How dyadic emotional transmission shapes teacher-student relationship: effects of emotional convergence on cohesion in teacher-student interaction

Understanding the dynamics of teacher-student relationships is crucial, and emotional exchange plays a pivotal role in this process. This study aims to investigate the predictive mechanisms underlying affective and physiological responses synchrony, specifically focusing on positive emotional convergence and its impact on emotional cohesion during teacher-student interactions. To achieve this, we implemented a novel reading-following paradigm to induce teacher-student interaction within an actual classroom setting. Galvanic skin response (GSR) signals were collected using wrist-worn wearable devices from both teachers and students during class. Following each session, teachers and students individually completed questionnaires to evaluate the quality of their interaction and the cohesion between them. Results indicate that the reading-following paradigm facilitated creative emotional convergence between teachers and students. Moreover, a positive association was observed between teacher-student interaction and teacher-student cohesion, mediated by affective responses synchrony and physiological coupling between teachers and students. Additionally, the influence of teacher-student interaction on affective responses synchrony was moderated by physiological predictability. The implications of these findings for future research and their potential application in the classroom setting are discussed.