The Effectiveness of Teaching Self-Regulation Strategies Based on Zimmerman's Cyclical Model on Students' Everyday Memory and Selective Attention

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of Psychology, Payame Noor University,Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Objective: Memory and attention are two processes that influence most aspects of life. Cognitive psychologists believe that teaching self-regulation strategies can have a positive effect on these two processes. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify the effectiveness of teaching self-regulation strategies, based on Zimmerman's cyclical model, on everyday memory and selective attention.
Method: The present study adopted a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test/post-test and a control group. The statistical population included all eighth-grade students in Shiraz. The sample consisted of volunteer eighth-grade students who met the inclusion criteria for participating in the research and were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (each with 15 participants). To collect data, the Everyday Memory Questionnaire by Sunderland et al. (1983) and the Stroop software were used. The experimental group underwent ten sessions of training in self-regulation strategies based on Zimmerman's cyclical model. The collected data were analyzed using ANOVA with SPSS-26 software (P < .05).
Results: The results of the analysis showed that all attention variables (Stroop test) and memory were significant at the .05 level (.001 ≤ p ≤ .033). The effect size (eta squared) ranged from .23 to .34, indicating the effectiveness of the intervention. Therefore, training in self-regulation strategies based on Zimmerman’s cyclical model led to a significant improvement in attention and everyday memory in the experimental group compared to the control group (P < .05).
Conclusions: Based on the findings of the present study, by utilizing a self-regulation training program, problems related to concentration and attention can be reduced and memory capacities can be improved.

Keywords

Subjects

 

Aghdar, A., Allipour,S., & Shehni Yeilagh, M. (2020). The relationship between executive functions and self-regulated academic learning regarding the mediating role of metacognition and working memory among university students. Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory, 2(8), 73-82. doi: 10.22034/iepa.2020.236019.1178

Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M. W., & Anderson, M. C. (2020). Memory (2nd ed.). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315749860

Barghi Irani, Z., Ali Akbari Dehkordi, M., & Begian Kulehmar, M.J. (2015). The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy on memory status and sleep in older adults. Journal of Psychology of Aging, 1(1), 19–30. (in Persian) 

Blume, F., Irmer, A., Dirk, J., & Schmiedek, F. (2022). Day-to-day variation in students’ academic success: The role of self-regulation, working memory, and achievement goals. Developmental Science, 25(6), e13301.https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13301

Bruya, B., & Tang, Y. Y. (2021). Fluid attention in education: Conceptual and neurobiological framework. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 704443. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.704443

Chen, Y., Zhang, M., & Lin, Q. (2022). Cognitive load and encoding methods affect prospective memory and its components in low achieving pupils in math. Acta Psychologica Sinica. doi://  10.3724/SP.J.1041.2022.01491

Cherukunnath, D., & Singh, A. P. (2022). Exploring cognitive processes of knowledge acquisition to upgrade academic practices. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 682628. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.682628

 Cowan, N., Bao, C., Bishop-Chrzanowski, B. M., Costa, A. N., Greene, N. R., Guitard, D., Li, C., Musich, M. L., & Ünal, Z. E. (2024). The relation between attention and memory. Annual Review of Psychology, 75(1), 183-214. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-040723-012736

Dario, N., & Lund, K. (2023). Moving from the spontaneous to the intentional: More evidence of how children use visual marginalia to self-regulate their learning. In P. Blikstein, J. Van Aalst, R. Kizito, & K. Brennan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 17th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2023) (pp. 1823-1824). International Society of the Learning Sciences.

Dehghani, Y., Hoseini, F. S., & Jamshidi, F. (2024). The effects of EASY Minds program on working memory and selective attention in students with math learning disabilities. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 71(4), 620–632. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2022.2140782

Delavar, A. (2023). Research methodology in psychology and educational sciences. Virayesh Publications. (in Persian) 

Dell'Erba, M. (2018). Demystifying technology. Do smart contracts require a new legal framework? Regulatory fragmentation, self-regulation, public regulation [Unpublished manuscript] SSRN. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3228445

Dörrenbächer-Ulrich, L., & Bregulla, M. (2024). The relationship between self-regulated learning and executive functions—A systematic review. Educational Psychology Review, 36(3), 95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09932-8

Efklides, A., Yiultsi, E., Kangellidou, T., Kounti, F., Dina, F., & Tsolaki, M. (2002). Wechsler Memory Scale, Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test, and Everyday Memory Questionnaire in healthy adults and Alzheimer patients. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18(1), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.1027//1015-5759.18.1.63

Feizi, P., Emamipour, S., Hassani-Abharian, P., & Kooshki, S. (2020). Comparing Cup Stacking and Transcranial Direct current stimulation on working memory and processing speed. Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory, 3(11), 61-68. doi: 10.22034/iepa.2021.247006.1206

Franzen, M. D., Tishelman, A. C., Sharp, B. H., & Friedman, A. G. (1987). An investigation of the test-retest reliability of the Stroop Color-Word Test. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology.

García, L., & Fernández, P. (2025). Randomized controlled trials cognitive interventions in children and adolescents from low-socioeconomic backgrounds: A systematic review. Current Psychology, 44, 2958–2981. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07396-9

Ghaderi, F., Jazayeri, A., Ashayeri, H., & Ghazi Tabatabaei, S. M. (2006). Executive function deficits in schizo-obsessive patients. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1(2). https://jcp.semnan.ac.ir/article_2129_ba12b224187143e64464e6a743a7f1f3.pdf (in Persian)

Gelman, R. (2000). Domain specificity and variability in cognitive development. Child Development, 71(4), 854-6. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00193.

Ji, Z., Huang, H., & Wang, Z. (2021). The effects of divided attention and selective attention on the accuracy of memory. In 2021 4th International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2021) (pp. 1557-1561). Atlantis Press.

Josselyn, S. A., & Tonegawa, S. (2020). Memory engrams: Recalling the past and imagining the future. Science, 367(6473), eaaw4325. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw4325

Karmi Noori, R. (2011). Psychology of memory and learning: A cognitive approach. Tehran, Iran: SAMT (Organization for Researching and Composing University Textbooks in the Humanities) . (in Persian) 

Kimura, I., Noyama, H., Onagawa, R., Takemi, M., Osu, R., & Kawahara, J. I. (2024). Efficacy of neurofeedback training for improving attentional performance in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Imaging Neuroscience, 2, imag-2.

Lawson, M. J., Vosniadou, S., Van Deur, P., Wyra, M., & Jeffries, D. (2019). Teachers’ and students’ belief systems about the self-regulation of learning. Educational Psychology Review, 31, 223-251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9453-7

Loftus, G. R., & Loftus, E. F. (2019). Human memory: The processing of information. Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315787145

MacLeod, C. M. (1991). Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 109(2), 163–203. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.163

Mirzaie Khalilabadi, M., Tajrobeh Kar, M., & Khezri Moghadam,  N. (2020). The effectiveness of attention facilitator-inhibitor rehabilitation on executive functions and visual perception of children with learning disorder on the basis of integrated SNP/CHC Model. Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory, 2(8), 15-24. doi: 10.22034/iepa.2020.234721.1175. doi: 10.22034/iepa.2020.234721.1175

Nadra, J. G., Sullivan, G., & Mangun, G. R. (2025). Volitional attention to color: Breaking willed attention out of the spatial domain. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.10.664245

Najarian, B., & Brati-Sedeh, F. (1994). Stroop test: Administration and scoring manual. (In Persian) 

Panadero, E., & Alonso-Tapia, J. (2014). How do students self-regulate? Review of Zimmerman’s cyclical model of self-regulated learning. Anales de Psicología, 30(2), 450-462. http://dx.doi.org/10.6018/analesps.30.2.167221

Pereira, A., Miranda, S., Teixeira, S., Mesquita, S., Zanatta, C., & Rosario, P. (2021). Promote selective attention in 4th-grade students: lessons learned from a school-based intervention on self-regulation. Children, 8(3), 182. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8030182

Privitera, A. J., Ng, S. H. S., & Chen, S.H.A. (2025). Cognitive and neural mechanisms of learning and interventions for improvement across the adult lifespan: A systematic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 166, Article 105987. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.105987

Robson, D. A., Allen, M. S., & Howard, S. J. (2020). Self-regulation in childhood as a predictor of future outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Psychological bulletin, 146(4), 324.

Savina, E. (2021). Self-regulation in preschool and early elementary classrooms: Why it is important and how to promote it. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(3), 493-501. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01094-w

Sevincer, A. T., Schröder, A., Plakides, A., Edler, N., & Oettingen, G. (2024). Low working memory reduces the use of mental contrasting. Consciousness and Cognition, 118, Article 103644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2024.103644

Siegel, A. L., & Castel, A. D. (2018). The role of attention in remembering important item-location associations. Memory & Cognition, 46, 1248-1262. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-018-0834-8

Sridhar, S., Khamaj, A., & Asthana, M. K. (2023). Cognitive neuroscience perspective on memory: Overview and summary. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17, 1217093. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1217093

Strauss, E., Sherman, E. M. S., & Spreen, O. (2006). A compendium of neuropsychological tests: Administration, norms, and commentary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18(6), 643-662. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054651

Sunderland, A., Harris, J. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1983). Do laboratory tests predict everyday memory? A neuropsychological study. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22(3), 341-357. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(83)90229-3

Sun, H., Soh, K. G., Norjali Wazir, M. R. W., Ding, C., Xu, T., & Zhang, D. (2022). Can self-regulatory strength training counter prior mental exertion? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 904374. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.904374

Van Gog, T., Hoogerheide, V., & Van Harsel, M. (2020). The role of mental effort in fostering self-regulated learning with problem-solving tasks. Educational Psychology Review, 32(4), 1055-1072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.101976

Yeung, A. S., Jin, P., & Sweller, J. (1998). Cognitive load and learner expertise: Split-attention and redundancy effects in reading with explanatory notes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1997.0951

Zlotnik, G., & Vansintjan, A. (2019). Memory: An extended definition. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2523. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02523