The First Day of Class Affects Student Motivation: An Experimental Study

A consistent difference in motivation points to the potential importance of first impressions. Indeed, Sunnafrank and Ramirez (2004) found that a single brief conversation between student pairs at the beginning of the term influenced their relationships 9 weeks later. In our study, even when the instructor treated students kindly (e.g., smiled, invited participation, and entertained questions) every weekday for more than 5 weeks, some students felt less motivation based on their negative first day. Perhaps internal motivation remained low even though students stopped blaming the teacher after the first day.