Rudra Mukhopadhyay | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

When Teachers Smile or Frown: A Profile-Based Analysis of Achievement Emotions

Achievement emotions shape how students engage with and learn from academic tasks, yet most studies examine individual emotions rather than co-occurring affective profiles and their dynamics. We examined latent achievement-emotion profiles and their transitions following exposure to different instructor facial expressions during a video lecture. Self-reported data from 78 Grade VII and VIII students revealed three profiles: enthusiastic, demotivated, and vulnerable. Profile transitions differed across instructor conditions, with happy expressions favouring more adaptive transitions and angry expressions favouring transitions toward demotivation. Exploratory factor analysis and Bayesian structural modelling further identified preparedness and cognitive restraint as regulatory dimensions associated with profile switching.

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arXiv2025

Fairness, not Emotion, Drives Socioeconomic Decision Making

Emotion and fairness play a key role in mediating socioeconomic decisions in humans; however, the underlying neurocognitive mechanism remains largely unknown. This exploratory study unraveled the interplay between agents' emotions and the fairness of their monetary proposal in rational decision-making, backed by ERP analyses at a group as well as a strategic level. In a time-bound ultimatum-game paradigm, 40 participants were exposed to three distinct proposers' emotions (Happy, Neutral, Disgusted) followed by one of the three offer ranges (Low, Intermediate, High). Our findings show a robust influence of economic fairness on acceptance rates. A multilevel generalized linear model showed offer as the dominant predictor of trial-specific responses. Subsequent clustering grouped participants into five clusters, which the Drift Diffusion Model corroborates. Pertinent neural markers demonstrated the recognition of facial expressions; however, they had minimal effect during socioeconomic decision-making. Our study explores individualistic decision-making processes revealing different cognitive strategies.

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