Achievement Emotions in Higher Education

Achievement emotions are ubiquitous in college settings. Apart from test anxiety research and attributional studies, however, higher education research has neglected these emotions. We argue that more research on the occurrence, functions, origins, and regulation of achievement emotions is needed, addressing both outcome emotions related to success and failure, such as hope, pride, anxiety, shame, and hopelessness, and activity emotions such as the enjoyment and boredom experienced by students in higher education. The chapter addresses (1) concepts of achievement emotions; (2) occurrence and diversity of the achievement emotions experienced by college students; (3) measures assessing these emotions; (4) functions of achievement emotions for students’ academic learning and performance; (5) individual and social origins, with a special focus on Pekrun’s control-value theory of achievement emotions; and (6) emotion regulation, coping, and therapy related to achievement emotions. In conclusion, implications for educational practice and higher education research are discussed.