Cette étude porte sur l’effet des états émotionnels positifs et négatifs sur les performances de raisonnement déductif d’enfants de 9–10 ans.

Quatre-vingt-trois enfants de CM1 ont participé à l’étude et étaient séparés en trois groupes, correspondant à un groupe contrôle et aux deux états émotionnels manipulés : joie et tristesse. Les émotions étaient induites par le biais du visionnage d’extraits vidéo et l’écoute de musiques, avant et pendant une évaluation du raisonnement.

Les résultats indiquent un effet délétère de la tristesse sur les scores aux syllogismes par rapport à un état émotionnel de joie.

La surcharge cognitive provoquée par le traitement d’informations émotionnelles serait à l’origine de la baisse des performances observées ; cet effet délétère serait atténué dans le cas du traitement d’émotion positive grâce à l’augmentation du niveau d’activation cognitive. Ces résultats mettent en avant l’importance d’éviter l’induction d’émotion négative dans le cadre de la résolution de problème de logique chez les enfants.

Previous studies have focused on the relationship between emotion and reasoning in adulthood and highlighted a deleterious effect of emotions on performances in deductive reasoning, particularly when emotions are not related to the task. In contrast to adults, children seem to have better performances in a positive emotional condition, and no effect of negative emotion has been shown. However, previous studies with children have not been related to deductive reasoning while those with adults have been. When children reach 9–10years old deductive reasoning tasks can be resolved correctly. Therefore, this study examined the influence of inducing positive and negative emotional states on deductive reasoning performances of children aged from 9–10years old compared to a ‘control’ group (with a neutral emotional induction).

Eighty-three fourth-grade children participated in the study and were divided into three groups; a control group and two experimental groups corresponding to the emotional states being induced: happiness group and sadness group. Emotions were induced using both video clips and music for each condition. Before and after the experiment all children completed an emotional state scale based on the Facial Action Coding System (Westermann et al., 1996). Video clips were viewed before the evaluation of deductive reasoning in which children had to answer eight imaginary syllogisms. During this task children listened to music to maintain induced emotion.

Results of the Kruskal-Wallis test illuminated a negative effect of sadness on the scores of correct answers to syllogisms compared to joy [H (2; n=83)=3.69; P<0.05]. No other significant effect was observed.

Cognitive overload caused by the processing of emotional information could explain the lower performance observed. However, this detrimental effect would be reduced when levels of cognitive activation would increase through processing of positive emotion. Our research points out the importance of considering the methods for inducing emotions in order to better comprehend the relationship between emotion and reasoning. Moreover, these results highlight the importance of avoiding induction of negative emotion during problem-solving and promoting positive emotion in schools. Therefore, creating an atmosphere that favors a positive emotion will permit children to better use their cognitive competences.

This study looking at the effect of experimentally induced emotional states on reasoning invites further research in two ways. First, studies on reasoning with children living in emotionally negative contexts, such as hospitalization, could give us further information on negative exposure and reasoning in the long term. Furthermore, it seems important to investigate ways to improve the use of logical rules in reasoning tasks. For example, the influence of using play material for reasoning tasks which could elicit emotion and increase performances. Moreover, comparing different educational situations (teachers’ support/no support/reprimanding) when learning how to resolve reasoning tasks could allow improving teacher training. Increasing knowledge of the relationships between emotion and reasoning would offer an education system suitable for school learning. Following this study, we plan to continue to study the effect of integral emotions on reasoning for students in difficulty or failing in school.