Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory

Abstract Objective: The increasing reliance of Iran's educational system on technology-based approaches, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has significantly impacted students' learning processes and academic engagement. Although the seven-stage learning cycle (7E) is recognized as an effective model, its impact within online learning environments on the multidimensional construct of academic engagement among elementary students remains underexplored.
Method: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest control group design. The study was conducted during the 2023-2024 academic year in Arak, Iran. Using convenience sampling, 40 sixth-grade students were selected and randomly assigned to experimental (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. Academic engagement was measured using the Fredricks, Blumenfeld, and Paris (2004) questionnaire, which assesses behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. The experimental group received online instruction in the "Thinking and Research" course based on the 7E model over seven sessions, while the control group received traditional face-to-face instruction. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance.
Results: The results indicated a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the linear combination of academic engagement dimensions (p < 0.001, effect size = 0.55). Follow-up analyses revealed significant improvements specifically in behavioral engagement (p < 0.001, effect size = 0.38) and emotional engagement (p < 0.001, effect size = 0.41) for the experimental group. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups in cognitive engagement (p > 0.05).
Conclusions: Online teaching structured around the 7E learning cycle can effectively enhance behavioral and emotional dimensions of academic engagement

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of technostress in the relationship between Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU) and academic burnout among adolescents within the framework of the stress-strain-outcome (SSO) model.
Method: The participants were 379 Iranian high school students (195 girls and 184 boys), selected through a multi-stage cluster sampling method. To evaluate the key constructs of the study, data were gathered through three validated instruments: the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (Andreassen et al., 2017), the SNS-Stress Creators (Maier et al., 2015b), and the School Burnout Inventory (Salmela-Aro et al., 2009a).
Results: The results of the structural equation modeling indicated that PSMU has a positive and significant role in predicting students' academic burnout (β=0.61, p<.01). Additionally, PSMU was also found to be a positive and significant predictor of technostress (β=0.54, p<.001). Moreover, the findings indicated that technostress partially mediated the association between PSMU and academic burnout (β=0.12, p<.001).
Conclusions: The findings provide empirical support for the proposed SSO model, indicating that technostress statistically mediates the relationship between PSMU and academic burnout. Accordingly, technostress may represent an important pathway through which PSMU is associated with academic burnout, highlighting the need to consider technology-related strain when addressing the academic consequences of PSMU.

Abstract Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the mediating role of transactive memory systems (TMS) in the relationship between team identification and team learning within Human Resource Management (HRM) teams operating in Iranian public sector organizations.

Method: Drawing on social identity theory and the socio-cognitive perspective on team functioning, a mediated model was proposed and tested. Data were collected from 72 HRM teams working in public sector organizations in Tehran, Iran. Team members completed validated self-report measures assessing team identification, the three dimensions of TMS (specialization, credibility, and coordination), and team learning. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, controlling for team size, team tenure, task interdependence, and team leader support.

Results: The results provided full support for all eight hypotheses. Team identification positively and significantly influenced specialization, credibility, and coordination. In turn, each TMS dimension positively affected team learning, with coordination demonstrating the strongest effect. Importantly, TMS partially mediated the relationship between team identification and team learning. Additionally, team identification had a significant direct positive effect on team learning.

Conclusions: This study identifies team identification as a critical social antecedent of TMS and extends the generalizability of these relationships to the non-Western public sector context. The findings highlight that team identification enhances team learning both directly and indirectly through the development of shared cognitive structures (specialization, credibility, and coordination). For practitioners, cultivating team identity alongside developing transactive memory systems within HRM teams is essential for fostering learning and improving organizational effectiveness in public sector settings.

Abstract Objective: Temporal discounting may vary with socioeconomic resources and macroeconomic conditions. This study examined associations between objective and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) and the temporal discounting of rewards and effort costs among Iranian university students.
Method: Using a descriptive–correlational design, 61 students (53 women, 8 men) from public universities in Tehran were recruited through convenience sampling during the 2024–2025 academic year. Research instruments included a Rating Task to assess the subjective value of rewards and subjective cost of efforts, and an Intertemporal Choice Task to measure reward and effort discounting via hypothetical “smaller–sooner” versus “larger–later” choices. Subjective and objective SES were assessed using the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status (Adler et al., 2000) and the Ghodratnama Socioeconomic Status Questionnaire (Ghodratnama et al., 2013), respectively. Individual reward- and effort-cost discounting parameters (k) were estimated using a hyperbolic model. Analyses were conducted in R 4.5.0.
Results: Objective SES showed a significant positive correlation with reward discounting (r = 0.271, p = 0.047( but not with effort-cost discounting (r = −0.096, p = 0.460). Subjective SES was not significantly associated with reward discounting (r = -0.021, p = 0.878) or effort discounting (r = -0.015, p = 0.909). Effort discounting was not related to either SES dimensions.
Conclusions: The positive association between objective SES and reward discounting diverges from the pattern commonly reported in stable economies, suggesting that macroeconomic context—particularly chronic high inflation—may moderate SES-discounting relationships. The absence of SES-effort associations reinforces the conceptual distinction between delay and effort costs.

Abstract In today's educational world, the importance of academic life skills and self-regulated motivation for students, especially in the senior high school, has been noted repeatedly. Thus, the purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of teaching life skills and self-regulation of motivation on the academic motivation of female students of the senior high schools. This research is a quantitative applied study adopting a quasi-experimental design, with a pre-test/post-test and a control group. The statistical population included 31180 female students of the senior of high schools in Tabriz in the academic year of 2021-2022. From this population, 90 students were selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling method and were randomly divided into three groups with 30 participants. The control group received its traditional instruction while the first and second experimental groups received educational life skills and self-regulated motivation interventions respectively for eight sessions of two hours. The instruments included the academic motivation questionnaire (Vallerand et al., 1992). For data analysis, in addition to descriptive statistics, Shapiro-Wilk test, MANOVA, regression slope homogeneity test, Box's M Test, Leven test, MANCOVA, and Bonferroni post hoc test were used. The findings showed that the educational life skills and self-regulation of motivation training programs had a positive effect on the academic motivation of female students of the senior high schools. Also, motivational self-regulation training has a higher effectiveness in the academic motivation of the participants than teaching life skills. According to the results, it is concluded that the integration of educational self-regulation motivation and academic life skills training programs in the school environment can have positive effects on students. Schools and educational centers should look for ways to incorporate these skills into their curricula, so that students can develop the skills to manage their motivation and behaviors in a supportive and interactive environment. Also, it is important that teachers and trainers receive the necessary training to be able to effectively impart these skills to students.

Abstract Educational self-efficacy and its relationship with learners' different psychological traits can have a tremendous effect on the success or failure of the students. Thus, the present research sought to investigate whether academic self-efficacy has an effect on the students' stress derived from the education expectations based on such mediating factor as the difficulty of emotion regulation. The research method was descriptive-correlational based on structural equations. The statistical population consisted of all 800 junior female high-school students, 9th grade, from 16 State schools in the third district of Tehran. To decide on the sample size according to the number of observed variables, assigning a coefficient of 25 for each (7 variables in the model), and taking the possibility of incomplete questionnaires into account, 200 people were chosen by cluster sampling method. The data were gathered using three questionnaires: self-efficacy (Jinks & Morgan, 1999), difficulty in emotion regulation (Gross & John, 2003), and educational expectation (Ang & Huan, 2006). Using the structural equation modelling, the data analysis revealed that educational self-efficacy and difficulty in emotion regulation had a direct and significant effect on the stress caused by educational expectations. Also, an indirect effect of educational self-efficacy with the mediation of difficulty in emotion regulation was captured and the research model was revealed to predict 63% of the stress variable due to educational expectations. The study revealed the importance of cognitive factors in explaining the stress caused by academic expectations.

Abstract Objective: Environmental crises, public policies, and shifts in cultural decision-making have diminished traditional opportunities for direct engagement with open spaces and nature. The reduced human-nature connection has led to significant psychological effects, particularly among children. Numerous studies highlight the pivotal role of green and natural environments in enhancing social well-being by offering diverse spaces that respond to children's needs and interests, thereby addressing the aforementioned issues.
Creating a spectrum of sensory variations fosters enriched emotional development in children and effectively regulates their emotions. Additionally, such environments enhance children's emotional capacities, including self-confidence, group interactions, dynamic communication, exposure to diverse emotions, and motivation for learning—elements closely tied to emotional intelligence. In this regard, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture hold substantial potential for preserving and reinforcing nature experiences within contemporary built environments.
Method: This study goes beyond conventional cognitive learning frameworks by employing a biophilic approach tailored to children's developmental needs, examining its influence on emotional intelligence. The primary objective is to identify biophilic design characteristics that effectively support the enhancement of children's emotional intelligence. To achieve this, expert perspectives were systematically analyzed using Q-factor analysis, allowing for the extraction of key indicators that define the relationship between biophilic design and emotional intelligence. This methodological approach ensures that findings are grounded in interdisciplinary insights, reinforcing the role of nature-integrated spaces in fostering emotional growth.
Conclusions: these indicators summarized into four factors: personal experience, social aspects, spatial characteristics, and ecological nature and landscape.

Abstract EFL textbooks play a challenging role in underpinning or imposing certain ideological values, such as gender-related values on students. Thus, this inquiry examined Iranian high school teachers’ perceptions of the issue in mandated EFL textbooks (Vision series). This study adopted an exploratory descriptive method with a qualitative approach to collect and interpret the data. The population comprised all members of the Iranian high school EFL teachers’ channel from whom, thirty teachers were selected through a volunteer sampling method. As the study concurred with the COVID-19 pandemic, a researcher-made semi-structured interview was administered via WhatsApp and Telegram, and then, the responses were analyzed and interpreted using thematic analysis via the Nvivo 12 software. The data analysis showed that most teachers believed in the unequal representation of male and female characters in the series. Moreover, it was held that gender representation has educational effects on students' learning motivation, desire, and educational goals through the creation of gender stereotype roles. The findings revealed the permanence of male dominance in the textbooks and highlighted the must for the stakeholders to address gender inequalities as one of the most crucial sociocultural concerns of Iranian EFL educational textbooks.

Abstract Objective: This exploratory, hypothesis-generating study investigated alpha-band EEG activity during resting state and cognitive task performance in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and examined its relationship with symptom severity, without a healthy control group. Method: EEG (8-12 Hz) was recorded in 28 adults with ADHD (21-31 years) during (1) eyes-closed rest and (2) a cognitive task requiring sustained attention. Absolute power and NeuroGuide z-scores were extracted. ADHD symptoms were assessed using the ASRS. Paired t-tests, Pearson correlations, and exploratory median split comparisons were performed. Results: Resting and task alpha activity were strongly correlated (r = .77, p < .01). At the group level, alpha activity unexpectedly increased from rest to task (t(27) = 2.34, p = .027). Linear correlations between ASRS total score and alpha activity at rest (r = .07) and during task (r = .20) were weak and non-significant (p > .05). In exploratory median-split comparisons (higher vs. lower symptom severity), individuals with higher severity showed significantly lower task-related alpha (t(26) = 2.12, p = .044, d = .81), but no significant difference in resting alpha (t(26) = 1.92, p = .066). Conclusions: In this hypothesis-generating study of adults with ADHD conducted without a neurotypical control group, we observed within-sample patterns of alpha modulation. The unexpected task-related alpha increase and the association between higher symptom severity and reduced task-related alpha warrant replication in larger, controlled studies with concurrent behavioral performance measures. No ADHD-specific conclusions can be drawn from this exploratory investigation.

Abstract Previous studies generally showed that achievement goals are linked with academic engagement. However, the association between the newly-developed model of achievement goals (i.e. the 3*2 model) and agentic engagement has received relatively little attention. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism of this relationship is unclear, more specifically, among university students. Guided by the assumptions of the control-value theory of emotions, epistemic curiosity could be a potential mediator. The current study aimed to explore the mediating role of epistemic curiosity in the relationship between achievement goals and agentic engagement among 350 university students from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in the academic year of 2019-2020. Participants completed the measures of the Achievement Goals Questionnaire, Epistemic Curiosity Scale, and Agentic Engagement Scale. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 24.0 and AMOS software. The findings showed that epistemic curiosity significantly mediated the association between approach goals and avoidance goals with agentic engagement (P<0.001). Overall, the findings offer new evidence on the association between variables of the present study and shed light on the underlying processes. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of rumination on both cognitive and sports performance, with sleep quality serving as a mediating factor.

Methods: The research was practical in purpose and employed a structural equation correlation design, conducted in a field setting. The statistical population consisted of all student athletes who participated in the table tennis tournaments in Khorasan in 2022, totaling 97 individuals. Sampling was performed using a census method, with 80 participants consenting to engage in the study. Data were collected using the rumination questionnaires developed by Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow (1991), a sports performance scale by Charbonneau et al. (2001), a cognitive performance assessment by Folstein et al. (1975), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (1989). For data analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient and path analysis modeling were utilized.
Results: The findings indicated that rumination has a direct influence on both cognitive and sports performance (P=0.01). Furthermore, rumination significantly affects these performances indirectly through the mediation of sleep quality (P=0.01) among student athletes.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, rumination is correlated with cognitive and sports performance both directly and indirectly via sleep quality. It is recommended to engage a sports psychologist to conduct educational workshops on rumination management and to monitor and regulate the sleep patterns of student athletes.