Can achievement emotions be used to better understand motivation, learning, and performance in medical education?

Abstract

In this article, we consider an emergent theory of human emotion. The overarching purpose of the article is to introduce medical education researchers to the notion of achievement emotions and provide a brief overview of how this work can inform the theory, research, and practice of medical education. First, we define achievement emotions and describe one of the leading contemporary theories of achievement emotions, control-value theory (Pekrun R. 2006. The control-value theory of achievement emotions: Assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educ Psychol Rev 18:315–341.). Next, we distinguish between different types of achievement emotions, their proximal causes, and their consequences for motivation, learning, and performance, and we discuss several implications for educational practice. Finally, we end with a call for more research on achievement emotions in medical education to facilitate our understanding of emotions and their impact on important educational outcomes.

Notes

1. This short article refers to Control-Value Theory: Using achievement emotions to improve understanding of motivation, learning, and performance in medical education: AMEE Guide No. 64. The full version of this guide is published as a web paper in this issue and is available at http://informahealthcare.com/journal/mte.