The Effects of Self-Hypnosis on Motivational Beliefs and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies in Students

In the last two decades, education experts have paid more attention to cognition and motivation. In the past, numerous researchers have separately studied the relationship between cognitive and motivational processes and academic activity. However, most psychologists are currently focused on both cognition and motivation and their role in learning. Furthermore, the components of novel theories, such as self-regulated learning, cognitive aspects, academic motivation, and activism are considered as intertwined and related sets. In recent years, hypnosis has gained considerable prestige in the psychology and medical professions due to its therapeutic role in controlling various disorders, including chronic pain, as well as sleep and anxiety disorders. Motivational beliefs and strategies concerning self-regulated learning are among effective factors in students’ academic performance and educational achievement. The current research study aimed at investigating the effects of self-hypnosis on these two factors.

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest and a control group design. The study population consisted of twelfth-grade students of Tehran City, Iran, in 2019. Fifty participants were selected using the convenience sampling method. After completing the Motivational Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich & de Groot, 1990) and obtaining the required score to enter the research (<40) the study subjects were randomly assigned into the experimental and control groups (n=25/group). The experimental group received 10 sessions of self-hypnosis training program based on Olness et al.’s (1987) training package; however, the controls received no intervention. For gathering data in pretest and posttest, we used the Motivational Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich & de Groot, 1990). The obtained data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS. The significance level of the tests was considered 0.05

The present study findings suggested that after removing the effects of the pretest, the presented self-hypnosis treatment was effective in increasing motivational beliefs (p<0.001) and increasing self-regulated learning strategies (p<0.001). The effects of the coefficients of motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning strategies were 0.66 and 0.78, respectively.

The current research results indicated that self-hypnosis can enhance motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning strategies in twelfth-grade students. Thus, interventions based on such training may be effective in students’ performance and academic achievement.