Chapter 5 - Contextual Mood and Regulatory Processes

Summary

Chapter 5 offers a novel approach to emotion with the concept of contextual mood. In contrast to individualistic notions, mood is defined as emerging from socially distributed, interactive mechanisms, which, in turn, create and sustain moods in the lived experiences of learning practices. Contextual mood as a conceptual frame makes it possible to observe and capture how emotional (affective) experiences are interwoven with cognitive engagement in learning activities. In these activities, feelings permeate actions and thoughts and emerge through stancetaking, a linguistic resource used during social interactions. The creation of a contextual mood attunes learners to particular forms of behavioral regulation as learning activities unfold. We explain how a contextual mood prompts learners to consider, utilize, and potentially contribute to a repertoire of strategies for regulating meaning-making behaviors during literacy learning.