Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness training and self-efficacy training on psychological well-being and job engagement among physical education teachers in Tabriz.
Method: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group was employed. The statistical population included all physical education teachers in Tabriz, from which 45 participants were selected via convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups: mindfulness training (n=15), self-efficacy training (n=15), and control (n=15). Data were collected using the Job Engagement Questionnaire (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2006) and the Psychological Well-being Questionnaire (Ryff et al., 2004). Interventions were applied to the experimental groups, followed by posttest assessments. Data were analyzed using MANCOVA, ANCOVA, and MANOVA with SPSS-22 software.
Results: Both mindfulness and self-efficacy training significantly improved psychological well-being compared to the control group (p<0.01, effect sizes: 21 and 22.88, respectively), with no significant difference between the two intervention groups. For job engagement, both interventions showed significant improvements over the control group (effect sizes: 18.40 for self-efficacy, 19.73 for mindfulness). Mindfulness training had a significantly greater effect on job engagement than self-efficacy training (p<0.05, effect size: 1.33).
Conclusions: Mindfulness and self-efficacy training both enhance psychological well-being and job engagement among physical education teachers, with mindfulness training demonstrating a superior effect on job engagement. These findings suggest that both interventions are effective, but mindfulness training may offer additional benefits for improving job engagement.

Abstract This study investigated the association between social anxiety and problematic smartphone use among elite student athletes, emphasizing the mediating role of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Employing a descriptive-correlational design based on structural equation modeling, participants were selected through convenience sampling from the population of elite university athletes nationwide. The instruments included the Social Anxiety Questionnaire (Jarabek, 1996), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2006), assessing maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, and the Problematic Smartphone Use Scale (Kwon et al., 2013). Data were analyzed using correlational techniques and structural equation modeling. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between social anxiety and problematic smartphone use, which was mediated by maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Furthermore, the proposed structural model demonstrated an acceptable goodness of fit. These results highlight the importance of developing group-based, educational, and psychological interventions to enhance adaptive emotion regulation strategies and reduce technology-related behavioral problems among elite athletes.

Abstract Objective: This study examined the effectiveness of water-based games in improving the reading skills of eight-year-old boys with dyslexia.
Method: A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measures and a control group was used. From a population of 150 second-grade boys referred to specialized learning disability centers in Hamadan in 2022, 30 students diagnosed with dyslexia were selected via convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (n=15 each). The experimental group received 15 sessions of structured water-based games (three times per week), while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Dyslexia Syndrome Checklist (Teacher Form; validity and reliability reported by Pakdaman Savoji, 2009), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Revised (WISC-R; Wechsler, 1974), and the NEMA Dyslexia Scale (Karami-Nouri & Moradi, 2008). Statistical analysis was performed using MANCOVA.
Results: The results demonstrated that the experimental group achieved significantly higher overall reading performance than the control group (F = 45.09, p < 0.01; η² = 0.62). Significant improvements were also observed in reading-related skills, including word reading, rhyme, picture naming, text comprehension, and word understanding (p < 0.01). However, no significant progress was found in word strings, phoneme deletion, pseudoword reading, letter symbols, or category symbols (p > 0.05).
Conclusions: Overall, the findings suggest that structured water-based games can effectively enhance reading performance in children with dyslexia, particularly in comprehension and vocabulary-related skills. However, limited improvements in phonological processing indicate that such interventions are most beneficial when combined with explicit phonological instruction.

Abstract Objective:This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of Dual- growth mindsettraining on enhancing job meaningfulness, work engagement, and organizational vitality among female employees of the Tabriz Welfare Organization.
Method:The research method was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population included female welfare employees in Tabriz County in 2025, and a sample of 40 individuals (20 in the experimental group and 20 in the control group) was selected using cluster random sampling and randomly assigned. The educational intervention consisted of 15 sixty-minute sessions (7 sessions on self-incremental mindset based on Garofalo, 2016, and 8 sessions on job-incremental mindset based on Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001) implemented for the experimental group. The research instruments included the Job Meaningfulness Questionnaire by Steger et al. (2012), the Work Engagement Questionnaire by Salanova and Schaufeli (2001), and the Organizational Vitality Questionnaire by Kauffman (2007). Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate covariance analysis.
Results:The results showed that Dual- growth mindsettraining created a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (P=0.021). Univariate analyses also confirmed a significant increase in post-test scores in the experimental group (job meaningfulness: F(1,37)=712.99, p<0.001, η²=0.729; work engagement: F(1,37)=12.72, p<0.001, η²=0.66; organizational vitality: F(1,37)=93.31, p<0.001, η²=0.463).
Discussion:These findings are consistent with Dweck's (2006) incremental mindset theory, and it is recommended that this intervention be included in the training programs of Iranian service organizations to enhance employees' psychological well-being.

Abstract The Persian writing system is characterized by features such as the optional omission of short vowels (diacritics) and obligatory letter connectivity, which may increase its orthographic complexity. This study investigated the impact of this inherent complexity on working memory capacity and cognitive load during reading.
A within-subjects design was employed with 45 skilled adult Persian readers. Participants read texts under two conditions: (a) Vowelized (with full diacritics) and (b) Non-Vowelized (standard script). Working memory capacity was assessed using a reading span task administered after each condition. Cognitive load was measured via a self-report 9-point Likert scale and a dual-task paradigm (secondary reaction time task). Eye-tracking metrics (fixation duration and regressions) were also recorded.
Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of script type. Reading non-vowelized texts resulted in significantly higher cognitive load scores (p < .001), longer reaction times in the dual-task (p < .01), and poorer performance on the reading span task (p < .01) compared to the vowelized condition. Eye-tracking data showed significantly longer average fixation durations (p < .05) and a higher number of regressions (p < .01) for non-vowelized texts.
The findings indicate that the orthographic complexity of standard Persian script, primarily driven by short vowel omission, imposes a significant additional demand on working memory resources and increases cognitive load during reading. This suggests that visual word recognition in Persian is less automatic and requires more top-down processing, potentially affecting reading fluency and comprehension efficiency. Implications for educational practices and reading models are discussed.

Abstract Objective: The present study aimed to effectiveness reality therapy-based educational package on pain perception and self-care in older adults with diabetes.
Method: This semi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design with control group and follow-up 2 month. The statistical population was included all older adults with diabetes in Tehran, Iran, in 2023, from which 50 participants were selected using convenient sampling. The instruments used in this study included the Pain Perception Questionnaire, the Self-Care Questionnaire for Older Adults by Hemati and Hashemloo (2015), and Researcher-made questionnaire Pain perception questionnaire. Analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni post hoc test was used for data analysis. The data analysis software was SPSS version 27.
Results: The results of training intervention showed that reality therapy-based educational package significantly reduced the pain perception and self-care in older adults with diabetes and this effect was significant in the follow-up phase.
Conclusions: Therefore, it is recommended that psychologists, counselors, and individuals and organizations working with older adults utilize this reality therapy-based educational package to improve pain perception and self-care in older adults with diabetes.