THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL PROGRAM TO ENHANCE GRATITUDE BEHAVIOR AMONG INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OF THE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF MADINA

Abstract

The study sought to determine the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioural program for increasing appreciation behaviour among international students at the Islamic University of Madina. The study included 40 international students from the Islamic University, separated into two groups: an experimental group (n=20) with an average age of 22.5 (± 2.03) and an identical control group (n=20) with an average age of 22.60 (±2.05). The experimental sample members were given a cognitive-behavioural program to improve gratitude behaviour (prepared by the researcher) as well as a gratitude behaviour scale for both the control and experimental groups (prepared by the researcher). After the program was implemented, the study found that international students in the experimental group had increased their appreciation behaviour and scores, which were statistically considerably higher than those in the control group. Furthermore, the experimental group's thankfulness behaviour showed no statistically significant differences between the post-test and follow-up evaluations.