The Effectiveness of Self-Hypnosis Training on Future Orientation, Academic Optimism, and Academic Determination in Students with Learned Helplessness

Subject Areas : general Psychology

Fatemeh Moslehi ¹ , Seyedeh Olia Emadian ^{2 *} , Hamideh Salim Bahrami ³

1 - PhD student of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, Sar.C., Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
2 - (Corresponding author), Department of Psychology, Sar.C., Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor. Department of Psychology, Sar.C., Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran

Received: 2025-07-16 Accepted : 2025-08-27 Published : 2025-10-07

Keywords: Academic Optimism, Academic Determination, Future Orientation, Learned Helplessness, Self-Hypnosis Training, Students ,

Abstract :

© 2020 The Author(s). This work is published by family and health as an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited

Abstract

Introduction: Learned helplessness is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when an individual, after repeated experiences of failure or inability, comes to believe that making an effort is useless, even if circumstances change and success becomes possible. Considering the sensitive conditions of students, this study aimed to examine the effectiveness of self-hypnosis training on future orientation, academic optimism, and academic determination in students with learned helplessness.

Research Methods: The research employed a quasi-experimental method with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design including a control group. The study population consisted of all female lower secondary school students in Qaemshahr during the 2023–2024 academic year. From this population, 30 students were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, each comprising 15 participants. The participants responded to the Learned Helplessness Questionnaire, Academic Optimism Scale, and Academic Grit Scale, Steinberg's Future Orientation Scale in three stages: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The experimental group received self-hypnosis training in six 90-minute weekly group sessions, while the control group did not receive any training. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25 through mixed multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and repeated measures MANOVA at a significance level of p < 0.05.

Findings: The results indicated a significant difference between the post-test mean scores of the experimental group and the control group (sig = 0.01). Therefore, with 99% confidence, it can be concluded that self-hypnosis training is effective in improving future orientation, academic optimism, and academic determination among students with learned helplessness.

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, learned helplessness in students is a phenomenon that not only negatively affects academic achievement but also impacts their health and motivation. Early identification of symptoms, understanding the underlying factors, and implementing preventive and intervention strategies can break the cycle of failure and demotivation, thereby restoring an effective learning process. The findings of this research demonstrated that self-hypnosis training positively influences future orientation, academic optimism, and academic determination in students suffering from learned helplessness.

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