Validating Critical Assumptions of the Control-value Theory of Emotion
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Despite increased salience of achievement emotions in psychological theory and research, emotion research remains in a state of fragmentation (Pekrun, 2018). Pekrun’s (2006) control value theory of emotion (CVT) is an integrative framework for understanding the antecedents and consequences of achievement emotions. CVT incorporates perspectives from theories of perceived control (Perry, 1991), attribution theory (Weiner, 1985, 2018), achievement goal theory (Elliot et al., 2011), and theories of self-regulated learning (Fredrickson, 2001). This dissertation aimed to validate critical yet overlooked assumptions of CVT, with a focus on synthesizing disparate motivation constructs within a CVT framework. I conducted three separate but interconnected studies with this focus. Study 1 tested the interactive relationship between control and value appraisals predicting achievement emotions. Study 1 (N = 6541) extended prior research by incorporating principles of Weiner’s attribution theory to examine if students’ initial test performance in a novel competitive learning environment moderates Control × Value interaction effects on discrete emotions. Control and value interacted to predict nine discrete emotions. Students’ initial achievement outcomes moderated the interactive effects of appraisals on negative outcome-emotions (e.g., anger, shame), such that control and value were crucial for maintaining adaptive levels of emotions following academic setbacks (i.e., test failure). Study 2 (N = 3361) incorporated achievement goal theory with CVT by testing a central CVT assumption that appraisals of control and value mediate relationships between achievement goals and emotions. Mastery-approach goals predicted increased perceived academic control and value. Performance-approach goals predicted decreased value over two semesters. Cognitive appraisals were related to enjoyment, boredom, and anxiety which predicted achievement in the two-semester course. Study 3 (N = 1457) focused on CVT’s assumption of reciprocal causation. It extended prior research by incorporating theories of self-regulated learning to better align with CVT’s proposed model. Results demonstrated a reciprocal appraisal-emotion-learning-achievement temporal sequence across two semesters. This research strengthens understanding of achievement emotions, clarifies reciprocal motivational processes between cognition, emotion, and achievement, and aids in the development of interventions to foster adaptive achievement emotions. Further, this research advances efforts towards theory integration, an essential requirement for building cumulative scientific knowledge (Wigfield & Koenka, 2020).