Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory

Abstract Objectives: Recent developments in positive psychology emphasize leveraging individual strengths to improve personal and academic outcomes. This study evaluated the effectiveness of structured group training in positive thinking on enhancing self-esteem and self-efficacy among male secondary school students in Javanrood. Method: Employing a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest and a control group, the study involved 30 first-year male students selected through multistage random cluster sampling during the 2024–2025 academic year. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 15) receiving the intervention or a control group (n = 15). Instruments included Sherer’s Self-Efficacy Scale and Coopersmith’s Self-Esteem Inventory. The experimental group participated in 8 sessions of positive thinking skills training, each lasting 90 minutes conducted twice weekly. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) via SPSS-21. Results: The ANCOVA results indicated that students who participated in the positive thinking training showed statistically significant improvements in both self-esteem and self-efficacy compared to the control group. For self-esteem, a large effect size was observed (η²p = .18, F = 6.15, p < .05). For self-efficacy, a very large effect size was found (η²p = .35, F = 14.92, p < .01). These findings suggest that structured positive thinking interventions can effectively foster psychological resilience and personal competence in adolescent males. Conclusion: Implementing positive thinking group training in school settings can serve as a practical and evidence-based approach to promote students' mental health, self-confidence, and academic performance. The large to very large effect sizes support the practical significance of the intervention beyond mere statistical significance. These interventions can be integrated into school counseling programs to support holistic students' development.

Abstract Objective: The present study aimed to identify distinct subgroups of students based on a combination of cognitive-emotional variables including perfectionism, metacognitive beliefs, and self-efficacy, and to examine how these latent profiles are related to the procrastination. Method: A multi-stage cluster random sampling method was employed to select the participants. In the first stage, the university's faculties were considered primary clusters. From the total of faculties, six faculties were randomly selected. In the second stage, given the statistical nature of the "latent profile analysis", a sample of 365 students was selected using the convenience sampling method. Participants completed standard scales of procrastination, multidimensional perfectionism, metacognitive questionnaire, and general self-efficacy questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a person-centered approach and the statistical method of Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). Results: Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) revealed four distinct profiles: Adaptive/Self-Efficacious (21%), Maladaptive Perfectionists (26%), Strategic Procrastinators (34%), and Vulnerable/Avoidant (19%). A one-way ANOVA indicated significant differences in procrastination severity across profiles (F(3, 361) = 20.18, p < .001, η² = .14). Tukey post-hoc tests confirmed that the Vulnerable profile exhibited the highest level of procrastination (M_diff = 1.10, p < .001 compared to the Adaptive profile). Conclusions: The findings of this study, confirming the heterogeneity of the procrastination phenomenon, indicate that therapeutic interventions should not be the same; rather, they should be designed to suit the specific profile of each group (such as focusing on modifying metacognitive beliefs in strategic procrastinators or strengthening self-efficacy in vulnerable groups).

Abstract Objective: Adolescence is a critical developmental stage in which self-efficacy plays a pivotal role. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of responsibility training based on the Reality Therapy approach on the self-efficacy of female vocational high school students. Method: The research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test involving an experimental group and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all female vocational high school students in Arak during the 2024 academic year. Using purposive sampling, the researchers conducted an initial screening by administering the Adolescent Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Muris, 2001) to 150 students. Thirty students with the lowest scores were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=15) and the control group (n=15). The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of responsibility training based on Reality Therapy (Garavandnia et al., 2024), while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SEQ-C) developed by Muris (2001) and analyzed using the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Results: The results indicated a significant difference in the mean scores of overall, social, academic, and emotional self-efficacy in the experimental group compared to the control group (P < .05). Conclusions: The findings suggest that responsibility training based on Reality Therapy significantly enhances self-efficacy components among female adolescents. This intervention can be utilized as an effective method to improve students' psychological capabilities and social adjustment.

Abstract Objective: The aim of the present study was to introduce and validate a tool for measuring students' individual agency.
Method: The research was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population included 1364 student-teachers at Farhangian University, Kurdistan Province. A sample of 271 students was selected using systematic random sampling. Data was collected using the Individual Resources subscale of the Student Agency Scale (Jääskelä et al., 2017). The subscale has 28 items spread across four dimensions: participation activity, interest and motivation, self-efficacy, and competence beliefs. The questionnaire was translated into Persian, and semantic consistency with the original version was confirmed using the back-translation method. Subsequently, the face validity of tool was verified based on expert evaluations. Data analysis involved first- and second-order confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, and a one-sample t-test. Data analysis software included SPSS19 and Amos23.
Results: The first-order factor analysis results indicated that the questionnaire items (after removing three items) could appropriately describe the latent variables. The second-order factor analysis results also revealed that the questionnaire items could be reduced to four components: activity engagement, interest and motivation, self-efficacy, and competence beliefs (RMSEA: .047; CFI: .93). The average variance extracted was 0.55, confirming convergent validity. The overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.87, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the subscales ranged from 0.64 to 0.82. The composite reliability was 0.82. Results also indicated a high level of individual agency among student-teachers at Farhangian University (p < .05).

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a rapid shift to online learning, making the community of inquiry (COI) framework increasingly relevant for creating meaningful and effective online learning experiences. However, the impact of COI presences (i.e., teaching, social, and cognitive presence) on students' learning outcomes has been inconsistent in the literature, and a recent meta-analysis has identified a publication bias in this relationship suggesting the need for further investigation. This study aimed to enhance our understanding of how the COI presence influences college students' learning outcomes and whether it has a mediating role in the effect of self-efficacy and motivation on e-learner’s academic achievement. In this cross-sectional study, using a correlational research design, among all graduate students studying in online courses, a total of 269 graduate students were selected from online programs in seven public universities in Iran between April 2022 and June 2023, to be the sample of the study. The data were obtained from the answers to the community of inquiry (COI) scale, self- efficacy scale, academic motivation scale and students’ last semester grade point average. To examine the questions of the study, a path analysis was applied whose results showed that motivation and self-efficacy affected the community of inquiry positively (p<0.000). Also, the community of inquiry affected learning performance positively (p<0.000). The outcomes can provide significant theoretical and practical contributions to the key stakeholders to design a satisfying and successful online curriculum for the post-COVID-19 era and offer valuable insights into the design of productive online learning communities.

Abstract A flipped classroom, as one of the participatory learning techniques, is based on group dynamics and social interactions. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the flipped classroom technique in promoting academic motivation and self-efficacy among high school students. The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design and a control group. The statistical population included all female high school students in Ahvaz city in the academic year 2019-2020. Using the purposive sampling method, 30 ones were selected and divided into experimental and control groups (n=15 per group). The research instrument included the Academic Motivation Questionnaire and Student Self-Efficacy Scale. The experimental group received the flipped teaching program during eight 90-minute sessions; however, the control group received the traditional teaching method. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the flipped and traditional teaching methods in experimental and control groups (p<0.0001). The flipped classroom technique was effective in increasing academic motivation and self-efficacy among students. The study findings indicate that the flipped classroom method can be used to promote academic motivation and self-efficacy and decrease academic failure among students.

Abstract Previous studies have shown that autonomy support (AS) can foster a person’s motivation and facilitate motor learning. However, the effects of AS on observational motor learning are not well understood. The present study investigated this issue by manipulating to-be-observed-model. Forty-eight male students were assigned into autonomy, yoked, and no-demonstration control groups. Three male Baseball coaches acted as models A, B, and C. Model A was instructor of students of AU group and acted as a model with high social status for AU group. Models B and C were not familiar for all participants and acted as low social status models. Participants were asked to perform a Baseball-pitch into a target during pretest (10 trials), acquisition phase (5 blocks of 10 trials), and retention test (10 trials). Prior to each acquisition block, the participants of AU and YO groups observed a model three times. Participants of AU group were free to choose model A, B, or C for any single observation. Participants in YO group were matched with those in AU group. Movement outcome, movement form, self-efficacy (SE), perceived learning effect (PLE), and perceived model attractiveness (PMA) were measured as dependent variables. Results showed that AS, relative to yoked and control conditions, led to better movement outcome during acquisition and retention. Action observation enhanced movement form during acquisition and retention. AS increased SE, PLE, and PMA compared with yoked and control conditions. Results provide support for the OPTIMAL theory and indicate that AS facilitates observational motor learning.

Abstract This study aimed at scrutinizing the mediating role of critical thinking in relation to higher education students'
metacognition and self-efficacy in Islamic Azad University, Nourabad Mamasani. Samples were collected through
random sampling method and it was equal to 248. Instruments used in this study were three standard questionnaires
including critical thinking, metacognition and self-efficacy. Cronbach's alpha was employed to estimate the
instruments’ reliability, based on which critical thinking was found to be 0.88, metacognition 0.89 and self-efficacy
0.87. Findings revealed that meta-cognition could significantly predict students' self-efficacy and critical thinking.
Also, it was found that meta-cognition and critical thinking could significantly predict students’ self-efficacy. This
study also showed that critical thinking had a mediating role in relation to students’ meta-cognition and self-efficacy.
The dimensions of meta-cognition and critical thinking could significantly predict students’ self-efficacy.

Abstract The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of neuro-verbal programming on test anxiety and self-efficacy of secondary school students in Sanandaj. The present study had a semi-experimental pretest-posttest design with control group. The sample consisted of 30 students who were selected based on structured interviews and the implementation of the Sarahson Anxiety Inventory (1957) and then they were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group was trained in 8 sessions with neurological planning while the control group did not receive any experimental intervention. Anxiety Inventory Questionnaire of Sarason (1957) and Social Self-Efficacy Scale (Smith & Betz, 2000) were used as the pretest and posttest. The results of one-way covariance analysis showed that therapeutic interventions were effective in reducing the test anxiety in the experimental group (P<0.01), but did not affect the self-efficacy of the individuals (P<0.05). In general, the results indicated that counseling and psychotherapy specialists can apply the verbal neural program approach for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the mediator role of learning strategies in the relationship between academic self-efficacy and test anxiety. This research was done in a descriptive-correlational manner. The sample of study consisted of 350 public high school students from four high schools in Kerman selected through random multistage cluster sampling method. To gather the data, the academic self-efficacy Scale (Jinks - Morgan, 1999), learning strategies scale (Kember & et al., 2004), and the test anxiety scale (Friedman-Jacob, 1997) were used. Path analysis results showed that Academic self-efficacy had both direct (b=−.20), and indirect effects, mediated by Deep and Surface strategies (b=−.08).  Deep learning strategy was the strongest predictor, with a direct effect value of -0.32. The explanatory power of the predictors on test anxiety was medium (R2= 0.36). Considering the results, the learning strategies (deep) and academic self-efficacy had a significant effect on students' test anxiety. Therefore, strengthening of this individual feature in students can lead to the better performance of students in the exam situation by decreasing test anxiety.