فصلنامه روانشناسی شناختی

To determine the role of positive and negative emotion, pessimism, optimism, and information processing styles in the students’ psychological adjustment, using the multi-stage cluster sampling method, 400 students of Tabriz University were selected. They were assessed by the positive and negative affect scales (PANAS), Life Orientation-Revised (LOT-R), California Psychological Test (CPI), and Perceive Modes of Processing Inventory (PMPI). The data was analyzed using multiple regression and Pearson correlation coefficient methods. Findings showed that optimism, positive emotions, and rational and experimental information processing styles could significantly predict the psychological adjustment. Therefore, the present study suggests that the students’ psychological adjustment is considerably influenced by their emotional, attributive, and cognitive factors, so these parameters can affect their process of Psychological adjustment.

Executive function is a set of processes which is responsible for the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral and performance conduct of human being at the time of activities and problem solving. The aim of this study was the comparison of the executive function of the reorganization of thought in adolescents with cannabis abuse. This study is a casual comparison, so 50 adolescents with cannabis abuse who lived in Ahwaz’ juvenile institution and were between the age of 15 and 18 were selected and were compared with 50 normal adolescents of a high school in Ahwaz city, as the control group, who were similar to each other in terms of some demographical variables and who were selected through availability sampling. To collect the data, Gestalt test, TOVA test (as a continual performance test) and Vygotsky’s concept formation test were used. The data was analyzed through multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results showed that the adolescents with a cannabis abuse disorder had weaker performance in the behavior inhibition and reconstruction of thought than the normal adolescents and there was significant difference between these two groups. Generally speaking, considering the results of the study, i.e. the weaker performance of the adolescents with cannabis abuse disorder in executive functions (behavior inhibition and reorganization of thought) than the normal students, it seems that this weakness would lead to the inappropriate social behaviors, problems in decision making, inappropriate judgment, problems with innovation and change, distractibility and problems in various aspects of memory.

 
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of gymnastics training, as a motor activity, on the mental rotation. This Study was carried out considering an experimental group, students of physical education practicing gymnastics training, and a control group, students of the other majors of the faculty of humanities in each group there were 40 students, 20 males and 20 females. First, the two groups took the mental rotation test of Peters et al (1995), and then the experimental group has undergone gymnastics training for 9 weeks. After the training sessions, both groups were tested again. To examine the differences in pre-test and post-test scores of the two groups, one way analysis of covariance was used, and to examine the differences of mental rotation between the two groups in pre-test scores, T test was used. The findings showed significant difference in the scores of the post- test compared to those of the pre-test, and it was shown in the experimental group. The difference between the scores of the students of physical education and the scores of the students of other majors of the faculty of humanities was significant to the benefit of the students of physical education. Furthermore, between the scores of the girls and boys in the mental rotation, significant difference was observed to the benefit of boys. In the present study, the effect of the gymnastics training program on the ability of mental rotation was concluded and this conclusion showed the effects of the program of motor intervention on the spatial and cognitive abilities

The goal of the present study was to investigate the impact of the attention training on the visual search in normal adults and children. In this study, using purposive random sampling, 60 subjects (30 adults and 30 children) were selected. The tools used in this study were concentrated attention test, mini mental state examination and researcher made questionnaire which was used to control the variables. First, the pre-test (concentrated attention) was performed and then the adults has underwent five 35 minutes sessions of training for three weeks and the children has underwent ten 45 minutes sessions of training for five weeks, and finally post-test was performed for the two groups. Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Analysis of the data showed the significant impactof the attention trainingon the rate of correct responding and the reaction time of visual search. Given the impact of the attention training on the visual search, the importance of these trainings in process shaping, correct cognitive processes, paying attention to the target stimuli and quick, accurate responding become more and more clear.
 

The purpose of current study was to investigate the effect of Attention Training Technique (ATT) on the anxiety, self-focused attention and metacognitions in socially anxious adolescents. Of 200 participants, 34 participants were selected considering their scores in social anxiety scale (SAS), Beck Depression Scale and Structured Clinical Interview which was based on DSM-IV-TR. Finally, 16 participants were selected based on their high scores in Focus of Attention Questionnaire (FAQ) and metacognition questionnaire and after a social task in front of two adults then, these participants were randomly classified into experimental and control groups. Following the 4^th and 8^th sessions and following a month after the training, the two groups completed self-focused attention scale, metacognition questionnaire, cognitive-attentional syndrome scale and social anxiety questionnaire. According to the results of the study, resulting from analysis of variance with repeated measures, the experimental group showed significant reduction in self-focused attention, positive and negative metacognitive beliefs, cognitive control, cognitive attentional syndrome and social anxiety. The results of this study suggested that anxiety could be lastingly modified through a brief attention manipulation without the use of other cognitive behavioral techniques however, cogent decision making needs more studies

Purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mental imagery on the motor performance Enhancement among the athletes in the Sport of Aerobic Dance. In this study which was an experimental research, 40 girl athletes in aerobic dance whose average age was 22.3 participated voluntarily and were put randomly into experimental and control group. Experimental design of the study included 13 sessions of mental imagery (3 days a week and for one month) and at the end of each session physical exercise was performed for the experimental group. Both groups were assessed four times pre-test, middle test, post-test and follow-up (two months after the intervention) were used for the assessment. To assess the subjects, motor performance check-list was used which was made by the coach and an aerobic dance referee in a measuring scale of ten. To analyze the data and to neutralize the effect of pre-test, analysis of covariance was used. According to the results of the study, the changes of the motor performance scale in the middle test, post-test and follow-up were significant. Therefore, it can be concluded that mental imagery can have an effect on the motor performance enhancement.
 

The present research aims at comparing the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Behavioral Activation Therapy (BAT) in the improvement of cognitive functions (working memory and simple reaction time) in the heroin abusers in Afghanistan.
To this end, through a semi-experimental design including two groups with pre test and post test, 30 heroine abusers referring to the abstinence center of Universal Kabul Physicians were selected by the availability sampling and were then divided into the two groups of experimental 1 (CBT) and expeerimental2 (BAT).  Both groups were first administered the Working Memory Inventory, one of the subscales of Wexler Memory Test (the third edition) and the Stroop software to be evaluated on the working memory and the reaction time. Then the experimental group1 was administered cognitive behavioral therapy and the experimental group2 was administered behavioral activation therapy within 10 sessions of group therapy.
The analysis of the findings indicates that there is a significant difference between the two groups in terms of working memory and simple reaction time. The findings indicate that behavioral –cognitive therapy is more effective in the improvement of working memory and the behavioral activation therapy is more effective in the decrease of the reaction time of heroine abusers. Therefore, both therapy methods are applicable in the improvement of cognitive functions for heroine abusers.  
 

The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of the self-consciousness and attention on the decrease of performance in female basketball players. 60 athletes, who were the members of different basketball team in Ahvaz city, were selected through simple random sampling and then were put in four groups: two experimental group for the self-consciousness (a group with high self-consciousness and a group with low self-consciousness) and two experimental group for the attention (a group with relevant attention and a group with irrelevant attention). Open and closed skills as well as self-consciousness questionnaire were considered as the measurement tools of the study. Results of multivariable regression analysis showed that the low self-consciousness and irrelevant attention groups were better than the other groups in the situations with high pressure. Generally, those with high-self consciousness were aroused more than the group with low self-consciousness. Individuals with high self-consciousness believed that they were in the target of the others’ observation. So, the findings of the study supported the distraction model. Skill failure and success depended on how the environment of performing affects the attention and on how much skill performance depends on the attention.  

This research has studied the effect ofmeta-cognitive trainings in the reading functions of the third grade male dyslexia Students of the Elementary Schools. Research design of the study was experimental and its type was pre-post test with the control group. Population of this research included all the third grade male dyslexia students of the elementary schools in Abik city in the academic year 2012-2013. Sample of the study included 30 dyslexia students who were selected on the random basis. These subjects were put in two groups of 15: an experimental group and a control group. The tools applied in this study were dyslexia and reading (NAMA) test and children`s Wechsler Intelligence test. The experimental group received the meta-cognitive trainings for 8 sessions of 60 minutes while there was no interfering in the control group. Following the interference, the dyslexia and reading test was executed for the both groups. The data then was analyzed by the covariance analysis. Results of the study showed that the meta-cognitive trainings were effective in the reading functions of the dyslexia students.  

The Purpose of this study was investigating the effects of the emotion elicitation on the enhancement of the implicit motor memory. To achieve this goal, of the students of Kharazmi University, 40 undergraduate students (20 male and 20 female students), who were accessible, were selected, and then they were divided randomly into two emotional and neutral groups: in each group there was 10 men and 10 women. Serial color matching task was considered for this study. The experiment included two periods: acquisition and remembering period. In the acquisition period, all groups practiced the task for six blocks of 150 trials with the repetitive and random frequency. During the acquisition period, the emotion of a group was aroused by the method of manipulating failure while the other group was in a neutral situation. During the experiment, the changes occurred in the density of the salivary cortisol and anxiety was measured. The Results showed that increasing the emotion of the task could increase the density of the salivary cortisol and anxiety. Furthermore, while the neutral group had no enhancement in SCRT learning during the 24 hours, the emotional group showed substantial enhancement during the same period of time.  

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the coping styles, meta-cognitive beliefs and test anxiety by considering the mediating role of coping styles based on the Self-regulatory executive function in the university students. In 2010, 638 students of Tehran’s kharazmi University and Agricultural faculty of Tehran University were selected through Stratified sampling method from October to November. Students completed Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations of Endler and Parker, Test Anxiety Inventory, Metacognitions Questionnaire. In this study the correlational method was used. Spearman correlation test was used to determine the relationship between the variables and the path analysis method was used to determine the contribution of each component. The Results showed that the emotion-oriented and problem-oriented coping strategies had a mediating role in the relationship between the meta-cognition and test anxiety. But avoidance coping strategy had no mediating role in this relationship. Of five dimensions of meta-cognition, only the positive meta-cognitive beliefs and cognitive confidence had a direct effect on the test anxiety. But the effects of other dimensions were indirect. With respect to the results, focusing on the coping strategies and meta-cognitive beliefs can play an important role in the students’ test anxiety. It is suggested that the treatment interventions which are based on the meta-cognition and coping should be considered for treatment of test anxiety disorder.  

The goal of this research is to investigate the effect of informal education on female and male students of Khurazmi University. The method of research is survey research. The scale is based on primary interviews, creating research questionnaire, investigating the facial and content validity of questionnaire and calculating the cronbach’s alpha of the questionnaire. Verifying the psychological aspects of the questionnaire, they are distributed among 850 male and female students equally. By removing the falsified questionnaires the 733 were investigated. The results imply that in factor analyses of the data, 13 factors (47.48%) have been identified. The performed comparative study of female and male students showed that the female students in religious studies, increasing religious knowledge, acquainting with globalization and political thought are standing in a higher level than male students. On the other hand, male students in considering the essence of religion and morality instead of religious rules, political views and activities, abuse of technology and cultural retardation are standing in a higher level than female students.

 

The present study investigated of relationship between the components of metacognitive knowledge and reading comprehension of students with a developmental approach. Statistics population was fifth grade girl students in elementary school and third grade girl students in secondary school of seventh district of ministry of education in Tehran. 80 students (38 third grade girl students in secondary school and 42 fifth grade girl students in elementary school) were selected with multi stage cluster sampling. Instruments of the study were metacognitive knowledge questionnaire and reading comprehension questionnaire. The result of the study indicated that: there is a positive correlation between metacognitive knowledge and reading comprehension in both grades. Among the elementary school’s fifth grade students, the person subscale was good predictors of reading comprehension. Among the secondary school’s third grade students, the task subscale was good predictors of reading comprehension. The person and task subscales predict 47% of variance of reading comprehension.  The third grade girl students in secondary school have higher scores in metacognitive knowledge and reading comprehension than fifth grade girl students in elementary school.
 

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of cognitive flexibility in predicting the hopelessness and resilience among university students. 277students of Shiraz University participated in the present study via cluster sampling method during the fall semester of the 2010- 2011 academic year. The participants completed the items of Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Scale, and Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale. To analyze the data, the statistical methods of Pearson correlation coefficient and simultaneous multiple regression analysis were conducted. The results showed that Control subscale could negatively predict the total score of hopelessness and all of its subscales. Moreover, alternatives control subscale negatively predicted the total score of hopelessness and the hopelessness subscales of disappointment in achieving the desired and negative expectations about future. Alternatives for human Behaviors subscale predicted the hopelessness subscale of future uncertainty. Simultaneous multiple Regression analyses in predicting resilience indicated that Control and Alternatives subscales predicted the resilience. It is concluded that cognitive flexibility has the ability to predict the hopelessness and resilience. Thus, educating cognitive flexibility via cognitive- behavior therapy (CBT) can decrease hopelessness and increase the resilience among clients.  

The objective of the current research is to compare the function of declarative memory among war veterans who are suffering from PTSD ,war veterans who are not suffering from PTSD and normal people without any war experience the research has also aimed at studying and comparing the influence of the modifying role of meta cognition on the function of declarative memory among the three groups of the study.60 people have been selected and placed in three groups: 20 war veterans suffering from PTSD , chosen by PTSD scales 20 veterans not suffering from PTSD and 20 normal people without any war experience. All three groups were evaluated by WatsonPTSD questionnaires, declarative memory memory interview and delayed recall story) and meta cognition questionnaire .The research hypotheses were tested by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The result have indicated that the function of declarative memory in the three groups without the control of meta cognition moderator is significant , in another word the declarative memory function in war veterans suffering from PTSD is different with the two other groups. It can be also deduced from the results of the research that the declarative memory function by the control of meta cognition modifying  role was not significant this time which indicates the modifying role of meta cognition in decreasing the declarative memory function in war veterans suffering from PTSD in comparison with the two other mentioned groups.

The aim of the current study was to investigate negative processing of implicit information relating to self by self-esteem implicit association test in depressed and non-depressed students.17 depressed students and 17 non-depressed students were selected according to a convenience sampling method. Beck depression inventory (BDI-II) and clinical interviews were employed to diagnose depressed individuals. The Beck anxiety inventory (BAI) was conducted to control of participant's anxiety. The data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).Results revealed that depressed individuals had higher scores in Beck depression inventory (BDI-II) than non-depressed (p = 0.001). It is also a significant difference between depressed and non-depressed individuals (p = 0.003).According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that depressed studentshave lower implicit self-esteem scores than non-depressed, in self-esteem implicit association test (IAT).

fatigueis anunpleasant mental feelingthat has also been shown to decrease physical and Mental performance. Fatigue is a very common complaint and it is important to Healthcare Experts.The aim of this study was to investigate the role of meta-cognition in predicting feeling of fatigue based on Brown’s model. In this study, 400 undergraduate students of Tabriz University were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. The participants filled Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS) and short form of Wells meta-cognition scale (MCQ-30). Analyzing data was performed via multiple regression analysis by SPSS18 software. Research findings revealed that meta-cognition predicted cognitive, physical, social and total fatigue, significantly. It predicted 33%-42% of variance of fatigue dimensions and total fatigue. On the basis of results, focusing on the role of meta-cognition could be the important part of therapeutic interventions for the people with chronic fatigue syndrome.

In this study was tested the effect of psychology pressures on the serial reaction time task. In this research served 75 right-handed participants, were randomly assigned to three experimental condition (each group consisted of 25 students), including the outcome pressure, monitoring pressure and control groups. First of all groups practice serial reaction time and then test stage was performed by applying pressure conditions for the group. Results repeated measures ANOVA showed that subjects in the monitoring pressure group had decrement performance higher than the other groups in the test phase. Skill failure and success depends in part on how the performance environment influences attention and the extent to which skill execution depends on explicit attentional control.

The goal of the current study was to assess the role of the cognitive emotion regulation strategie in student’s test anxiety. Using randomized multistage cluster sampling method 330 (165 girls, 135 boys) were selected and assessed by Persian version of cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (Garnefski, Kraaij & Spinhoven, 2001) and Spielberger's test Anxiety Scale (1980). The results of stepwise multivariate regression analysis indicated that among adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, positive reappraisal and putting into perspective pridected both wory and emotionality components of test anxiety, wheras total score of test anxiety was pridected by positive reappraisal and refocus on planning strategies. Among maladaptive strategies, self-blame and catastrophizing strategies pridected wory component and total score of test anxiety. Also, the emotionality component was pridected via self-blame, catastrophizing and rumination strategies. The results of this study indicate that dysfunctional cognitive coping is one of causes of test anxiety incidence and training effective cognitive emotion regulation strategies can be major steps in test anxiety based interventions.

Anxiety disorders, particularly social phobia, are one of the most important disorders in students requiring attention. This aim study compared Explicit and implicit memory in social phobia people and normal people. In this study with causal – comparative method 50 subjects with social phobia and 50 normal individuals have compared, Subjects were selected Through Screeningfrom between Tabriz university students. Data collected measures of social phobia, the word stem completion test & Note the sign test. Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. This study showed that in positive and negative words implicit memory in social phobia people and normal subject’s Significant differences between the two groups of people with social phobia and normal people. But are not significant differences between the two groups in explicit memory.