It is rare to find the emotional component of self‐directed learning discussed explicitly in the literature. This lack is particularly glaring given the interest sparked by recent brain research concerning the importance of emotion in all types of learning as well as by the dramatic increase in self‐directed learning in the emotionally charged context of health care. The purpose of this paper is to address this void and to present an interactive model of self‐directed learning that positions emotion in this type of experience. Support for the model is presented by integrating information from diverse bodies of literature that contribute to understanding the link between learning and emotion. The resulting model provides a more comprehensive and practical tool for understanding self‐directed learning. The essential premise of the model is that context, content, learning, and process each carry an inherent emotional load that is mediated by the characteristics of the individual learner.
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