The Role of Setting-specific Hyperfocus in the Context of Academic Performance

Ma, Hanzhi (2026) The Role of Setting-specific Hyperfocus in the Context of Academic Performance. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between dispositional hyperfocus, screen time hyperfocus and school hyperfocus and academic achievement. Hyperfocus is a state of deep concentration directed towards a specific activity and is often accompanied by a loss of sense of time and reduced awareness of distractions. Hyperfocus can occur at any time, for any duration, during any activity but there are certain settings during which hyperfocus is more often experienced. Prior research has shown that school environments are a common setting during which hyperfocus frequently occurs. However, there is no conclusive evidence whether hyperfocus in school settings influences academic performance. In total, 372 first-year psychology students from the Dutch university ‘Rijksuniversiteit Groningen’ were asked to fill out a questionnaire that was largely based on the Adult- Hyperfocus-Questionnaire (Hupfeld et al., 2018) to determine hyperfocus levels. Based on previous research, it was hypothesised that different levels of dispositional hyperfocus, screen time hyperfocus and school hyperfocus would be reflected in different GPA but a hierarchical regression analysis showed that hyperfocus on school related activities was the sole predictor of GPA. Its large effect size confirms that frequent periods of school hyperfocus is related to better academic performance. The findings contribute to the understanding of hyperfocus, hyperfocus in specific settings and their connection with academic performance. Keywords: hyperfocus, academic performance, GPA, dispositional hyperfocus, screen time hyperfocus, school hyperfocus

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Garcia Pimenta, M.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	18 Feb 2026 12:04
Last Modified:	18 Feb 2026 12:04
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/6226

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