Influence of self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic stress and anxiety on memory recall among PG students

Abstract

Abstract Several studies have shown that there is a decrease in the academic performance of students in Nigeria, and this decrease in academic performance could be attributed to poor memory recall strategies or ineffective memory processing techniques employed by students. Although investigations into human memory have been occurring for decades, much of this topic has not been covered. Factors such as self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic stress, and anxiety have not been properly understood to determine their effects on memory recall among postgraduate students in Nigeria. Therefore, this study investigated self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic stress, and anxiety about memory recall among postgraduate students at the University of Ibadan. The study adopted the survey method and collected the data through a random selection technique. One hundred master’s students from the faculty of Social Sciences were recruited for the study. The study sample consisted of 46 males (46.46%) and 56 females (56.56%). The Rey auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT) was used to measure memory recall, the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GES) was used to measure self-efficacy, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to assess academic stress, and the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) was used to assess academic motivation. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) was used to measure anxiety in the study. Five hypotheses were proposed. Results: A zero-order correlation revealed a positive relationship between memory recall and self-efficacy [r = .490, <.01] and between memory recall and academic motivation [r = .489 p < .01]. Academic stress showed a weak positive relationship with memory recall [r = .198, <.01]; however, anxiety showed a negative relationship with memory recall [r =.-552, p < .01]. Additionally, students high in self-efficacy scored significantly more on memory recall than participants who scored low [t (96) = − .2.330; P <. 0.05]. Furthermore, self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic stress, and anxiety jointly and independently predicted memory recall (F (4, 95) = 14.732; P < .000). R2 showed that the variables accounted for 35.7% of the total variance observed in memory. According to our individual predictions, academic stress and anxiety were significant predictors, while self-efficacy and academic motivation were not. Additionally, students high in academic motivation scored significantly higher in terms of memory recall than participants who scored low [t (98) = − .2629; P <. 0.05]. Finally, the results revealed that female students did not score significantly higher on memory recall than did their male counterparts (t (98) = − .560; P > .0.05). This study recommended that practitioners (clinical psychologists), educators and the government consider self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic stress, and anxiety to understand their roles in students’ memory recall, and this would guide them in diagnosing them and developing effective therapeutic interventions to improve their memory recall.