Instructional dissent as an expression of students’ class-related achievement emotions

Abstract

This study examined how college students’ class-related achievement emotions are related to their tendencies to dissent about a college course. Student participants (N = 383) completed a survey about their worst course of the semester by reporting on their class-related achievement emotions and how they dissented about their class. Results from ordinary least squares regression analyses revealed that achievement emotions were uniquely associated with instructional dissent: (a) hope, pride, anger, and anxiety predicted expressive dissent scores, (b) anger, hopelessness, and boredom predicted rhetorical dissent scores, (c) and enjoyment, anger, anxiety, shame, and hopelessness predicted vengeful dissent scores. This study provides initial evidence suggesting that students’ feelings about a class are tied to their types of complaining.