Neuroscience Engagement: The Influences of Chemistry Education on Affective Dimensions - Affective Dimensions in Chemistry Education - page 243

Fig. 16 Analyzed EEG data in the topographical map of the brain ( a ) Females ( b ) Males ( c )
Frequency table (Liu et al. submitted)

applause as a reward is more useful for male than for female students (paper
submitted for publication).
In our study, we recorded 15 male and 15 female students

EEG signals when
they were completing the experiments. Frequency analysis was performed in the
delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-7 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), and gamma
(

'

30 Hz) frequency bands. The EEG data for the students answering the test
without applause were defined as the baseline, and the EEG data for the students
answering the test with applause were used to compare to the baseline.
Figure 16 is the analyzed EEG data in the topographical map of the brain. For the
male group (Fig. 16b ), the result reveals that the power values of the alpha 1 and
alpha 2 frequencies in the EEG data are more active on the two sides of the frontal
lobe than they are for the female group. Blackhart, Kline, Donohue, LaRowe, and
Joiner ( 2002 ) mentioned that the power values of the alpha 1 and alpha 2 frequency
bands from the two sides of the frontal lobe are often induced by the appearance of
positive affect. In other words, the higher power values of the alpha 1 and alpha
2 frequencies mean more positive affect has been activated. Therefore, the findings
prove that the CBA test with applause as reward could promote more active positive
affect in males than in females. In other words, it might be useful to encourage male
students when they do a good job, but it might not be useful for female students.
Male and female students might need different strategies to improve their positive
emotions.

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