The Architecture of Emotion: Teaching Healthy Emotion Construction and Metacognitive Reflection in Adult Education

Abstract

Adult learners in high‐stakes professional environments, spanning organizational leadership, social services, and education, regularly encounter emotionally charged situations that fundamentally impact their cognitive well‐being and professional performance. Traditionally, professional education has positioned emotions as noise rather than information for adaptive sense‑making. This article argues for a paradigm shift: The explicit teaching of healthy emotion construction through the lens of metacognitive mastery across the adult education continuum. Drawing on Barrett's theory of constructed emotion and the latest scholarship in adult learning, we propose that metacognitive reflection serves as the primary mechanism for transforming emotional experiences. We introduce a novel application of the Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy (MERIT) framework, originally designed for clinical insight, as a pedagogical tool to deepen the emotional granularity and professional resilience of adult learners. By integrating these strategies, we can cultivate practitioners who combine technical proficiency with emotional agility to navigate complex professional situations effectively.