Affections in learning situations: a study of an entrepreneurship skills development course Sonia Maria Guedes Gondim and Clara Mutti Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to present the results of a study whose general objective is to characterize the affective states experienced in response to different teaching activities used in a workshop for developing entrepreneurial skills. It seeks to answer the following question: how affections and experiential learning strategies interrelate in the development of entrepreneurial skills? Design/methodology/approach – The study included 126 people enrolled in EMPRETEC, a nine-day course with a behavioral and experiential approach which aims to develop entrepreneurs’ behavioral aspects. The affective states experienced by the participants were assessed on 13 moments during the workshop using the time-sampling method. Findings – The results suggest that the structure of the course favored the predominance of affective states such as joy, excitement, pleasure, and pride (categorized as affective states indicating motivation). Activities similar to real situations (as opposed to fictitious ones) generate greater emotional impact. It was also found that indirect learning activities (less similar to real situations) and interactive (team) activities are associated with lower levels of anxiety. Research limitations/implications – Being an exploratory study on a particular case, these results cannot be generalized, suggesting the need for further in-depth studies. Practical implications – These results are an important guide for instructional planning in contemporary society that values the use of teaching methods that are experiential, collaborative, and encourage learner autonomy. Originality/value – This paper offers to extend the discussion about emotions in the workplace and specifically their relationship to learning, a subject still little explored in recent literature. Keywords Affective psychology, Experiential learning, Adult education, Workplace learning, Brazil Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Scholars of adult learning adopt as one of its basic principles the importance of learning through action, valorizing the learner’s participation and involvement in all stages of the process (Rogers, 1969; Knowles, 1984; Boud and Walker, 1990; Boud, 1994; Jarvis, 2006). This same principle has also been directed at learning in the working world, turning the learner much more active in the development of labor skills and abilities (Beckett, 1999; Billet, 1999). One alternative to make the learner more active in the process of learning is to transform this same process into an experience that enables critical self-reflection and, consequently, self-correction. Affective states are mobilized in this process of critical self-reflection and play a role in learning, promoting or hindering the achievement of the instructional goals. Based on his belief in the importance of emotion in the learning process, Jarvis (2006) proposed a theoretical model based on an experiential, existential, and humanistic The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1366-5626.htm Affections in learning situations 195 Received 14 July 2009 Revised 6 December 2009 27 April 2010 1 August 2010 28 November 2010 Accepted 28 December 2010 Journal of Workplace Learning Vol. 23 No. 3, 2011 pp. 195-208 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1366-5626 DOI 10.1108/13665621111117224