Abstract
Within their classrooms, instructors may engage in a variety of behaviors including those perceived to be charismatic. Though researchers have uncovered instructor behaviors that have been postulated to theoretically represent charisma in the classroom, to date no quantitative data have been presented to support these claims. The current study examined 237 students’ perceptions of their instructors and confirmed that teachers may communicate charisma through nonverbal immediacy, humor, caring, and confirmation. Results are discussed as they pertain to charismatic teaching's influence on students’ intrinsic motivation and students’ perceptions of their learning.