Pictorial representations of achievement emotions: Preliminary data with primary school children and adults

Three studies are presented aimed at testing a preliminary version of a pictorial instrument representing children’s achievement emotions as conceptualized in control-value theory. Children (second- and fifth-graders) and adults were administered three tasks assessing the correspondence between drawings of faces and ten achievement emotions (enjoyment, pride, hope, relief, relaxation, anxiety, anger, shame, boredom, and hopelessness): an agreement task (Study 1, n = 46), a matching task (Study 2, n = 47), and a naming task (Study 3, n = 53). Analyses on the agreement and matching task revealed accurate responses for all the emotions, while in the naming task low accuracy emerged for pride, hope, relief, and particularly for boredom. Results are discussed in light of their applicative relevance for the future development of the instrument.