ABSTRACT
With the exception of the plethora of research on test anxiety (Hill & Wigfield, 1984), the link between affect and cognitive processing in academic contexts has been largely ignored (Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002). Thus, although there are recent theoretical advances in our understanding of the relation between affect and cognitive processing generally (e.g., Forgas, 2000c), we know very little about how affect influences cognitive processing for specific academic tasks. Therefore, in this chapter, we apply current social psychological theories linking affect and cognition to the academic context. We begin by providing an overview of general theories linking affect to cognitive processing. We then review the limited research linking affect and cognitive processing in academic contexts, focusing in particular on our work in the areas of conceptual change in science understanding as well as learning mathematics, and apply the more general theories to academic contexts using the empirical research as a guide for our suggestions about directions for future research.
