Wood, Sylwia (2012) Relationships among Metacognitive Learning, Personality, Academic Self-efficacy, Coping Efficacy, and Academic Success. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among Metacognitive Learning, Personality, Academic Self-efficacy, Coping Efficacy, and academic success in a sample of first-year undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). The study also aimed to establish the nature of the relationship between Self-monitoring, as measured by Confidence Bias in online quizzes, and PSY1010 exam marks. The test battery was administered online in semester 1, 2011 to 291 first-year students enrolled in PSY1010 Foundation Psychology A course. Metacognitive Learning was captured by measuring three components: Cognition (Need for Cognition Scale by Cacioppo, Petty, & Chuan Feng, 1984), Metacognition (Need for Metacognition Scale by Kleitman, 2010a), and Motivation (Motivation and Engagement Scale by Martin, 2007). The Big Six personality structure measured the following personality dimensions: Conscientiousness, Honesty, Agreeableness, Resiliency, Extraversion, and Originality (Saucier, 2010). Students‟ perceptions of Academic Self-efficacy were measured using ratings of self-confidence in the Individual Learning Profile scale (Pulford & Sohal, 2006). Coping Efficacy was measured utilising the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) and Proactive Coping Scale (Greenglass, Schwarzer, & Taubert, 1999a). Academic success was measured by grade point average (GPA). Standard simple and multiple regression analyses were carried out in this study. The Cognition component of Metacognitive Learning was a significant positive predictor of academic success, providing support for the proposal that encouraging students to regulate their effort in learning is paramount to developing greater understanding of study material and achieving higher marks. The Metacognition aspects of Metacognitive Learning, such as Assessing and Monitoring, were significant positive predictors of GPA, suggesting that critical review of learning strategies may help students to identify potential gaps in knowledge which may, in turn, motivate them to study more systematically and achieve higher marks. Contrary to expectations, Planning and Feedback (Metacognition components) did not significantly predict GPA. The Maladaptive Thoughts and Maladaptive Behaviours aspects of the Motivation component of Metacognitive Learning negatively predicted academic success, suggesting that students who disengage from learning experience lower motivation and perform less successfully in their studies compared to students who are actively academically engaged. Contrary to expectations, Adaptive Thoughts and Adaptive Behaviours were not found to be significant predictors of academic performance. Out of the six personality factors, only Conscientiousness positively predicted GPA. Students‟ confidence in Time Management and Numeracy aspects of Academic Self-efficacy was shown to positively predict GPA, suggesting that encouraging students to manage their workload in a timely fashion, and improving their confidence in working with numbers may lead to better academic success. Students‟ confidence in Hard IT skills (as a measure of Academic Self-efficacy) negatively predicted GPA. The Proactive Coping aspects of Coping Efficacy positively predicted GPA, indicating that students with a positive outlook who proactively engage in behaviours such as planning and goal setting to minimise the impacts of stressful events, have better chance of academic success. Contrary to expectations, General Self-efficacy negatively predicted GPA. Correlation analyses showed a significant negative relationship between Self-monitoring and PSY1010 exam mark (r = -.22, p < .01), indicating that students who are less confident (underconfident) in their course knowledge perform well on exams. It is recommended that future studies investigate the complex interplay of the key Metacognitive Learning factors such as Cognition, Metacognition, and Motivation to determine how they might contribute to the prediction of academic success, including in populations from diverse backgrounds. It is also recommended that further research on Metacognitive Learning should involve longitudinal studies designed to capture the key influences on academic success over a longer-term program. Future studies should also investigate the effects of multiple quiz practice on students‟ final exam marks.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Lorelle Burton |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Oct 2025 01:56 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Oct 2025 01:56 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | first year undergraduate university student ; academic self-efficacy ; academic success ; learning strategies ; potential gaps in knowledge ; maladaptive behaviours |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52896 |
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