Relationships Between Discrete Emotions and Political Learning: A Cross-Disciplinary Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This study aims to systematically synthesize research about the role emotions play in learning about political matters, focusing on the relationship between discrete emotions and various aspects of learning. The final dataset included 66 publications with 486 effect sizes, involving more than 101,216 participants. While studies were heterogeneous in research designs, investigated samples were mainly from the US (71%) and utilized adult (53%) or university and college student samples (32%). Based on multilevel random-effects models, we found small positive associations between negative-activating (e.g., anger) as well as positive-activating emotions (e.g., enthusiasm) and learning, the latter limited to cross-sectional designs. The findings provide the first numeric synthesis of this research field, revealing directions for future research and implications for political educators.