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Title INTERPLAY OF MENTALTIMETRAVEL, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING, ANDSELF-REGULATION WITH EMOTIONALWELL-BEING OF UNIVERSITYSTUDENTS

Author(s) Iram Bhutto

Abstract Mental time travel (MTT) is the capacity to mentally transport one’s self to the past or future and is widelyconsidered an important factor to the development of executive functions and self-regulation, as well as, emotional well-being (EWB). The purpose of the current research was to investigate the relationship between MTTandtheemotional experience of university students as mediated by executive functioning (EF) and self-regulation(SR). For this study, 515 undergraduate students, aged 18-25 years (M=21.55, SD=2.06) were recruited throughconvenience sampling from different universities of Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Karachi. This research was conducted in two parts. For the first phase (pilot study) of the study, the psychometric characteristics of the chosenmeasures were assessed in order to verify their suitability in measuring the variables of interest in the Pakistani context. In the second phase (main study), Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), Adult Executive Functioning Inventory (ADEXI), Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS), Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire(SSRQ) and Emotional Well-being Scale (EWBS). The results revealed a significant positive correlation betweenmental time travel (both prospective and retrospective) with positive emotional well-being. Regression analysesshowed that MTT significantly predicted different components of EF including working memory, inhibitorycontroland cognitive flexibility. The results also showed that there is a sequential mediation of the relationships betweenmental time travel and emotional well-being by executive functioning and self-regulation. Analysis for groupdifferences indicated that gender on the study variables yielded non-significant results. However, employedstudentshad significantly higher means in positive emotional well-being and self-regulation than unemployed students. These results underscore the need for specific interventions that foster the MTT and EF competencies of universitylearners in order to help improve their overall emotional health and self-regulation. The study provides important findings to educational policymakers, mental health professionals, and scholars, which restate the importance of using multifaceted approaches to enhance students’ academic and psychological performance.

Type Thesis/Dissertation MS

Faculty Social Sciences

Department Psychology

Language English

Publication Date 2025-06-11

Subject Psychology

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