Cognitive Reappraisal to Alleviate Boredom During Learning

• In Event: Boredom in Academic Settings

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore whether the use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies during learning of social studies helps learners ovecome boredom, increase engagement, and positively impacts learning gains. Research indicates that social studies is one of the least liked subjects at all grade levels, is rated as having little importance, and is associated with a high incidence of boredom (Journell, 2009). The control-value theory of achievement emotions (Pekrun et al., 2010) suggests that boredom during social studies learning occurs because learners have little control and see little value in the subject. Boredom is a negative emotion that adversely affects persistence and learning, so interventions to alleviate boredom are needed. The present research investigates the use of ER strategies to manage boredom during social studies learning.

Emotion regulation pertains to a set of processes that enable individuals to manage the experience and expression of emotions. The most commonly studied ER strategy is cognitive reappraisal, or changing one’s thinking about a situation to alter its emotional meaning. Previous research outside of learning contexts has demonstrated that cognitive reappraisal can decrease negative emotions and improve memory (Gross & Thompson, 2007). The current research examined whether the instructed use of cognitive reappraisal could significantly impact learners’ affective states and learning outcomes during learning of social studies topics.

In two experiments we instructed participants to use various ER strategies while learning about the U.S. Constitution. Both experiments were presented on Amazon Mechanical Turk™. Participants’ mean age in Experiment 1 was 31.8 years (N = 93; 59% female). In Experiment 2, participants’ mean age was 30.4 years (N = 138; 60% female). We examined differences in affective states and learning outcomes among participants who were instructed to use effective ER strategies (cognitive reappraisal—imagine you are applying for a job at a law firm while learning about the Constitution), ineffective ER strategies (suppression—avoid expressing your emotions while learning about the Constitution), and no strategy (control group – learn about the Constitution). Across multiple trials, participants read paragraphs from the Constitution, answered a question about the reading (embedded questions), and self-reported their valence, arousal, and discrete emotions (engaged, bored, frustrated, confused, happy, sad) throughout the learning session. Participants completed a posttest immediately following the session.

Our results indicated that the instructed use of cognitive reappraisal led to more positive activating emotions and improved performance outcomes. Specifically, participants who cognitively reappraised reported significantly higher arousal and more positive valence, less boredom, and significantly more engagement. The reappraisal condition also achieved significantly higher learning outcomes on embedded and posttest questions than participants who used suppression or no ER strategy.

These findings indicate that cognitive reappraisal can be a successful method for regulating emotions and improving learning. More research is needed to pinpoint additional ER strategies that may help learners up-regulate positive emotions like engagement and down-regulate negative emotions like boredom. This information is essential for developing interventions that provide and scaffold useful ER strategies that can improve engagement, persistence, and learning.

Authors

• Amber Chauncey Strain, The University of Memphis

• Sidney K. D'Mello, The University of Memphis

• Arthur C. Graesser, The University of Memphis