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Learners’ emotions and metacognitive self-monitoring play a crucial role in mental model development, particularly in the context of multimedia learning. However, learning-centered emotions and self-monitoring have been investigated largely without accounting for their dynamic interrelations. In this study, the effects of both learner-state variables on mental model development were investigated, by modeling their interrelations over time during a multimedia learning episode. For this, 108 undergraduate students ( M age = 22.79, SD age = 3.42) were engaged in a multimedia learning environment to learn practical money skills. Learning-centered emotions of enjoyment, boredom, and frustration were repeatedly collected using self-reports. Learners’ self-monitoring was assessed using behavioral data in terms of time spent on accessing specific information in the multimedia environment. Mental model development was operationalized by assessing learners’ mental model accuracy (MMA) in pre- and post-tests, by using assessments of structural knowledge. Regarding the dynamic interrelations, panel models with the repeated measures revealed positive direct and indirect paths from earlier stages of self-monitoring to later stages of enjoyment. Conversely, negative direct and indirect paths emerged from earlier stages of boredom and frustration to later stages of self-monitoring. Regarding the effects of all variables on mental model development, a path model analysis with aggregated values revealed that enjoyment was unrelated to post-test MMA, whereas boredom negatively predicted post-test MMA. Additionally, frustration negatively predicted self-monitoring, which positively predicted post-test MMA. Finally, pre-test MMA was a negative predictor of boredom and positively predicted post-test MMA. The results demonstrate that the dynamic interrelations between different learning-centered emotions and self-monitoring can diverge in multimedia learning. In addition, this study provides insights into the joint effects and the relative importance of emotions and self-monitoring for mental model development in multimedia learning.

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The present study explored sex-specific differences in the Big Five factors of personality between different pet ownership groups, in order to understand individual differences in the choice of companion animals. A total of 250 pet owners completed a German version of the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). For the first analysis, participants were divided into four broad groups: those owning traditional pets (e.g., cats, dogs), those owning cold-blooded exotic pets, those owning warm-blooded exotic pets, and those not owning animals. For the second analysis, participants were subdivided into nine groups, based on species of animal owned: cats, dogs, birds, fish, reptiles, spider/insect, small mammals, owners of many different animals, and non-owners. In both analyses, separate analyses of variance were applied to the scores of the NEO-FFI scales. Interaction effects between sex and several ownership groups on the traits Openness to Experience and Agreeableness were found in both analyses. Female owners of traditional pets scored, for example, significantly lower on openness to experience than female owners of cold-blooded exotic pets as well as male owners of traditional pets. Furthermore, female owners of cold-blooded exotic pets scored significantly higher on openness to experience than their male counterparts. Regarding agreeableness, male owners of cold-blooded exotic pets scored significantly lower than their female counterparts as well as male owners of traditional pets. These and other results indicate that personality may affect choice of petsbut in different directions for the two sexes.