Introduction 4.2.1
Emotions are important in relation to education and adjusting to university life in two respects: (i) strong emotions can be generated by the experience of learning and of transitioning between educational stages, and (ii) the emotions that students experience can have a significant impact on their success and progression at university (Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002). What follows is a more detailed discussion of why emotions play an important role in adjustment to university life, from both of these perspectives.
Emotions Generated by Transitions and Learning 4.2.2
It has been postulated that changes in one’s environment may often trigger strong emotions (Lazarus, 1991). Starting university, therefore, may be associated with a range of emotional responses in students, both positive and negative. In qualitative accounts of the experience of the transition to university, students often describe their experiences in emotional terms, sometimes reporting extreme emotional highs and lows (Christie et al., 2008). Whilst students frequently report feeling excitement and anticipation (e.g., Christie, Cree, Hounsell, McCune, & Tett, 2006) the transition can also invoke more difficult emotions: students may experience feelings of loss (Scanlon et al., 2007), dislocation (Christie et al., 2008), loneliness and
homesickness (Fisher & Hood, 1987), anxiety (Christie et al., 2008; Cooke et al., 2006; Rosslyn, 2004) and depression (Rosslyn, 2004).
Many of these emotions are likely to be related to the social and personal challenges associated with starting university, as students take on new roles and responsibilities, and re-structure social relationships. However, research has also highlighted the extent to which emotions and thinking interact, making academic learning emotionally, as well as cognitively, demanding. Whilst negative emotional responses such as test anxiety have traditionally been the focus of work in this area (e.g., Zeidner, 1990), more recently Pekrun, et al.’s (2002) research on academic emotions has highlighted the diversity of emotions that academic settings may invoke. In their exploration of the emotions of school and university students, Pekrun et al. (2002) found that overall, positive emotions were reported as frequently as negative. They found that anxiety was the most frequently-reported emotion, but feelings of hope, pride, relief, anger, shame, hopelessness and boredom were also commonly-experienced.
Whilst much of the research in this area has been conducted with students engaging in academic work individually, group work can also be powerfully emotionally-charged, with students frequently feeling enthusiastic and excited, but also distressed and antagonistic when problems with other students arise (Cartney & Rouse, 2006).
The Importance of Emotions for a Smooth Transition to University 4.2.3
Various aspects of emotional functioning are likely to influence how well a student adjusts during the transition to university. Perhaps the most important aspect of emotions is the student being in a positive emotional state. Indeed, the mutually reinforcing interactions of positive (and negative) affect with cognitions and behaviour is a fundamental principle of cognitive therapy (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). Positive emotions have also been shown to be associated with well-being and better social functioning (Diener, 2000; Diener, Sandvik, & Pavot, 1991; Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005), a more self-enhancing attributional style (Ashby, Isen, & Turken, 1999; Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2001) and the
Whilst negative emotions such as anxiety can impair cognitive processing (Eysenck & Calvo, 1992; Zeidner, 1998), positive emotions have been shown to be related to improved performance on cognitive tasks, improved memory functioning, and greater flexibility in thinking, judgment and behaviour, including more creative problem-solving (Ashby et al., 1999; Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002; Isen, 1999; Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987).
Pekrun et al. (2002) suggest that positive academic emotions enhance learning via better motivation, self-regulation, cognitive processing, problem-solving and resiliency, as well as the use of more adaptive learning strategies. Other research has identified relations between emotions and memory, attention and decision-making (see Cacioppo & Gardner, 1999, for a review). Similarly Schwarz (2002) proposes that moods influence information processing such that sad moods are related to a rigid processing style with a focus on details, whereas positive moods are linked to the ability to employ heuristics and adjust cognitive process styles according to the task.
Related to this, having control over emotions is likely to be important with respect to various outcomes. Research on academic emotions has highlighted the benefits of striving to achieve ‘adaptive’ levels of emotions (i.e., experiencing lower levels of negative emotions and higher levels of positive emotions), and has linked excessive levels of negative emotions to poorer academic performance and well-being, and the increased likelihood of withdrawal from a course of study (Ruthig et al., 2008; Zeidner, 1998)
Finally, there is evidence to suggest that being aware of emotions is likely to be advantageous to students in a number of respects. Recognising (and being able to convey) emotions has been associated with better interpersonal relationships (Nowicki & Duke, 1994; Reis & Patrick, 1996). Moreover, it has been suggested that the affective cues and information inherent in emotions are an important means of assessing whether or not particular situations are benign or problematic, and as such are important facilitators of effective judgment and decision making (Gohm & Clore, 2002; Schwarz, 2002).
The importance of emotions for first year undergraduates is further underscored by findings that emotional and social adjustment factors have been shown to be better predictors of attrition for this group than academic adjustment factors (Gerdes & Mallinckrodt, 1994). Similarly, Rickinson and Rutherford (1995) found that being emotionally unprepared for university was cited as one of the main reasons for withdrawal by students leaving university during the first term. Finally, research findings relating emotional stability (Lidy & Kahn, 2006), hardiness (a construct related to psychological resilience, or the ability to maintain positive emotions and recover from negative emotional experiences [Block & Block, 1980]; Mathis & Lecci, 1999) and alexithymia (Kerr et al., 2004) to SACQ scores suggest that emotional understanding and positive emotionality are important aspects of smoothing the transition to university.
Summary 4.2.4
The foregoing evidence suggests an important role for emotions in numerous aspects of student life. Moreover, it may be inferred from this that the construct of emotional intelligence has the potential to be a useful framework for understanding adjustment to university.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: BACKGROUND