Poster #55 - Teachers' Emotions and Emotional Authenticity: Do They Matter to Students' Emotional Responses in the Classroom?

• In Event: 64.090 - MTCC Poster Session 15
  In Poster Session: 64.090-8 - Role of Teachers, Learning Environments, Parents, and Peers in Motivational Processes

Abstract

In two studies we investigated the impact of teachers’ emotions and emotional authenticity, i.e. expressing truly felt emotions, on students’ emotions of enjoyment, anger, and anxiety. In study 1 (paper & pencil-study) we found teachers’ self-reported enjoyment related to students’ enjoyment, but did not find a similar relation for anger and anxiety. In study 2 (experience sampling-study), we found perceived teacher emotions to be related to students’ emotions. Further, in both studies students’ perceptions of their teachers’ emotional authenticity related to their own emotions. Although teachers’ self-reported and students’ perceived emotional authenticity did not converge, an important implication of our study is that emotional authenticity matters to students. Implications for future studies but also for teachers’ emotion regulation are discussed.

Authors

• Eva Susann Becker, University of Zurich

• Melanie M. Keller, University of Kiel