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Done in 60 s? Inferring teachers’ subjective well-being from thin slices of nonverbal behavior

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Abstract

Being a teacher is known to be a particularly stressful occupation and as a consequence many teachers suffer from reduced well-being. Thus, it is important to know as soon as possible which individuals are likely to experience reduced well-being in their employment. Therefore, this study investigated whether it is possible to infer teachers’ future well-being from minimal nonverbal information, i.e., thin slices of behavior. Between 2003 and 2006, 50 teachers were filmed while holding a lesson. Naïve observers were shown 60-s clips of these teachers and were asked to predict the teachers’ satisfaction with job, life, and health in 5–8 years. Five to eight years later, the teachers’ satisfaction with job, life, and health was assessed. It was shown that judges highly agree in their predictions. Additionally, these predictions were shown to be accurate for life and job satisfaction. Thus, it is possible to predict a teacher’s well-being on the basis of thin slices of the nonverbal behavior they show while performing their job. These thin slices might therefore allow for a risk assessment in the context of teacher education and such approaches might contribute to teacher professionalism.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jane Zagorski for helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department 8: Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 , Landau, Germany

    Johanna Pretsch, Nina Heckmann & Manfred Schmitt

  2. Center for Educational Science and Psychology, University of Tuebingen, Europastraße 6, 72072 , Tübingen, Germany

    Barbara Flunger

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  1. Johanna Pretsch
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  2. Barbara Flunger
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  3. Nina Heckmann
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  4. Manfred Schmitt
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Correspondence to Johanna Pretsch.

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Pretsch, J., Flunger, B., Heckmann, N. et al. Done in 60 s? Inferring teachers’ subjective well-being from thin slices of nonverbal behavior. Soc Psychol Educ 16, 421–434 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-013-9223-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-013-9223-9

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