2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This literature review paper synthesizes findings from educational psychology and cognitive science to develop a comprehensive understanding of how emotion interacts with problem-solving in engineering education. The review is grounded in major theoretical frameworks, including Pekrun’s Control-Value Theory, which posits that perceived control and task value are key antecedents influencing students’ academic and epistemic emotions. The discussion distinguishes between achievement emotions—those linked to success and failure—and epistemic emotions, which arise during knowledge construction.
Problem-solving is a core competence in engineering, often requiring individuals to navigate dynamic, ambiguous, and ill-structured systems. While prior research has primarily emphasized the cognitive dimensions of problem solving, growing evidence underscores that emotions play a functional and self-regulatory role in addressing problems. Emotions can significantly shape a problem solver’s attention, strategy selection, and overall cognitive processing. However, engineering students are often underprepared to manage the intense emotions that accompany the uncertainty and epistemic demands of complex problems.
The synthesis reveals a dual influence of emotions on problem-solving effectiveness and learning outcomes. Positive emotions such as curiosity and enjoyment are associated with deep learning strategies, cognitive flexibility, motivation, and creativity—all of which enhance problem-solving proficiency. Conversely, negative emotions such as anxiety, frustration, and boredom tend to impair performance by increasing cognitive load and diverting attention toward emotion regulation rather than task engagement.
Emotion regulation (ER) enables learners to adapt their emotional responses to meet situational demands. As a result, this review highlights the importance of integrating emotional scaffolding and ER instruction into engineering pedagogy. By intentionally integrating emotional and cognitive dimensions into instructional design, educators can better equip engineering students with the resilience, adaptability, and persistence needed to tackle real-world problems.