APSY 3233 Motivation, Emotion, and Self-Regulated Learning

Self-regulated learning is a process that involves setting learning and academic goals, monitoring your progress toward these goals, and making adjustments when you realize that you are not on track to be successful. The course will primarily focus on the ways that motivation and emotion contribute to this process. For example, students will examine the motivations that lead individuals to adopt particular achievement goals (e.g., the goal of getting a good grade), the ways in which these goals impact learners behaviors, and the impact of these behaviors on important outcomes (e.g., grades and well-being). Students in the course will also examine different types of emotions (e.g., curiosity, boredom, frustration, etc.) that learners experience when pursuing their academic goals and the ways in which these emotions can support or hinder their achievement of these goals. In addition to examining motivation and emotion as factors shape learners' achievement and self-regulation, the course will explore some of the ways in which motivation and emotion can themselves be regulated. For example, students will learn about the kinds of strategies that individuals use to bolster their motivation when they feel like quitting or to calm themselves down when they are feeling anxious. Although the course will explore some of the ways that motivation, emotion, and self-regulation develop, its main focus will be on how adolescents and young adults pursue their learning goals. APSY3233 was offered last semester as APSY4233, but is currently only open to undergraduate students.

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
4.11 / 5 · Very Good
126 responses
Instructor rating
4.24 / 5 · Very Good
126 responses
Terms evaluated
5
Most recent: Spring 2026

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Spring 2026David Miele4.04.34.44.44.14.44.54.51–3 hrs/week25 of 31
Fall 2024David Miele4.14.34.64.64.14.44.54.41–3 hrs/week25 of 33
Spring 2024David Miele4.54.64.84.74.24.64.74.81–3 hrs/week27 of 35
Fall 2023David Miele—————————26 of 35
Fall 2022David Miele3.93.94.54.54.44.34.74.41–3 hrs/week23 of 27

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • David Miele
    Fall 2026, Spring 2026, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 · Official rating 4.24/5

Sections

  • Section 01
    Fall 2026 · David Miele · Devlin Hall 112 TuTh 04:30PM-05:45PM · Offered