Browsing by Subject "polkuanalyysi"

The aim of this study is to investigate the interrelations between students' academic emotions, cognitive attributional strategies and psychological flexibility. According to previous studies, cognitive attributional strategies are linked to learning related emotions and learning outcomes. However, it is still unclear how students' ability to deal with emotions influence the cognitive strategies they use in learning. Therefore, it is reasonable to attach psychological flexibility as a part of the study, and to explore, how these factors are interrelated with one another. Cognitive attributional strategies are suggested to have a mediating role in psychological flexibility-academic emotions association. The data was gathered with an online questionnaire in the Faculty of Humanities and Arts during November and December 2013, as a part of a research project at the Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education. The sample consisted of 231 students. The hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). At first, the original models of psychological flexibility, cognitive attributional strategies and academic emotions were analyzed separately by confirmatory factor analysis in order to examine the factor structures more closely. Secondly, all the three models were placed into same path model to analyze the interrelations between these variables. Significant regressions between these constructs were found and the path model fitted the data fairly well. The results support the hypothesized claim that psychological flexibility predicts optimistic cognitive attributional strategies. In turn, students who are less psychologically flexible are more likely to use self-handicapping strategies. In the light of this study, it seems that optimistic strategy predicts pleasant studying-related emotions. Surprisingly regression between optimism and boredom was nonexistent. Optimism also predicted unpleasant emotions negatively. In contrary, self-handicapping predicted unpleasant academic emotions, shame, anxiety and boredom. It also predicted enjoyment negatively. Self-handicapping did not predict hope significantly. The results supported the claim that cognitive attributional strategies have a mediating role in psychological flexibility-academic emotions association. Students' emotional experiences should be considered in university context because they affect the students' learning process and general well-being. For example, open discussion about emotions with other students and teachers could help the individual to be more aware of their emotions, and thereby, learn to accept emotions as part of learning. Courses which concentrate on emotion regulation could be personally useful for graduate students who often experience high levels of stress and are at risk of burnout.