The use of affinity‐seeking in producing liking and learning in the classroom

Abstract The affinity‐seeking typology (Bell & Daly, 1984) was developed and validated for interpersonal contexts, but has been used quite extensively in recent years in the instructional setting. Teacher use of affinity‐seeking has been associated with learning, motivation, and teacher credibility. The present research had two primary objectives. The first objective was to validate the use of the affinity‐seeking typology in the instructional context. The second objective was to test two causal models of the affinity‐seeking and learning relationship. The motivation model proposed that motivation played a mediating role between liking produced by affinity‐seeking and student learning. The direct‐effects model proposed that liking had a direct effect on student learning. Using panel data collected over the period of a semester, some affinity‐seeking strategies were found to be more useful in the instructional context than others, and greater support was found for the motivation model.