Measuring Affect in Educational Contexts: A Circumplex Approach

• In Event: 70.020 - Methods and Methodologies for Researching Emotions in Teaching, Learning, and Motivation

Abstract

This paper will focus on the measurement of affect in educational settings using a circumplex model of affect. Cirumplex models map affective states along two primary dimensions: valence (positive to negative) and activation (high to low) (Barrett & Russell, 1998). Based on this model, positive affect is differentiated into activated (excitement) and deactivated (relaxation) forms. A similar distinction between activated (anxious) and deactivated (tired) negative affect is also made. Circumplex models are flexible in that they can be used to study both longer lasting, more diffuse mood states as well as more intense, but shorter-lived emotions.

The current paper will highlight both the theoretical utility and flexibility of circumplex models for studying affect in education (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002; Linnenbrink, 2007). I will then turn to the empirical study of emotions in education using circumplex models. Drawing from a series of studies conducted with children and young adults over the past decade, I will highlight a variety of ways in which circumplex models can be applied to the study of emotions in education. These include using self-report indicators in both children (e.g., Linnenbrink, 2005; Linnenbrink-Garcia, Rogat, & Koskey, 2011) and adults (e.g., Linnenbrink, 2007; Ben-Eliyahu & Linnenbrink-Garcia, 2013). With respect to self-reports, I will discuss the use of multiple items to assess each dimension (e.g., positive activated, positive deactivated, negative activated, negative deactivated) versus using single item bi-polar measures (happy-sad, tired-excited, calm-anxious). Moving beyond self-report, I will describe qualitative and observational approaches to examining affect in the classroom (Linnenbrink-Garcia et al., 2011). In my discussion of these various methodological approaches, I will focus on both the benefits and challenges associated with each approach.

The paper will conclude with a discussion of some of the larger considerations of studying affect in educational settings. Specifically, I will highlight three pressing issues for researchers to consider when measuring emotions in education: (1) what emotions to measure, (2) the use of trait versus state assessments, and (3) how frequently emotions should be measured. In doing so, I will consider how one can address these three issues using circumplex models of affect.

Authors

• Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia, Michigan State University

• Stephanie V. Wormington, Michigan State University