Using emotional response theory to examine dramatic teaching behaviors and student approach-avoidance behaviors

Guided by emotional response theory, this study examined how students' emotional responses mediated the relationship between their instructors' dramatic teaching behaviors (i.e., humor, self-disclosure, narrative) and their approach-avoidance behaviors (i.e., oral in-class participation, out-of-class communication, classroom citizenship behaviors). Our study included responses from 240 undergraduate students enrolled at a Mid-Atlantic university. We found that while students' emotional responses failed to mediate the relationship between perceived instructor dramatic behaviors and their use of approach-avoidance behaviors in the classroom, direct effects were obtained between dramatic instructor behaviors and students' self-reports of their in-class oral participation, their out-of-class communication with their instructor, and their use of involvement classroom citizenship behaviors. Future research should shift from examining students' general perceptions of their emotional responses to assessing the specific emotions that guide their classroom involvement.