Relationships between emotions and disruptive behaviour in physical education - a systematic literature review

Classroom disruptions and disruptive behaviour occur frequently in physical education and can constitute important psychological stress factors. However, so far, the relationships between disruptive behaviour and emotions in physical education have not been studied in detail. Therefore, a systematic literature review was conducted, to explore these relationships. Studies were selected through a systematic literature search from the databases Pubmed, Web of Science, ERIC, BISp, and SCOPUS. Twelve articles met the specified inclusion criteria. Results show that anger is a well investigated emotion in this context, but psychological constructs such as boredom or low intrinsic motivation to participate in class also were described as leading to disruptions. In accordance with Lazarus's theory on emotions extended by the model of emotional contagion, a first conceptual model of relationships between teachers’ and students’ emotions regarding the identified typical disruptive behaviour in physical education is derived.