Research on epistemic emotions has often focused on how students transition between affective states (e.g., affect dynamics). More recently, studies have examined the properties of cases where a student remains in the same affective state over time, finding that the duration of a student's affective state is important for multiple learning…

Background: Persisting after experiencing difficulty allows students to work in the upper ends of their zones of proximal development, where most learning occurs (Ventura et al., 2013; Vygotsky & Cole, 1978). Digital educational games promote productive persistence by allowing students to repeat the same or similar problems until they reach…