When Teachers Smile or Frown: A Profile-Based Analysis of Achievement Emotions

RESUMO

Achievement emotions shape how students engage with and learn from academic tasks, yet most studies examine individual emotions rather than co-occurring affective profiles and their dynamics. We examined latent achievement-emotion profiles and their transitions following exposure to different instructor facial expressions during a video lecture. Self-reported data from 78 Grade VII and VIII students revealed three profiles: enthusiastic, demotivated, and vulnerable. Profile transitions differed across instructor conditions, with happy expressions favouring more adaptive transitions and angry expressions favouring transitions toward demotivation. Exploratory factor analysis and Bayesian structural modelling further identified preparedness and cognitive restraint as regulatory dimensions associated with profile switching.