Cognitive flexibility as a predictor of optimism in university students

The aim of this study is to investigate the predictive power of cognitive flexibility levels of university students on optimism. In addition, it is aimed to reveal whether the relationship between optimism and cognitive flexibility differs according to gender. The participants of the study consisted of a total of 835 university students, 632 females (75.7%) and 203 males (24.3%), studying at Ondokuz Mayıs University, Turkey. The ages of the university students participating in the research range from 17 to 43, and the average age of the students was determined as 20.58. In the data collection process, the Personal Information Form was used to determine the demographic information of the participants, the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory to determine their cognitive flexibility levels, and the Life Orientation Test to determine the level of positive expectations that individuals generally have about their experiences. To achieve the research purposes, missing value analysis, outlier analysis, normal distribution, linearity and homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices were examined, and it was found that the assumptions were met. Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficients were used to determine the relationships between optimism and cognitive flexibility. According to the correlation analysis results, positive and meaningful relationships were found between optimism and cognitive flexibility, and it was found that university students with high optimism scores also have high cognitive flexibility levels. Simple Linear Regression Analysis was performed to determine how much cognitive flexibility predicts optimism. As a result of the regression analysis, it was concluded that cognitive flexibility explains 19.4% of the total variance of optimism. Considering the research results, universities can organize programs and workshops aimed at developing the cognitive flexibility of students. These programs can increase students' optimism by teaching them positive thinking skills.