Psychological availability, mindfulness, and cognitive load in college students with and without learning disabilities

Abstract

The goal of this study was to test whether psychological availability and mindfulness are associated with cognitive overload in two student populations with and without learning disabilities. This study tested hypotheses regarding the differences between the two study populations and the degree of association between the study variables. 60 students with learning disabilities and 60 students without learning disabilities were tested using three instruments: a psychological availability questionnaire, a mindfulness questionnaire, and a self-efficacy questionnaire. The findings show that the learning-disabled population performed consistently worse on psychological availability and mindfulness and on cognitive load compared with the normally-developed population. In addition, the study variables were strongly associated in the students without learning disabilities but not in the students with learning disabilities. These findings can be applied in the development of teacher training programs that focus on effective methods for increasing psychological availability, improving attention and mindfulness, so that cognitive load in students with learning disabilities can be reduced.