A Happy Online Instructor Causes Higher Ratings but Not Better Learning

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Emotions in Technology-Based Environments

Abstract

There have been calls for increased focus on the role of emotion in learning and instruction (Mayer, in press; Pekrun & Perry, 2014). In the present study, college students viewed a video slideshow lecture with an onscreen instructor who displayed a happy, content, bored, or frustrated emotion through voice, body stance, and gesture. Students rated the happy instructor higher in facilitating learning, credibility, and engagement, but the instructor's emotional stance did not significantly affect learning outcomes. We conclude that the instructor's emotional stance may affect learner perceptions and affect during learning, but does not necessarily affect the learning process.

Authors

• Alyssa Lawson, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Richard E. Mayer, University of California - Santa Barbara