Psychological Empowerment and Emotional Dynamics in Arts Education Performance: The Mediating Role of Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance

Abstract

Introduction: in the context of arts education's marginalization despite pressure for high achievement, this study pinpoints a precise psychological mechanism. We demonstrate how empowerment fuels academic performance through the mediating effects of three key emotions: pleasure, arousal, and dominance. By unpacking the constructs of empowerment and mapping their relationship to these emotional states, our research provides a clear framework for enhancing pedagogy. The findings directly inform the strategic design of course briefs, critique protocols, and autonomy scaffolds to elevate student performance.
Objective: to explain how facets of empowerment channel through Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance mechanism to shape academic performance in studio and performance intensive programs.
Methods: the sample comprised 364 undergraduate arts students in West Sumatra. The study applied validated scales for empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact), the three emotion states, and academic performance. The analysis estimated a measurement model and a structural model with partial least squares structural equation modeling. The study assessed reliability, validity, collinearity, and overall model fit. Indirect effects received tests through bootstrap resamples.
Results: the measurement model met reliability and validity criteria. In the structural model, impact aligned with energized engagement; meaning supported sustained activation; and competence with self-determination underpinned a sense of control. Among the emotion states, arousal emerged as the main conduit from empowerment to achievement, with dominance as a complementary path. Pleasure did not account for meaningful variance in performance.
Conclusions: the study meets its objective and defines a psychological route from empowerment to academic performance through pleasure, arousal, and dominance, with activation and perceived control as the decisive links. The account advances theory in arts education and yields actionable levers for course design, critique protocols, autonomy scaffolds, and assessment rubrics that raise attainment.