Emotions in Reading, Learning, and Communication

This book brings together experts engaging in empirical studies on how emotion influences learning and processing for varying text types in different contexts.

In our current era, learners are confronted with many and varying sources of information, such as news media, books, websites, social media, scientific articles, communicative interactions, and more. In addition, individuals must learn from such sources, making it important to critically examine the factors underlying learning from text and discourse. Importantly, the valence (pleasantness) and activation (intensity) of learners’ emotions can influence the quality of processing, which could help or hinder the learner’s ability to understand and learn from text. The chapters included in this book work toward developing a more comprehensive understanding of the influence of emotions in supporting learning, comprehension, processing, and conceptual change to draw important connections to the broader fields of text and discourse, learning, and motivation.

This is an important and illuminating read for students and scholars of psychology, education and educational technology. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Discourse Processes.

Catherine Bohn-Gettler is Professor of Educational Psychology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, and studies emotion and reading. She studies interdisciplinary connections between cognition, emotion, and instructional contexts to improve student learning and holistic development. Kate has achieved national and international distinction in the field of cognitive psychology, with more than 30 original research publications. She is co-Editor-in-Chief for Discourse Processes, together with Johanna K. Kaakinen.

Johanna K. Kaakinen is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Turku, and studies cognitive processes underlying text comprehension. Her areas of expertise include cognitive psychology, reading comprehension and eye movements. She is co-Editor-in-Chief for Discourse Processes, together with Catherine Bohn-Gettler.