Abstract:

This cross-sectional study aimed to measure the mediation role of cognitive distortions on the path of negative experiences to academic achievement. A total of 2213 university students from public sector universities were investigated using the scale of cognitive distortions, the questionnaires of negative experiences and self-reported Grades. Structure Equation Modelling was the main analysis tool to bring results out to the surface. Findings revealed that students’ negative experiences during their university life led to the development of cognitive distortions. Most importantly, ‘Fortune Telling’, ‘Self-Blaming’ and ‘Discounting Positive’ exhibited negative mediation on the path from negative experiences to academic achievement. Contrarily, ‘Mental Filter’, ‘Emotional Reasoning’, ‘All-or-Nothing’, ‘Labeling’, and ‘Mind-Reading’ were proved to act as positive mediators between the two. The developed model can help parents, teachers, psychologists, and sociologists to capture biased thinking patterns and responsible social factors, and help students to suppress negative thinking patterns, which may lead to improve their performance in the examination.

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