Does happiness raise test scores – does fear lower them – experimental evidence
ISSN: 0144-3585
Article publication date: 2 March 2023
Issue publication date: 22 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The authors consider whether the emotional states of happiness and fear causally affect test performance using a new experiment. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Happiness and fear are induced with 360-degree videos shown in virtual reality before participants take a test consisting of mathematics scholastic aptitude tests (SAT) questions.
Findings
The results show that scores improve by 0.48 standard deviations under the happiness condition, and the effect is particularly large for women (0.75 s.d.). Inducing fear has no effect on test scores.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to employ virtual reality for emotion induction. It establishes that test scores can be improved by inducing an emotional state of happiness shortly before the test.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Economic Science Laboratory at the University of Arizona for funding and Pavas Gupta for research assistance. The authors thank members of audiences at Georgia State University, the IfAD & UNDP Development Economics Workshop at the University of Arizona, and the 2022 BREW-ESA conference in Bangalore, India, for useful comments.
Citation
Noussair, C.N. and Seaback, K. (2023), "Does happiness raise test scores – does fear lower them – experimental evidence", Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 50 No. 8, pp. 1637-1646. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-10-2022-0530
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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