Pre-service Physics Teachers’ Beliefs about Learning Physics and Their Learning Achievement in Physics

This study investigates pre-service teachers’ beliefs about learning physics and explores how beliefs correlate with learning achievement as evidenced by conceptual understanding and grades in a year-long physics course. To investigate beliefs about learning physics, 14 second-year pre-service teachers in a teacher training program in South Korea completed a Likert-style questionnaire called the Beliefs About Learning Physics Survey (BAPS). To measure learning achievement, final grades for the physic course were obtained and the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was used to assess conceptual understanding. Analysis revealed that pre-service physics teachers’ beliefs about learning physics had a positive correlation with conceptual understanding but not with motivational beliefs. Students’ grades in physics had a positive correlation with cognitive beliefs, regardless of changes in pre- and post-test responses. Implications about how to utilize pre-service physics teachers’ beliefs about learning physics as an epistemological resource for teaching and learning physics are discussed.

Role of Meta-cognitive Beliefs and Emotional Schemes in Predicting the Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in People Referring to Legal Medicine

Introduction: Some studies have addressed the role of meta-cognitive beliefs and emotional schemes in the persistence of symptoms of post traumatic stress disorders. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the role of meta-cognitive beliefs and emotional schemes in predicting the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder in people referred to the legal medicine of Khorramabad City. Methods: The present study was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population of this study consisted of all individuals with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder referring to the forensic medicine organization in Khorramabad City in 2017-2018. Among them, 200 individuals were selected as the statistical sample by available sampling method. The participants completed the PTSD Symptom Scale - Self report (PSS-SR, Foa et al, 1993), Meta-cognitive Beliefs Questionnaires (Wells and Carthage-Hatton, 2004), and Leahy Emotional Schema Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using step by step regression analysis. Results: Results revealed that there was a positive and significant correlation between the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder with meta-cognitive beliefs and emotional schemes (exept consensus and rumination) (p<0.05). In addition, multiple regression analysis showed that positive metacognitive beliefs (β= 0.500, p= 0.001), cognitive self-awareness (β= -1.090, p= 0.001), uncontrollability (β= -4.162, p= 0.001) and expression of feeling (β= -1.572, p= 0.001) might predict the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. Conclusion: With regard to the results of the current study attention should be directed to the relationship between symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and meta-cognitive beliefs. Moreover, therapeutic interventions should be targeted at improving negative metacognitive beliefs and emotional schemes in patients.

The Relationship between Perceived Health Message Motivation and Social Cognitive Beliefs in Persuasive Health Communication

People respond to different types of health messages in persuasive health communication aimed at motivating behavior change. Hence, in human factors design, there is a need to tailor health applications to different user groups rather than change the human characteristics and conditions. However, in the domain of fitness app design, there is limited research on the relationship between users’ perceived motivation of health messages and their social–cognitive beliefs about exercise, and how this relationship is moderated by gender. Knowledge of the gender difference will help in tailoring fitness apps to the two main gender types. Hence, I conducted an empirical study to investigate the types of health messages that are most likely to motivate users and how these messages are related to outcome expectation, self-efficacy, and self-regulation beliefs in the context of exercise modeling. The results of the data analysis show that users are more motivated by illness- and death-related messages compared with obesity-, social stigma-, and financial cost-related messages. Moreover, illness- and death-related messages have a significant relationship with users’ social–cognitive beliefs about bodyweight exercise. These findings indicate that, in the fitness domain, illness- and death-related messages may be employed as a persuasive technique to motivate regular exercise.

Group meta-cognitive therapy and depression in women with breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial

Background Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in Iranian women. They will experience a mental health problem like depression before, during or after treatment. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of group metacognitive therapy on depression, cognitive-emotional regulation, and meta-cognitive beliefs in women with breast cancer. Methods In this randomized controlled clinical trial, a total of 24 depressed patients with breast cancer were randomly allocated to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received meta-cognitive therapy in 8 weekly sessions, but the control group received treatment as usual. Beck Depressive Inventory, cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire, and meta-cognitions questionnaire were completed before, after and one month after the intervention. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon and Chi-square tests. Results The mean score of depression in the experimental group was reduced from 21.6 ± 4.83 in the pre-test to 13.83 ± 8.12 in one-month follow-up (p = 0.16); however, there was no significant difference in the control group. The mean score of cognitive emotion regulation did not show a significant change in the two groups during the study and follow-up period. The mean score of meta-cognitive beliefs reached 68.75 ± 15.74 from 79.51 ± 10.72 in the experimental group during the follow-up period (p = 0.006); however, there was no significant difference in the control group in the score of metacognitive beliefs. Conclusion These findings support the efficacy of meta-cognitive therapy as a viable psychosocial intervention in depressed patients with breast cancer. Trial registration IRCT201606288473N5. Registered on: 05/09/2016 https://www.irct.ir/trial/8946.