ABSTRACT
This chapter considers feelings or emotions in the classroom. It focuses and concentrates on three specific emotions in greater detail, for they are of great importance in the classroom. These emotions are pity, anger, and guilt. The chapter briefly introduces attribution theory, with special attention given to causal dimensions, or the underlying properties of causal inferences. It examines relations between causal ascriptions and emotions. The chapter considers some of the implications of attributional research for teacher behavior. It discusses some of the practical implications and potential applications of the relations between attributions and emotions. Some of the most interesting areas of relevance regard communications from teachers to their pupils. Certain types of attributional information rarely are directly communicated. The more general message is that social cognitions and social understanding have important consequences for self-attribution, self-esteem, and, in turn, achievement strivings.
