Changes in Chinese students' academic emotions after examinations: Pride in success, shame in failure, and self-loathing in comparison

BACKGROUND

Several attempts have been made to examine students' academic emotions (AEs) in Western contexts, but less is known about how students' self-reported emotions vary over time.

AIMS

The study aimed to understand Chinese students' emotional responses to academic events and the impact of high-stakes testing on their AEs in the first year with a repeated-measures survey after the Semester 1 and Semester 2 mid-term examinations.

SAMPLES

351 first-year university students completed both surveys in an elite Chinese university, where the top 10% of first-year students were assigned to an honours programme.

METHODS

Self-reported AEs survey responses were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis. Invariance testing between honours and ordinary students and between semesters was used to examine between-group differences across time.

RESULTS

A three-factor model of AEs (i.e., admired, shame, and self-loathing) was found in both semesters, with strong invariance between semesters. Mean scores between groups were equivalent and semester. However, self-loathing had the lowest mean (mean = 2.50; between mostly disagree and slightly agree), admired was at moderately agree (mean = 4.00), and shame was strongest at just over moderately agree (mean = 4.20).

CONCLUSIONS

This study reveals a three-factor structure of AEs and the stability of these emotions among highly successful Chinese learners. Despite being elite students, this sample of Chinese learners felt shame and pride in response to mid-term examinations.

Boredom Intervention Training Phase I: Increasing Boredom Knowledge through a Psychoeducational Video

Boredom is a salient emotion experienced in postsecondary settings, and evidence reveals that it can negatively impact academic achievement and motivation. Drawing from the control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006) and the component process model of emotions (CPM; Scherer, 1984), our study examines the first phase of a multi-sequenced online boredom intervention training (BIT) program. The goal of Phase I of BIT was to increase university students' (N = 85) knowledge about boredom as a scholarly construct. Students completed four components of the Phase I BIT session, including: (a) a baseline survey and knowledge quiz, (b) a psychoeducational video, (c) a consolidation exercise, and (d) a follow-up knowledge quiz. We employed a repeated measures analysis to measure changes in knowledge after students watched the psychoeducational boredom video. Our findings reveal that students became more knowledgeable about boredom, learned something novel, and were interested in the intervention. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for research, theory, and practice.

Dampening Effects of Perceived Teacher Enthusiasm on Class-Related Boredom in College Students: Longitudinal Mediation Effects of Perceived Task Value

This study aims to explore the longitudinal mediation effects of college students’ perceived task value (PTV) between perceived teacher enthusiasm (PTE) and class-related boredom (CB). We conducted a longitudinal survey among college students from five colleges at the second (T1), sixth (T2), tenth (T3), and fourteenth week (T4) in a semester, and overall 1,371 students completed all the measurements. In the survey, a battery of questionnaires was used to measure the students’ PTE, perception of task difficulty, perception of task value, and CB. At T1, boredom proneness was measured as a control variable. Analysis of the longitudinal data showed that after controlling for the effects of boredom proneness and perceived task difficulty, students’ PTE was a significant predictor of CB, and students’ PTV played a significant mediating role in this causation relationship. The study supported the importance of the control-value theory in explaining the mitigating effect of students’ PTE on CB, especially highlighting the role of PTV.

The impact of boredom on the attitudes and behaviours of edutourists during the era of COVID-19 and the mediating role of psychological distress

This research examined the effects of boredom on the attitudes and behaviours of international students and their indirect psychological impact during the COVİD-19 pandemic. A partial least square method (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data taken from a sample of 260 students. As a result of this research, a significant negative effect of boredom on edutourists' attitudes as well as an insignificant positive effect on their behaviours was determined; furthermore, the students' attitudes did not affect their behaviours. A positive connection between boredom and psychological distress was significant. Additionally, results demonstrated that psychological distress did not mediate the aforementioned relationships. Nevertheless, the results of the multi-group analysis unearthed different responses among male and female students during the COVID-19. The study provides practical and theoretical implications, limitations, and areas for further research.

Self-Report Measures of Boredom: An Updated Review of the Literature

A detailed review of the psychometric measures of boredom was published approximately 12 years ago (Vodanovich, 2003). Since that time, numerous studies have been conducted on existing scales, and new measures of boredom have been developed. Given these assessment advancements, an updated review of self-report boredom scales is warranted. The primary focus of the current review is research published since 2003, and it includes a total of 16 boredom scales. The measures reviewed consist of two trait assessments (Boredom Proneness Scale, Boredom Susceptibility subscale of the Sensation Seeking Scale), five context-specific trait boredom scales (Boredom Coping Scale, Leisure Boredom Scale, Free Time Boredom Scale, Sexual Boredom Scale, Relational Boredom Scale), three assessments of state boredom (Multidimensional State Boredom Scale, State Boredom Measure, Boredom Experience Scale), and six context-specific state boredom measures-Lee's Job Boredom Scale, Dutch Boredom Scale, Boredom Coping Scale (Academic), the Boredom subscale of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire, Academic Boredom Scale, Precursors to Boredom Scale. In addition to providing a review of these measures, a brief critique of each scale is included, as well as suggestions for needed research focus.