The Congruent and Incongruent Effects of Emotions on Willingness to Communicate: Insights From Polynomial Regression With Response Surface Analysis

ABSTRACT Although some prior studies examined how language learners’ enjoyment and anxiety affect L2 willingness to communicate (WTC), they predominantly employed linear statistical methods and largely ignored the possible curvilinear relationships. Adopting a polynomial regression with response surface analysis, the study intends to unveil the congruent and incongruent effects of two emotional factors (enjoyment and anxiety) on WTC among a total of 1,023 undergraduates from 21 universities in China. The results show that both linear and non‐linear effects are significant. Along the line of congruence, WTC displays a linear increasing trend when enjoyment and anxiety increase simultaneously and remain aligned. Along the incongruence line, WTC is higher when enjoyment is higher than anxiety, and as the degree of mismatch between enjoyment and anxiety increases, WTC exhibits a more pronounced upward trend. The study offers both theoretical and pedagogical insights when exploring the synergistic relationships between emotions and WTC. Theoretically, it moves beyond conventional correlation and regression methods by highlighting the co‐occurrence and interactions of the positive and negative emotions on WTC. It is also of pedagogical significance for educators to manage the collective effects of emotions by creating a supportive classroom that can enhance enjoyment while also keeping anxiety at facilitative levels to promote WTC.