The emotional dynamics within educational environments play a critical role in shaping students' learning experiences. While much of the existing research has centered on the influence of teachers’ emotions on students, a study conducted by Hu and colleagues (2024) highlights a less-explored but equally significant factor: the impact of peers’ emotions. This study investigates how peers’ emotional expressions (positive, negative, or neutral) affect students’ emotions, motivation, and cognitive performance in observational learning contexts.

In this study, university students participated in a controlled experiment where they observed a peer model engaging with a science-based video game called CosmiClean. The peer model displayed one of three emotional states–enjoyment, frustration, or neutrality–while playing the game. The researchers then measured how these emotional displays influenced the students’ own emotions, achievement goals, mental effort, and performance. By using videos to standardize the emotional expressions and employing rigorous statistical analyses, the study offered a detailed look at the phenomenon of emotional contagion in educational settings.

The findings revealed that peers’ emotions significantly shaped the emotional and cognitive experiences of the observing students. When students observed a peer expressing enjoyment, they reported increased positive emotions such as enjoyment and relaxation. These students also exhibited lower levels of negative emotions, including frustration and anger. In contrast, students exposed to a peer displaying frustration were more likely to experience heightened negative emotions, such as frustration and boredom, and reduced positive emotional states.

In terms of motivation, the study showed that positive emotional displays fostered mastery-approach goals, which emphasize learning and self-improvement. Students observing enjoyment in their peers were more likely to focus on achieving competence rather than avoiding failure. On the other hand, frustration did not encourage such goals and instead intensified negative emotional responses. Cognitively, the influence of peers’ emotions extended to mental effort and task performance. Students who observed a peer expressing enjoyment demonstrated improved performance in the game and required less mental effort to complete tasks.

These findings underscore the importance of emotional expression in educational settings, particularly among peers. The study suggests that fostering an atmosphere of positive emotional sharing in classrooms can enhance students’ motivation and learning outcomes. Teachers and educators might encourage students to share their enthusiasm for tasks or projects, creating a ripple effect that benefits the entire group. They might also consider strategies to manage and mitigate the spread of negative emotions, such as frustration, which can hinder learning.

The study opens interesting avenues for future research at EPIC, as well. It prompts questions about how emotion transmission operates in larger, more diverse classroom settings, as well as how individual differences influence susceptibility to emotional contagion. Long-term studies could also examine whether these emotional dynamics have lasting effects on students’ academic trajectories and motivation. By exploring these questions, educational psychology can further illuminate the complex interplay between emotion, motivation, and learning, paving the way for more emotionally intelligent and supportive learning environments.

To dive deeper into Hu and colleagues' study, visit the following link for the full article: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382887150_Effects_of_Peers'_Emotions_on_Students'_Emotions_Achievement_Goals_Mental_Effort_and_Performance

This post is written by Zainah Elsaid.

Reference:

Hu, Y., Elliot, A. J., Wouters, P., van der Schaaf, M., Kester, L., & Pekrun, R. (2024). Effects of peers’ emotions on students’ emotions, achievement goals, mental effort, and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 116(7), 1283–1299. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000895