Examining the Effect of Cognitive Restructuring Technique on Shy Behaviour Among Junior Secondary School Students in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria

Résumé

This study examined the effect of cognitive restructuring technique on shy behaviour among junior secondary school students in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. Two objectives guided the study and two hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Hypothesis one measured the difference in the effect of cognitive restructuring technique on shy behaviour on the basis of level of shy behaviour, while hypothesis two measured the difference in the effect of cognitive restructuring technique on shy behaviour on the basis of socio-economic background. Quasi-experimental design involving pre-test and post-test for control and experimental groups was used. The population of the study comprised of all the junior secondary school students identified with shy behaviour in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State. A total number of seventy-four (74) students were identified with shy behaviour in two selected schools, and fifty (50) of them were purposively selected as sample size. Shy Behaviour Observational Checklist (SBOC) was used for identification of the students with shy behaviour, while Shy Personality Scale (SPS) was used for the collection of pre-test and post-test data. The data collected were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The finding of hypothesis one revealed that there was no significant difference in the effect of cognitive restructuring technique on shy behaviour on the basis of levels of shy behaviour. The finding of hypothesis two indicated that there was no significant difference in the effect of cognitive restructuring technique on shy behaviour on the basis of socio-economic background. The researcher concluded that there was no significant difference in the effectiveness of cognitive restructuring technique in reducing shy behaviour among junior secondary school students in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State based on levels of shy behaviour and socio-economic background. Based on these findings, it was recommended that teachers and other school personnel in junior secondary schools in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State should be trained on how to identify students with shy behaviour for appropriate remedial intervention by the school counsellor and school psychologists; and the school management, through the school guidance unit, should encourage sports and extra-curricular activities (such as debate, sports activities, and press clubs) in order to encourage participation by all students as a means of addressing the effects of shy behaviour.