Consider a 2004 study in which participants learned basic computer literacy from an automated tutoring system. As they worked through the lessons, researchers coded which of several emotions they seemed to exhibit, including confusion and boredom. Analyses revealed that learners who spent a greater proportion of the lessons in a state of confusion exhibited significantly greater gains in learning. Boredom, by contrast, was associated with lower gains in learning.
In another study, published last year, students learned about scientific reasoning and experimental design by hearing a dialogue between two other people who sometimes endorsed incorrect or contradictory claims. Students who were confused by the contradictions — as reflected in inconsistent responses on subsequent questions — ultimately did better on a final test assessing whether they learned the key points from the lessons.
