نشریه روانشناسی شناختی
پیاپی 1 (پاییز 1392)

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 4th and 8th 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.