Psychoeducational Programs for Cognitive Flexibility in University Students

Summary

The goal of this study was to compare three psychoeducational programs designed to support cognitive flexibility in university students. The study compared a Life Kinetik-based program, a cognitive-behavioral program, an integrated program combining Life Kinetik-based and cognitive-behavioral activities, and a no-intervention control condition.

Eighty university students were assigned in equal numbers to one of the four conditions. The Life Kinetik-based program consisted of 12 weekly 60-minute sessions, while the cognitive-behavioral and integrated programs each consisted of 10 weekly 60-minute sessions. Participants in the no-intervention control condition did not receive a psychoeducational program during the study period. Cognitive flexibility was assessed at baseline, immediately after the intervention period, and six weeks later using the Cognitive Flexibility Scale.

The main question was whether participants in each active intervention condition would report higher cognitive flexibility immediately after the intervention than participants in the no-intervention control condition. A secondary question was whether intervention-control differences would still be observed six weeks later. Comparisons among the three active intervention programs were exploratory.

Conditions

• Cognitive Flexibility

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Life Kinetik-Based Cognitive-Flexibility Psychoeducation

A 12-session psychoeducational program delivered once weekly for 60 minutes. The intervention used variable motor-cognitive activities requiring participants to respond to changing or contradictory instructions, coordinate bilateral and cross-lateral movements, shift between rules, manage concurrent tasks, and generate rapid solutions. Activities targeted attention shifting, response inhibition, rapid decision making, problem solving, alternative-response generation, and flexible adaptation.

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive-Behavioral Cognitive-Flexibility Psychoeducation

A 10-session psychoeducational program delivered once weekly for 60 minutes. The intervention used psychoeducation, written exercises, case examples, role-play, group discussion, cognitive restructuring, and structured problem-solving activities. Participants practiced identifying automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions, examining evidence, generating alternative interpretations, regulating emotions, setting flexible goals, and adapting to change.

BEHAVIORAL

Integrated Life Kinetik and Cognitive-Behavioral Psychoeducation

A 10-session integrated psychoeducational program delivered once weekly for 60 minutes. Each session combined explicit cognitive-behavioral learning with Life Kinetik-based motor-cognitive practice addressing the same cognitive-flexibility objective. Cognitive restructuring, alternative thinking, emotion regulation, and problem solving were combined with activities involving changing rules, response inhibition, coordination, rapid decision making, and strategy modification.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Mustafa Kılıç

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mustafa Kılıç, Lecturer Dr. · Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-02-26

Primary Completion

2026-05-15

Completion

2026-06-26

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations