Rethinking Associations between Distal Factors and Learning: Attachment, Approaches to Learning and the Mediating Role of Academic Emotions

Abstract

The present study belongs to a new strand of research in learning in higher education focusing on distal and emotional factors that contribute to learning. The purpose of the study was to explore the mediating role of academic emotions in the relationship between adult attachment styles and approaches to learning. The sample consists of 527 Greek university students (72 were men and 455 were women) attending a fourth-year full degree program. They completed the following questionnaires: The Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structure Questionnaire, the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire, and the Approaches to Learning and Studying Inventory. Results revealed the mediating role of academic emotions in the relationship between both types of attachment and approaches to learning. Avoidant and anxious individuals seem to keep the same pattern of behavior in their studying as they do in their interpersonal relationships. It is suggested that attachment can function as an innate emotion regulation system that modulates students’ emotions. Findings are discussed in the context of recent literature. Future implications for higher education students regarding close relationships are also discussed.