Effects of Feedback Providers' Positive Emotional Tone and Gender on Learning From a Multimedia Lesson.

Background and Objective: The positivity principle states that students learn better from instructors who display positive rather than negative or neutral emotions in multimedia lessons (Lawson et al. 2021a). This study extends this work by exploring the role of affective and social cues displayed b...

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Published in:Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 1 - 29
Main Authors: Zhang, Yun, Zhao, Fangzheng, Mayer, Richard E.
Format: pictorial research tables/charts randomized controlled trial Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Jun2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jun2025
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
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        10.1111/jcal.70052
        185452193
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        atl: Effects of Feedback Providers' Positive Emotional Tone and Gender on Learning From a Multimedia Lesson.
      aug:
        au:
          Zhang, Yun
          Zhao, Fangzheng
          Mayer, Richard E.
        affil: University of California, Santa Barbara California, , USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Faculty, Health Occupations
          Educational Measurement
          Feedback
          Positive Psychology
          Emotions
          Voice
          Sex Factors
          Learning Methods
          Multimedia
          Online Education
          Faculty-Student Relations
          Outcomes of Education
          Cues
          Human
          Comparative Studies
          Students, Undergraduate
          Psychology, Clinical Education
          Colleges and Universities
          California
          Power Analysis
          Male
          Female
          Adolescence
          Young Adult
          Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design
          Questionnaires
          Funding Source
          Checklists
          Competency Assessment
          Scales
          Intraclass Correlation Coefficient
          Descriptive Statistics
          Vision Education
          Student Attitudes
          Analysis of Variance
          Support, Psychosocial
          Learning Environment
          Computer-Assisted Instruction
          Randomized Controlled Trials
          Random Assignment
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Background and Objective: The positivity principle states that students learn better from instructors who display positive rather than negative or neutral emotions in multimedia lessons (Lawson et al. 2021a). This study extends this work by exploring the role of affective and social cues displayed by feedback providers, such as their emotional tone and gender, on multimedia learning. Method: In this between‐subject study, 160 college students received a five‐section video lesson on human vision, with two practice questions inserted after each section. After each question, students received explanatory feedback videos presented by either a male or female feedback provider who displayed either positive or neutral emotion through gesture and voice. Results: Students who received feedback from providers with a positive emotional tone rated the provider higher on perceived positive emotion, supportiveness and competence, as well as on their own feelings of positivity. However, the emotional tone of the feedback provider did not impact posttest scores. Additionally, female feedback providers were perceived to be more negative, less supportive and less competent than male feedback providers, but the gender of feedback providers had no effect on posttest scores. Conclusion: This study expands the positivity principle (Horovitz and Mayer 2021) and the cognitive‐affective model of e‐learning (Lawson et al. 2021a) by showing that positive emotional cues from feedback providers enhance learning, similar to the impact of the instructor's emotional cues in presenting the main lesson. These findings highlight the broader role of positivity in creating engaging and supportive multimedia learning environments across contexts.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        randomized controlled trial
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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