Turkish Undergraduates Research Articles

Questioning Turkish Psychological Counselor Trainees’ Prejudices towards Some Clients: Reflections of the Social Context

The purpose of this study is to reveal the prejudices of psychological counselor trainees towards some clients and the sources of these prejudices on a group of Turkish undergraduates of psychological counseling department. The qualitative data obtained from 39 participants were subjected to content analysis. The themes and the categories reached as a result of the analysis were discussed in line with the literature on prejudice in psychological counseling and preview studies been conducted.

Gender difference in the relationship between academic self‐efficacy, personal growth initiative, and engagement among Turkish undergraduates: A multigroup modeling

AbstractThis study examines the mediating role of personal growth initiative in the relationship between academic self‐efficacy and engagement by examining gender differences. The novelty of this study lies in its focus on the mediating role of personal growth initiative and its examination of gender differences in the relationship between academic self‐efficacy and engagement. By examining if there are any differences in the links between the variables based on gender, this research gives important insight into how these factors influence academic life for different student groups. The data was collected from 607 (333 female and 274 male) full‐time undergraduate students. LISREL was used to test the structural model. We tested the hypotheses that academic self‐efficacy is positively associated with student engagement, personal growth initiative mediates the relationship between academic self‐efficacy and student engagement, and whether there is a gender difference in this mediation model. The findings show that personal growth initiative has a partial mediating role in the relationship between academic self‐efficacy and engagement. In addition, there is no difference between gender‐based groups, and the bootstrap analyses support these findings. Gender does not make a difference in the model because college students may evaluate higher education as increasing their future employment opportunities.

COVID-19 Related Stress and Life Satisfaction in Turkish Undergraduates: A Serial-Parallel Mediation Model

<p style="text-align:justify">One of the life areas under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is university education. As it becomes more prevalent with its various versions, it shapes undergraduates' psychological well-being profoundly. It is necessary to understand how COVID-19-related stress impacts their mental life. The purpose of the study was to examine whether COVID-19 burnout and cognitive emotion regulation had mediating roles in the relationship between COVID-19-related stress and life satisfaction. Three hundred sixty-four Turkish undergraduates participated in the study. Mediational analyses showed that both adaptive and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation had interplaying roles in the link between COVID-19-related stress and life satisfaction, unlike COVID-19 burnout. Yet, COVID-19-related stress indirectly affected life satisfaction since COVID-19 burnout increased maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies while decreasing adaptive ones concurrently. The findings are crucial for mental health professionals whose aim is to develop necessary psychological interventions for undergraduates to increase their life satisfaction levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>

The mediating role of self‑leadership in the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction, academic self-efficacy and career adaptability of Turkish undergraduates when life satisfaction is controlled

The positive consequences of career adaptability among university students have been well established in the literature. On the other hand, the predictors of the phenomenon were not sufficiently studied. Multiple models were tested to investigate the mediating role of self‑leadership in the relationships between basic psychological needs satisfaction, academic self-efficacy, and career adaptability to fill this gap. When testing the model, the effect of life satisfaction was controlled. The data were collected through an online survey from May to July 2021 from a sample of 404 undergraduates. The participants responded to measures of basic psychological needs satisfaction, academic self-efficacy, self‑leadership, career adaptability, and life satisfaction. The findings reveal that self‑leadership partially mediates the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction, academic self-efficacy and career adaptability when life satisfaction is controlled. Self‑leadership levels of the students can be enhanced, and life satisfaction levels should be considered when studying career adaptability.

Loneliness, Perceived Social Support, and Psychological Resilience as Predictors of Internet Addiction: A Cross-Sectional Study with a Sample of Turkish Undergraduates.

This article examined the perceived social support, psychological resilience, and loneliness as predictors of internet addiction among university undergraduate students in Turkey. Participants were 1028 university students (408 males and 620 females) from state university in Turkey. Measuring tools included the Descriptive Information Form, Internet Addiction Scale, Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Brief Resilience Scale. According to the findings of the study, positive correlation between internet addiction and perceived social support (r = 0.078, P < .01) and loneliness (r = 0.525, P < .001) shows a significant relationship. There was a significant and inverse relationship between psychological resilience and internet addiction (r = -0.498, P < .001). It was found that perceived social support, loneliness, and psychological resilience explained 34% of the total variance in internet addiction. Regression analysis showed that perceived social support (β = 0.061, P < .01), loneliness (β = 0.574, P < .001), and psychological resilience (β = -1.128 P < .001) significantly predicted internet addiction. Regression analysis revealed that psychological resilience negatively predicted internet addiction, while perceived social support and loneliness positively predicted internet addiction. : Based on the findings, improving students' psychological resilience can be an effective way to reduce internet addiction behavior. Additionally, social activities and relevant measures should be planned to increase students' awareness of internet addiction, reduce their feelings of loneliness, and encourage them to establish positive interpersonal relationships.

Translating the Counterculture: The Reception of the Beats in Turkey

Translating the Counterculture: The Reception of the Beats in Turkey

Sudoku puzzles for practicing SI prefixes: A case study with Turkish undergraduates

The purpose of this study was to develop two Sudoku puzzles for undergraduate students which can be utilised in the context of introductory physical science courses in order to assist them to practice SI prefixes. For this reason, SI prefixes for decimal multiples and submultiples were addressed in two separate puzzles. To test the puzzles, a case study was conducted with 20 biology teaching students studying their first year in a state university in Turkey. Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire posed to the students before and after the application of the puzzles. According to the results, 18 students (90%) completed the puzzles successfully. In addition, the students agreed that solving the Sudoku puzzles made contributions to them in terms of practicing SI prefixes. It is recommended that the Sudoku puzzles developed in this study might be used efficiently for all undergraduate students taking courses such as general chemistry and physics.&#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: SI prefixes, educational games, Sudoku puzzles, introductory science courses.

Trait Mindfulness as a Protective Factor in Connections between Psychological Issues and Facebook Addiction among Turkish University Students

Facebook addiction is a growing issue that has increasingly attracted the attention of clinicians and researchers in a variety of countries and cultures. Relying on the Cognitive-Behavioral Model for Pathological Internet Use, and in a sample of Turkish undergraduates, we investigate whether mindfulness might account for how self-esteem and psychological problems (depression, anxiety, and stress) connect to Facebook addiction. A total of 298 college students completed measures of Facebook addiction, self-esteem, mindfulness and psychological problems, which we analyzed using path analysis, testing various models of how Facebook addiction might be predicted by these factors. We found that Facebook addiction was positively associated with psychological problems and negatively associated with self-esteem and mindfulness, with mindfulness fully accounting for the association between psychological problems, self-esteem and Facebook addiction. These results support the role of mindfulness in the prevention of Facebook addiction and the treatment of addicted individuals. This study also helps clarify previous research connecting mindfulness to Internet addiction, and extends those findings cross-culturally to a Turkish context.

Examining Cross-Cultural Relationships Between Meaning in Life and Psychological Well-Being in Turkey and the United States

This study explored the extent to which meaning in life (i.e., presence and search) relates to different aspects of psychological well-being in American and Turkish students. It also assessed whether presence of meaning moderated the relationship between search for meaning and psychological well-being. American (N =377) and Turkish (N =225) undergraduates completed demographics and self-report measures. Simple and moderated moderation analyses were conducted. In both samples, presence and search were negatively associated. In addition, presence of meaning was positively associated with measures of psychological well-being, while search was negatively associated. Presence of meaning buffered the relationship between search for meaning and psychological well-being, but only in the Turkish sample. American and Turkish undergraduates may typically search for meaning when presence of meaning is low. Presence of meaning appears to be adaptive across these two cultures, whereas search for meaning appears to be culturally-specific and may produce differential effects on psychological well-being.

Self-compassion and health-promoting lifestyle behaviors in college students

ABSTRACTLifestyle choices play a major role in health outcomes. Hence, examination of factors associated with a healthy lifestyle is important for health promotion. Self-compassion is related to health behaviors but research on the role of self-compassion facets (self-kindness vs. self-judgment, common humanity vs. isolation, mindfulness vs. over-identification) on health behaviors is scarce. A total of 423 Turkish undergraduates completed Self-Compassion Scale and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II. Health behaviors positively correlated with self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, and total self-compassion but not with self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that mindfulness, self-kindness, and self-judgment were significant predictors of health behaviors. Results may guide clinicians about which components to focus on in self-compassion interventions designed for health promotion.

A closer look at the creativity gap and why students are less creative at school than outside of school

Previous research has reported that there is a discrepancy between the creativity students display when they are in school and that which they display when they are not in school. The present investigation explored this creativity gap. A measure that captures creative activity and achievement in various domains (art, science and technology, everyday creativity) was administered to 254 Turkish undergraduates. This investigation also used statistical techniques that allowed the explanatory power of personality, creative attitudes and values, students’ perceptions of supports and barriers at school, and various background variables, such as parental education to be determined. Results confirmed that there was a discrepancy between the in school and outside of school creative activities and achievements. Significantly more creativity was reportedly displayed outside rather than in school. Students’ social preferences, creative attitudes and values, and creative personality traits explained much of the discrepancy. Various interpretations of these results are examined, one being that students have creative potential, as evidenced by their creative activities and achievements outside of school, but these potentials are not displayed when they are in school, perhaps because usually there is more structure and more restrictions in school, and creativity entails autonomy and independence. Limitations and future research are discussed.

Why Do Women Endorse Honor Beliefs? Ambivalent Sexism and Religiosity as Predictors

Cultures of honor, such as Turkey, prioritize defending individual and family reputations, but in gender-specific ways (Nisbett and Cohen 1996). Men maintain honor via reputations for toughness, aggression, control over women, and avenging insults. Women maintain honor through obedience to men, sexual modesty, and religious piety. Honor beliefs support women’s subordination, justifying violence against them (Sev’er and Yurdakul, Violence against Women, 7, 964–998, 2001) and therefore should be challenged. Understanding honor beliefs’ ideological correlates may inform such efforts. We hypothesized that benevolent sexism, a subjectively favorable system-justifying ideology, would more strongly, positively predict Turkish women’s (versus men’s) honor beliefs; whereas hostile sexism, which is openly antagonistic toward women, would more strongly, positively predict Turkish men’s (versus women’s) honor beliefs. Additionally, due to justifications for gender inequality embedded in Islamic religious teachings, we expected Islamic religiosity to positively predict honor beliefs for both genders. A convenience sample of Turkish undergraduates (313 women and 122 men) in Ankara completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, Religious Orientation Scale, and Honor Endorsement Index. Regression analyses revealed that benevolent (but not hostile) sexism positively predicted women’s honor beliefs, whereas hostile (but not benevolent) sexism positively predicted men’s honor beliefs. Islamic religiosity positively predicted honor beliefs for both genders, but (unexpectedly) did so more strongly for men than women. We suggest that combating benevolent sexism and promoting feminist interpretations of Islamic religiosity may help to empower Turkish women to challenge honor beliefs.

Attitudes and Motivation of Turkish Undergraduate EFL Students towards Learning English Language

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes and motivation of first-year Turkish undergraduates toward English language learning as a foreign language. The study was carried out with 90 students majoring in business studies at Cag University, Mersin in Turkey by administering a survey designed on a five-point Likert scale with 43 items including demographic questions about the learners’ background information such as gender, age, and how long they have been learning English. The items on the survey were chosen from Dörnyei and Csizér (2006) in a variety of Hungarian researches and from a recently designed questionnaire by Ryan (2005). The domains used for the purpose of the study were: integrativeness, attitudes to L2 community, cultural interest, attitudes to learning English, criterion measures, ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, family influence, instrumentality (promotion and prevention), and fear of assimilation. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The data collected were analysed through descriptive statistics in SPSS statistical program. The results revealed that Turkish first-year university students learn English as a foreign language mostly for instrumental reasons, and it also showed that integrative motivation is dominant motivational orientation for the participants in some&lt;/em&gt; degree.&lt;/p&gt;

A Comparative Study on Undergraduate Students' Academic Motivation and Academic Self-Concept

The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish and American undergraduate students' academic motivation and academic self-concept scores regarding the years that they spent in university. The analysis was based on 566 (284 Turkish, 282 American) undergraduate students where, Academic Motivation Scale and Academic Self-Concept Scale were used as measuring instruments. The results showed that there was a statistical significant effect of nationality and number of years spent in university on undergraduate students' intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-concept scores. Turkish students had higher intrinsic scores whereas American students had higher extrinsic scores and more positive academic-self concept compared to Turkish partners. Regarding grade level, senior students from both cultures had higher intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept scores compared to other grade levels. In terms of extrinsic motivation, there is steady decline in American students' scores as grade level increases. On the other hand, Turkish undergraduates' extrinsic scores decrease in the second year but increase in the third and fourth year of university education. Results were discussed by taking into consideration the social and cultural differences between two nations.

Predictors of Turkish Women’s and Men’s Attitudes toward Sexual Harassment: Ambivalent Sexism, and Ambivalence Toward Men

This study examined the relationships among ambivalent sexism (hostile/benevolent), ambivalence toward men (hostility/benevolence) and Turkish women/men’s attitudes toward sexual harassment, including attitudes toward viewing sexual harassment as a result of provocative behaviors of women (ASHPBW) and attitudes toward viewing sexual harassment as a trivial matter (ASHTM). Participants included 220 Turkish undergraduates (136 female; Mage = 20.00). They tended to blame women for the incidents of sexual harassment whereas they viewed sexual harassment as a very important social problem. As compared to women, men scored higher in both ASHPBW and ASHTM, suggesting that men are more tolerant of sexual harassment. For both genders, hostile sexism and benevolence toward men predicted ASHPBW. However, for only men, hostile and benevolent sexism predicted ASHTM.

Three Decades of Anti-evolution Campaign and its Results: Turkish Undergraduates’ Acceptance and Understanding of the Biological Evolution Theory

Even though in the early years of the Republic of Turkey Darwin’s theory of evolution was treated as a scientific theory and taught fairly in schools, despite all the substantial evidence accumulated supporting the theory of evolution since then, Darwin and his ideas today have been scorned by curriculum and education policy makers. Furthermore, Turkish students and academics have been faced with unprecedented creationist propaganda for many years. In this paper, we first provide a glimpse of the theory of evolution and creationism in Turkey, we then report the results of our survey study (N = 1,098) about the undergraduates’ acceptance and understanding of Darwinian evolution and some of the socioeconomic variables affecting those measures. Our cross sectional study shows that acceptance and understanding of the theory of evolution is quite low. We criticize the current state of evolution education in Turkey and call for a change towards a scientific treatment of the theory evolution in schools.

A Taoist Orientation and Fears of Death and Dying

In samples of 100 Turkish undergraduates and 87 American undergraduates, having a Taoist orientation was not consistently associated with fear of death and dying.

Cronbach Alpha Reliability and Concurrent Validity of the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale in a Turkish Sample

In a sample of 100 Turkish undergraduates, the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale had adequate interitem reliability and adequate concurrent validity with Templer's Death Anxiety Scale.

Turkish Undergraduates' Misconceptions of Evaporation, Evaporation Rate, and Vapour Pressure

This study focused on students' misconceptions related to evaporation, evaporation rate, and vapour pressure. Open‐ended diagnostic questions were used with 107 undergraduates in the Primary Science Teacher Training Department in a state university in Turkey. In addition, 14 students from that sample were interviewed to clarify their written responses and to further probe their understandings of the questions asked in the test. The findings revealed a number of misconceptions, many of which have not been previously documented. The results have implications for tertiary level teaching suggesting that a substantial review of teaching strategies is needed.

Application of the Attribution-Value Model of Prejudice to Homosexuality

According to the attribution-value model, prejudice toward a group stems from 2 interrelated variables: attributions of controllability and cultural value. Thus, prejudice toward gay men and lesbians may stem from others' holding them responsible for their behaviors and perceiving negative cultural value regarding homosexuality. The author tested that model by using the issue of homosexuality. The participants were Turkish undergraduates who completed a homophobia scale and answered questions about the origins of homosexuality, cultural attitudes toward homosexuality, and their own gender and sexual preferences. In general, the participants were prejudiced against gay men and lesbians. As expected, attributions of controllability and negative cultural value regarding homosexuality operated jointly to explain 39% of the variation in homophobia. The participants who thought that homosexuality was controllable had more negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians than did those who thought that homosexuality was uncontrollable. The female participants were more tolerant of homosexuality than were the male participants.