Kindergarten Childrens’ Emotions, Feeling of Task-Difficulty and Ability Self-Perceptions Before and After Performing an Unfamiliar Domino

Abstract

This study, being involved in unfamiliar domino for the participating kindergarten children, aimed to examine (a) children’s experienced emotions, ability self-perceptions and perceptions of task-difficulty in pre domino performance condition and in post domino performance condition, (b) the effects of students’ ability self-perceptions and perceptions of task-difficulty on their experienced emotions in pre- and post- domino performance condition, and (c) the role of children’s ability beliefs and feeling of task- difficulty in the impact of the emotions on domino performance. The participants were 180 kindergarten students, 96 girls and 84 boys, age from 69 to 73 months, and they came from 25 classrooms. The results revealed (a) the variability of the intensity of the emotions within and between the pre- and post- domino performance, (b) children felt better in post- than in pre- domino performance, particularly in self-, task- and future activity- related emotions, (c) student estimated their ability as higher in post- than in pre- domino performance, while the pattern was reverse with respect to perceived domino-difficulty, (d) ability self-perceptions, compared to feeling of difficulty, was a more powerful formulator of most the emotions, particularly in pre- domino performance, and (e) the students’ pre- performance emotions, perceived task- difficulty, and, mainly, ability beliefs influenced their domino performance, while the feeling of difficulty and, particularly, ability beliefs enhanced the impact of the emotions on domino performance. The findings are discussed with respect to their applications in children development and education, and to future research.