Epistemic and achievement emotions when confronted with own faulty knowledge

What is it about?

This study showed that preservice teachers were surprised, curious, confused or angry when they realized that what they believed to be certain educational knowledge was incorrect. Such emotional reactions to cognitive incongruity (except for anger) then increased the tendency that students explored additional information on a topic. Furthermore, students felt frustrated when this information did not contribute to reducing the incongruity, but felt enjoyment when more information helped to resolve it. Our findings provide insights in how emotional processes interact with preservice teachers’ willingness to revise faulty parts of their knowledge, and with their success in doing so.

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Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash

Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash

Why is it important?

During learning, we are confronted from time to time with knowledge that contradicts our own prior knowledge or beliefs. Thus, how students react emotionally when they become aware of their own knowledge gaps, and whether or not these in turn stimulate knowledge exploration, is central to understanding motivation in learning processes.