Academic procrastination is a prevalent and pernicious self-regulation failure, which affects students' academic performance, health, and well-being. We conducted a systematic review of the recent (i.e., 2018 and subsequent) literature on the efficacy of interventions designed to reduce academic procrastination in several relevant online…

Recent research has suggested that students prefer restudying over retrieval practice when learning difficult materials, despite the latter being a more effective learning strategy. The current study investigated whether an instructional intervention can improve the use of retrieval practice for both easy and difficult materials. In Experiment 1,…

Behavior-change theories reliably explain behavior, but they often lack messaging recommendations to modify behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) could benefit from clear, replicable messaging strategies to target its constructs of attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) about a behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Habit Theory…

Over 100 years of research shows that retrieval practice is highly effective for enhancing student learning. When managing their own study behaviors, however, students tend to avoid using retrieval practice as a way of learning. Understanding and improving students' study decisions is important given the increasingly autonomous nature of…

Students and educators often face time constraints, making it essential to develop interventions that are both easy to implement and have a substantial impact on learning and performance. One promising strategy is retrieval practice, particularly in the context of physics education, where many students struggle with basic knowledge. Prior research…

Based on the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, this study examined the effectiveness of a brief psychological intervention to reduce study-related stress and enhance well-being. Our three-hour intervention taught students psychological strategies to cope with stress specifically tailored to their study situation. Our sample (N = 56) was…

When students are left to choose their own approaches to studying, they frequently engage in ineffective learning strategies, such as rereading textbooks or cramming. Given this natural tendency amongst students, there has been significant interest in how to increase the use of more effective methods of studying. Efforts to-date have typically…

Metacognition is often described as the awareness and regulation of learning. It uses strategies which include monitoring one's own thinking, engaging in active planning and self-evaluating one's study habits. Bloom's taxonomy can be used as a metacognitive tool to guide students' study strategies and thus improve their academic performance by…

Autistic students demonstrate poor academic performance which may be related to challenges in learning behaviors such as organization, planning, study skills, and so forth. Most studies report on summary scores; however, there may be value in understanding specific strengths and challenges to better inform assessment and intervention efforts. The…

Procrastination is a prevalent problem in higher education, leading to lower performance. Procrastination is often linked with low class attendance and little class preparation, which are two important foundations to process learning materials. Hence, interventions are recommended to overcome procrastination. One promising intervention is nudging.…

Background: Academic success and retention remain priorities on college campuses. Excessive cell phone use, test anxiety, and poor sleep habits are all associated with negative academic performance. Objective: To assess college students' perceptions of a health communication campaign designed to improve study habits and wellness behaviors during…

As the increase in university students' mental health problems poses significant challenges to education, new research-based ways to support students' well-being in higher education are urgently needed. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been shown to be effective in enhancing different aspects of well-being in a variety of contexts.…

Academic procrastination is widespread among college students, leads to poorer academic performance and has been related to concurrent stress. Because the direction of effects between procrastination and stress is unclear, two longitudinal studies were conducted. Study 1 (n = 454) showed that mid-semester levels of stress were related to end of…

As stress in students has increased in the last years, factors predicting stress need to be investigated. The aim of the present study was to replicate previous findings using the demand-control model and to examine the role of emotional distress in a transactional model (inspired by Lazarus' transactional stress model). "Stress, mental…

In higher education, many students do not complete their studies within the term allotted. A Dutch university implemented an intervention aimed to reduce this form of academic procrastination. The intervention consisted of three measures: (1) requiring students to acquire all first-year credits within their first year in university, (2) reducing…