The role of teachers' emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students-an experimental investigation

IntroductionThis study aimed to investigate the impact of teachers' facial emotional displays (joy, neutrality, anger, and fear) on students' perceptions, compliance, and motivation.MethodsUsing an experimental design, data were collected from 121 students, aged 912, (M = 10.3, SD = 0.78),...

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Main Authors: Marius Marici, Iasmina Iosim, Cornelia Diana Marin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1613073/full
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author Marius Marici
Iasmina Iosim
Cornelia Diana Marin
author_facet Marius Marici
Iasmina Iosim
Cornelia Diana Marin
author_sort Marius Marici
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThis study aimed to investigate the impact of teachers' facial emotional displays (joy, neutrality, anger, and fear) on students' perceptions, compliance, and motivation.MethodsUsing an experimental design, data were collected from 121 students, aged 912, (M = 10.3, SD = 0.78), from schools in Suceava, Romania. Participants were exposed to vignettes featuring teachers displaying different emotional expressions, and they completed questionnaires to assess their responses.ResultsThe intergroup comparisons revealed that joy had the most significant positive impact on students' willingness to participate, respect for the teacher, and overall enjoyment, while fear and anger led to negative outcomes.DiscussionThe findings encourage the positive emotional expressions in fostering better student-teacher relationships and improving classroom engagement.
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spelling doaj-art-beb3cbbb20a540e584d26d07270576d82025-08-20T04:00:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-08-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.16130731613073The role of teachers' emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students-an experimental investigationMarius Marici0Iasmina Iosim1Cornelia Diana Marin2Faculty of Education Sciences, Ştefan cel Mare University, Suceava, RomaniaFaculty of Management and Rural Tourism, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” From Timişoara, Timişoara, RomaniaFaculty of Management and Rural Tourism, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” From Timişoara, Timişoara, RomaniaIntroductionThis study aimed to investigate the impact of teachers' facial emotional displays (joy, neutrality, anger, and fear) on students' perceptions, compliance, and motivation.MethodsUsing an experimental design, data were collected from 121 students, aged 912, (M = 10.3, SD = 0.78), from schools in Suceava, Romania. Participants were exposed to vignettes featuring teachers displaying different emotional expressions, and they completed questionnaires to assess their responses.ResultsThe intergroup comparisons revealed that joy had the most significant positive impact on students' willingness to participate, respect for the teacher, and overall enjoyment, while fear and anger led to negative outcomes.DiscussionThe findings encourage the positive emotional expressions in fostering better student-teacher relationships and improving classroom engagement.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1613073/fullemotional displayteacher's emotionsstudents' perceptionsexperimental designfacial expressions
spellingShingle Marius Marici
Iasmina Iosim
Cornelia Diana Marin
The role of teachers' emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students-an experimental investigation
Frontiers in Psychology
emotional display
teacher's emotions
students' perceptions
experimental design
facial expressions
title The role of teachers' emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students-an experimental investigation
title_full The role of teachers' emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students-an experimental investigation
title_fullStr The role of teachers' emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students-an experimental investigation
title_full_unstemmed The role of teachers' emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students-an experimental investigation
title_short The role of teachers' emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students-an experimental investigation
title_sort role of teachers emotional facial expressions on student perceptions and engagement for primary school students an experimental investigation
topic emotional display
teacher's emotions
students' perceptions
experimental design
facial expressions
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1613073/full
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