Critical thinking, negative academic emotions, and achievement: A mediational analysis

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Psychology

Document Type

Article

Source Title

Asia-Pacific Education Researcher

Volume

20

Issue

1

First Page

118

Last Page

126

Publication Date

12-1-2011

Abstract

The study tested the control-value theory's (Pekrun, 2006; Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002) assumptions regarding the cognitive-motivational effects of emotions on achievement. Specifically, the link between critical thinking and achievement was examined among 220 engineering students. The Academic Emotions Questionnaire (Pekrun, Goetz, & Frenzel, 2005) was used to assess how specific negative academic emotions mediated the effect of critical thinking on achievement. Results showed that critical thinking was positively associated with achievement, but negative emotions (anger, anxiety, shame, boredom, and hopelessness) were negatively correlated with achievement. Anxiety and hopelessness were found to completely mediate the relationship between critical thinking and academic achievement. The results suggested that when students engage in critical thinking, their cognitive resources are used appropriately for the task to be completed, making them less anxious and less hopeless, thereby increasing their achievement. © 2011 De La Salle University, Philippines.

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