First Impressions Matter: Emotional Primacy in Digital Learning

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 4:15pm
  In Poster Session: Trends and Issues in Online Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This study examines how emotional responses develop across sequential digital learning interventions, investigating primacy effects and differences between static versus dynamic formats. Using a within-subjects design with 114 participants, we tested six intervention formats (text with graphics, LLM-chatbot, LLM-voicebot, interactive windows, podcasts, and videos) measuring emotional responses via PANAS-X at three time points.
Results demonstrate significant emotional primacy effects: stronger emotional changes occurred between baseline and first intervention compared to first and second interventions (η² = .11 to .31). Static interventions showed classic primacy patterns with diminishing effects, while dynamic interventions exhibited "warm-up effects" with stronger second-exposure reactions. Findings reveal that initial learning contacts create emotional "anchors" influencing subsequent processing, emphasizing the critical importance of first impressions in digital education design.

Authors

• Nicolai Benedict Plintz, University of Mannheim

• Dirk Ifenthaler, University of Mannheim