Time-dependent relations between emotion regulation, frustration, and metacognitive strategy use in technology-mediated learning

Abstract

ABSTRACT Understanding how learners regulate their emotions and engage in metacognitive strategies is crucial for fostering self-regulated learning, particularly in technology-mediated learning. This study examines the temporal relationships between two emotion regulation (ER) strategies, reappraisal and suppression, frustration, and use of progress monitoring as metacognitive strategy, within the context of an educational game on financial literacy. The study involved 82 undergraduate students whose levels of frustration, progress monitoring behaviour, ER strategies were assessed at various points during the learning task. Findings revealed that the use of both reappraisal and suppression decreased during the learning task. Additionally, both ER strategies were negatively associated with frustration, although the relationship between reappraisal and frustration diminished over time. Frustration was negatively related to progress monitoring, indicating that effective emotion regulation can help maintain engagement in metacognitive strategies by keeping cognitive resources available. Notably, suppression and progress monitoring showed a positive relation that increased over time, highlighting the potential usefulness of suppression in extended learning tasks, despite its generally lower effectiveness compared to reappraisal. The results highlight the importance of considering temporal dynamics in the application of ER strategies during extended learning. Practical implications for the design of technology-mediated learning environments and educational interventions are proposed.