Academic Emotions, Motivation, and Achievement in a College Mathematics Course

In many undergraduate mathematics courses, students are there due to program requirements as opposed to deciding to major in mathematics or learn challenging mathematical concepts and procedures. Even if the students may be extrinsically motivated by grades, and thereby want to succeed in exams and assignments, they may still experience obstacles in pursuing their academic goals due to the number of negative emotions that interrupt sustaining motivation, such as anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom (Pekrun, Elliot, & Maier, 2006; Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002; Weiner, 1985). In addition, a lack of personal contact between students and instructors as well as among students in large and/or online undergraduate classes impedes the possibilities of emotional problems being addressed. Thus, there can be not only motivational problems with regard to the intrinsic desire to study mathematics, but also emotional problems hindering willingness and ability to remain focused and on task in their mathematics studies. In fact, there is much research on instructional design and development to reduce students? motivational problems in mathematics education (e.g., Hodges, 2008; Kim, & Keller, 2008). However, there is little attempt to systematically design and develop interventions that might help learners control their negative emotions (Astleitner, 2000, 2001) although research has acknowledged the importance of the factors related to emotions, especially math anxiety, in learners? achieving goals in mathematics courses (e.g., Perry, Hladkyj, Pekrun, & Pelletier, 2001). Moreover, the interrelationship between motivation and emotions was not specifically examined for the design and development of interventions in mathematics education. Given these gaps, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an emotion control treatment on students? academic emotions, motivation, and achievement in a college mathematics course offered mostly online. The treatment was designed and developed based on the emotion control of Kuhl?s (1987) action control theory