Comparison the Effectiveness of Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies Training and Virtual Reality-Based Mindfulness Training on Academic Procrastination in University Students

Abstract

Objective: Academic procrastination in university students causes a decline in various functions, especially academic performance. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of comparison the effectiveness of cognitive and metacognitive strategies training and virtual reality-based mindfulness training on academic procrastination in university students.

Methodology: This study was a quasi-experimental with a pretest, posttest and two-month follow-up design including a control group. The population of this research consisted of medical students of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in the 2025-6 academic years, which 60 people of them were selected through purposive sampling method and randomly assigned into three equal groups. Each of experimental group underwent eight sessions of 70 minute of cognitive and metacognitive strategies training and virtual reality-based mindfulness training, while during this period the control group received no intervention. To collect data, in addition to a demographic information form were used the Academic Procrastination Questionnaire (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984). The data of this research were analyzed using chi-square, analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS-25 software at a significant level of 0.05.

Findings: The results of this research showed that the university students of the experimental and control groups did not differ significantly in terms of gender status and age range (P>0.05). Also, cognitive and metacognitive strategies training in compared to the control group significantly reduced academic procrastination in university students and the results remained in the follow-up phase (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two intervention methods and between the virtual reality-based mindfulness training method and the control group in reducing academic procrastination in university students and the results remained in the follow-up phase (P>0.05)..

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, to reduce university students' academic procrastination can be used the method of cognitive and metacognitive strategies training.