The Impact of Emotions and Hedonic Balance on Teachers' Self-Efficacy: Testing the Bouncing Back Effect of Positive Emotions

Emotions toward students (e.g., Chan, 2004) and professional role (e.g., O'Connor, 2008) impact teachers' self-efficacy (TSE) beliefs. The effect of positive emotions (PEs) can be explained by the broaden and build theory, stating that the higher the PEs individuals attribute to themselves, the higher the chance to build positive aspects of the self (Fredrickson, 2001). At the same time, negative emotions (NEs) at school inversely influence TSE, reducing teachers' confidence (Chan, 2004). Furthermore, Fredrickson et al. (2000)'s studies inform about the bouncing back effect of PEs on the detrimental effects of NEs on self-efficacy. Starting from these considerations, this study (1) evaluated the bouncing back effect of PEs on negative ones, when predicting self-efficacy; (2) verified whether emotions toward professional role moderated the bouncing back effect. Self-efficacy and emotions in teaching (MESI, Moe et al., 2010) were measured. Two hundred and seventy-two Italian secondary school teachers (F = 73%) were involved. PEs toward students might act as buffering factors against the detrimental effect of NEs on self-efficacy [F(2,270) = 26.17, P < 0.001, R-2 = 0.199]. Finally, emotions toward students and emotions toward professional role do not interact when predicting self-efficacy. The relationships with students seem to have an highly protective effect on teachers' mental health. At the same time, the perception of one's own role as detached from the teaching community may have a role in justifying the non-significant effect of emotions toward professional role in the model and shed new light on intervention objectives.