was to study the short-term developmental patterns of ingroup and outgroup prosocial behavior during the middle adolescence stage among Uruguayan and Colombian adolescents. The second goal was to study the probability of inclusion in each trajectory class arising from gratitude and forgiveness (understood as the absence of negative emotions and the presence of positive emotions toward an aggressor) while controlling for gender and age. The study included two short-term longitudinal samples from two Latin American countries: Colombia (N = 212, M age = 13.82 years, SD = 1.25) and Uruguay (N = 269, M age = 14.02 years, SD = 1.39). The data were collected at three time points within a 3-month interval. The first finding indicated that different patterns in ingroup and outgroup prosocial behavior in adolescents emerged in both Latin American countries. Moreover, two classes-high and low-were identified in the trajectory of ingroup prosocial behavior, while three different classes-high, moderate, and low-were found in the trajectory of outgroup prosocial behavior in both countries. The results indicated that high levels of gratitude increased the probability that Uruguayan adolescents were included in the group of adolescents with high levels of ingroup prosocial behavior. High levels of positive emotions toward an aggressor (a dimension of forgiveness) increased the probability that a Colombian adolescent belonged to the group of adolescents with high levels of ingroup prosociality. Regarding outgroup prosocial behavior, different predictors were also identified between the countries. The results indicated that high levels of gratitude and positive emotions toward an aggressor increased the probability that Uruguayan adolescents were included in the group of adolescents with high or moderate levels of outgroup prosocial behavior. Only positive emotions toward an aggressor increased the probability that Colombian adolescents were included in the group of adolescents with high or moderate levels of outgroup prosocial behavior.