Journal of Applied Psychological Research
Year:2017 | Volume:7 | Issue:4 |Papers Count:14

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood which involves behavioral and learning disturbances in children. In addition, the disorder usually causes some problems in a child’s interaction with the peer group and family members. The present research addresses the comparative effectiveness of Behavior Parent Training (BPT) based on Barkley’s approach and pharmacotherapy with Methylphenidate (MPH, Ritalin) on the intensity of symptoms in male primary school students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) and parental stress in their mothers. The research instruments consisted of the first subscale of Children’s Symptoms Inventory, 4th Edition (CSI-4) developed by Gadow and Sprafkin (1994) and Parental Stress Scale (Berry & Jones, 1995). Results revealed positive outcomes of both intervention methods; however, the effectiveness of MPH significantly surpassed that of BPT on both of the dependent variables.

Considering the effects that anxiety can have on performance, the relationship between anxiety and performance has interested researchers for many years. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Neurofeedback alpha/theta intervention on the anxiety reduction and performance enhancement in young soccer players. To do so, 30 soccer players attending the National Soccer League of Iran were assigned to two experimental (intervention based on alpha/theta Neurofeedback training) and control groups. Athletes in the experimental group received 12 30-minute sessions of Neurofeedback training and the control group did not receive any intervention. Before and after the interventions, Sport Anxiety Scale Questionnaire and Kick Performance Test were used to collect data. MANOVA was used to compare the two groups. The results showed that the improvement of athletic performance scores and reduction of anxiety scale were significant in the experimental group. According to these findings, we concluded that the alpha/theta Neurofeedback training is appropriate to increase athletic performance and decrease the level of sport anxiety.

People use spiritual intelligence as spiritual capacities and resources for vital decision making and critical thinking in existential subjects or trying to solve daily problems. There is not a valid and reliable scale in this area which is developed based on Islamic conceptualization. The aim of this study was defining spiritual intelligence, determining domains of it, and developing items and testing content and face validities among college students. This study was done in a quantitative and qualitative approach by having a comprehensive overview of the tools of spiritual intelligence and interviewing 67 Bachelor’s students. According to the results, spiritual intelligence was defined as a process of search for existential being, comprehending spiritual problems, understanding the meaning of religious symbols and rituals, the ability of exhausting spiritual resources for solving problems and adaptation with the environment. In addition, the dimensions of spiritual intelligence were clarified. In the next step 106 statements have been extracted from the existing measures, and 42 statements were generated using semi structured interviews. Data indicate this scale can reliability assess spiritual intelligence in college students. Preparing a shorter form is suggested to reduce the time strain, and enhancing its applicability in spiritual as well as psychological research.

The present study was done with the aim of presenting the causal model of relationship between psychological capitals and teaching emotions with regard to the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. To do this, 172 elementary school teachers from Borazjan were selected via randomized sampling and then answered to a self-report questionnaire consisted of psychological capitals scale (Luthanz et al.2007), emotional exhaustion (Maslach et al.1996), and revised version of teaching emotions by Frenzel et al. (2010). Data analysis was administered in two parts of latent and observed variables via structural equation modeling using AMOS software. The results, in latent variables’ model showed that psychological capitals predict positive emotions positively and negative emotions negatively in teachers. Moreover, psychological capitals can decrease teachers’ negative emotions through the mediation of emotional exhaustion. In observed variables’ model, it was revealed that self-efficacy predicts both enjoyment and pride. Besides, the two components of resilience and optimism could predict teachers’ anger and anxiety via the mediation of emotional exhaustion.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated model of emotionally focused approach and Gottman model on the quality of marital relationship in married women. In this study the quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test and follow up with a control group were used. The study population included married women who went to Tehransar health center, district 21. The sample consisted of 26 volunteer participants, which were selected using convenience sampling method, in two groups, including experimental (n=13) and control (n=13) groups. All participants were asked to complete the Perceived Relationship Quality Components (PRQC) questionnaire. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results showed that the integrated model of emotionally focused approach and Gottman model significantly increased marital relationship quality and its six subscales (relationship satisfaction, trust, commitment, intimacy, passion, and love). Additionally, using repeated measures in the follow-up conducted one month later showed satisfactory results about the effectiveness of the integrated model in the experiment group. Therefore, it can be concluded that the specifically designed integrated model of emotionally focused approach and Gottman model can be used to increase the quality of marital relationship for married women.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and progressive neurological disease which causes imbalance, fatigue and finally decrease of quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of neurofeedback training on balance and fatigue in patients with MS, Eighteen patients (4 men and 14 women) with MS from Iran multiple sclerosis society with disability (EDSS) less than 4.5 were purposefully selected and were randomly divided into two groups (experimental=8, normal=10). The berg balance test, stand up and go test, fatigue severity and quality of life questionnaire were measured before and after the training period. Data were analyzed using independent and paired sample t test (p<0.05), There was no significant difference in balance, fatigue and quality of life between groups. (P>0.05). The t-test results showed that the balance of the patients in the experimental group was significantly improved following neurofeedback training. (P<0.05). After 10 sessions of neurofeedback training there was no significant improvement in fatigue and quality of life in patients. Based on these results, neurofeedback training can improve balance, along with drug treatments for MS patients.

The purpose of this research was comparing the effectiveness of Dialectical behavior therapy and Neurofeedback in reducing prodromal symptoms of bipolar disorder. In this research that was a semi-experimental research; statistical population contains all girls’ high schools in the East of Tehran. The Sampling was done in two steps. In the first step, that was a randomly cluster sampling, among 300 filled questionnaires, 27 students who received scores higher than the mean score among all questionnaires were selected and entered the next level of sampling. In the second step, using purposeful sampling, 18 students were selected and assigned in three groups randomly. The research tools were structured clinical interview for axis one disorders, Barratt Impulsivity scale and difficulty in emotion regulation scale. Mixed ANOVA method was used to analyze the data with 23 version SPSS. The results of analysis showed that the effect of Impulsivity*group (F (4, 12)=5088, p=0.007), in neurofeedback group and the effect of difficulty in emotion regulation*group (F (4, 12)=4.07, P=0.026) in Dialectical behavior therapy group was statistically meaningful. This result showed that with spotting psychological symptoms in each individual, a more appropriated treatment approach can be used.

The current study intended to investigate the effectiveness of cooperative learning on math anxiety, attitude toward mathematics, and academic achievement of female high school students. The study method was experimental and was conducted by pretest-posttest design with the control group. The population included all female high school students (second year) who were studying experimental science in Tehran. The sample was selected through convenience sampling, and the subjects were randomly assigned into two groups (22 individuals in experimental group and 20 individuals in control group). The experimental group received cooperate-based math training for 32 sessions while the control group received their regular traditional education. Both groups were assessed in pretest and posttest stages. The data were collected through Math Anxiety scale (Shokrani, 1381), Attitude toward Mathematics Questionnaire (Qanbarzadeh, 1380), and Academic Achievement Test. The data were analyzed via analysis of covariance method. The findings showed that there is a significant difference (P<0.05) between the experimental and control groups in terms of math anxiety, attitude toward mathematics, and academic achievement. In other words, the experimental group reported lower math anxiety, better attitude toward math, and higher academic achievement.

The objectives of this study are preparation of Persian language version of Personal Need for Structure Scale and investigation of its psychometric properties. A convenience sample of 521 from three universities in Tehran in 2015-2016 was examined to achieve the aims of this study. To investigate the validity of the scale, construct validity (via exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) and convergent validity were used. For the investigation of the reliability, Cronbach alpha and test-retest reliability coefficients were used. Exploratory factor analysis showed two factors named desire for structure and response to lack of structure. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the superiority of the factor structure of the 9th version which was resulted from exploratory factor analysis, in comparison to the other versions in Iranian samples. For total scale and two extracted factors, Cronbach alphas were between 0.69 and 0.77 and the test- retest reliability coefficients were between 0.69 and 0.75. PNSS showed positive correlation with SPIN; also the response to the lack of structure had the strongest correlation. In sum, the Persian language version of the Personal Need for Structure Scale has adequate reliability and validity.

Alzheimer's is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative and progressive disorders in which is followed by cognitive impairment. This research was performed to study the effect of aerobic exercise on the Alzheimer’s patients’ neuropsychological functions. In a quasi-experimental study with the control group, fourteen Alzheimer’s patients of Alzheimer’s Association were selected by the convenience sampling. Before the intervention, the severity of their disease was assessed by FAST (Mohammadian, et al, 2015) and MMSE (Saidyan, et al, 2007) and the degree of hippocampal atrophy was recorded by brain MRI. They were randomly assigned into two groups of seven. Both groups were assessed by MOCA (Sigaroodi, et al, 2012) and MMSE in the pretest and posttest stages. The experimental group participated in a 3-month physical exercise program using a stationary bicycle. This program was run twice a week and each session was 45 minutes. The control group did not receive any intervention. The results of the analysis of covariance showed that the neuropsychological function scores in the posttest of the Alzheimer’s patients in the experimental group were significantly higher than that of the control group.

The current study aimed to observe the practicality, reliability, validity and norm finding of Afrooz couple's satisfaction scale. For this reason, a sample consisted of 415 guidance and middle schools teachers in Tehran city were selected by multi stages random sampling method then Afrooz marital satisfaction scale (110 item, based on likert's 4 point spectrum, fully agree to fully disagree) was administrated by the sample. The result of this study show that, reliability coefficient of this test obtained through Cronbach Alpha was equal to (0.989). In reviewing the structure reliability exploratory factor analyzing was used. After omitting unsuitable questions & by analyzing the main components, Promax rotation and so on, from set of 108 questions, 9 questions were extracted. In reviewing criterion reliability, the correlation of this scale by marital satisfaction of Enrich in confidence level of 99 percent (P=0.01) was obtained (0.437), and results show that, there is suitable convergent reliability between the two above tools.

In the current turbulent and changing environment, one of the indicators of sustainability and survival of organizations is continuous learning and constantly improvement of individual and organizational performance. An overview of studies in the field of training and learning excellence indicates a lack of attention to the root causes of performance deficiencies and overreliance on training interventions and negligence of non-training interventions. The main aim of this study is to present a desirable model for excellence of learning and performance improvement, used for comprehensive pathology of activities in the field and planning for improvement. By selecting systems theory framework as the main form of final model (context, input, process, output and outcome factors) and using a mixed method, 27 primary criteria were identified through semi-structured interviews with 16 experts in the field of training and learning and via combined directive and summative content analysis, then the criteria was refined by fuzzy Delphi technique and 24 final criteria was determined. Finally, seven criteria (strategic view to human capital, balancing job and employee, career planning & management, knowledge management, talent selection & multiplication, improving engagement elements, organizing assessment and development center), were summarized in one criterion (associate foundations), because of the inherent similarities (processes interacting with learning and performance improvement system), and the final model was developed.

This study aimed to build and validate the Critical Thinking Scale using item-response theory. For this purpose, a sample size (n=7478) was selected from Qom and Sheikh Mofid university students and the questionnaire was implemented with their cooperation. Three-parameter model was detected more suitable among various IRT models. Data was analyzed through three-parameter logistic model. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the theory’s assumptions (one-dimensional and local independence). Factor analysis’s results confirmed the existence of a dominant factor and local independence. Item Information Function was used to evaluate the propriety of questions. Item Information Function examination showed that some of questions had very little information or the information function was not distributed over ability range. The rest of the item parameters were estimated again after removing inappropriate items. New estimations showed that the range of Discriminant Coefficient was.133 to 1.899 and difficulty coefficient -.990 to 2.780. In addition, coefficient conjecture was.0 to.0790. Eventually, the results showed that the Critical Thinking Scale with 7 components and 29 items has desirable properties to measure the structure.

This research aimed to survey the effect of Floor time group intervention base on mothers Expressed Emotions in Emotional Functions of high function autistic children.The first part of study was a causal-comparative study and the second part was semi-experimental study. As a result the plan was drafted in 23 sessions. And Finally 14 high function autistic children were selected by nonrandom sampling in autism center (7 people in experimental & & people in control group that was delivered just ABA intervention). In this research, family questionnaire, the Stanford-Binet intelligence test, the Gilliam Autism test, functional emotional development test. Results showed that after the intervention, there were a significant difference between the experimental group in comparing with control group, in the 2 final stage of emotional functions that is; fifth stage (emotional beliefs) by (P=0.017) and the sixth stage (emotional and rational thinking) (P=0.004).