Enhancing academic success in higher education: the predictive role of critical thinking through sequential mediation of academic control, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation.

Introduction: Academic success (AS) represents a central outcome of contemporary education; however, this complex construct is often narrowly operationalized in the literature as a grade point average (GPA) alone. One factor increasingly regarded as essential for meeting current academic demands is critical thinking (CT), particularly in an era of easy access to information and misinformation. Nevertheless, the relationship between CT and AS remains unclear, and both constructs require more comprehensive examination, which is still limited in the existing literature. This study investigated the effects of CT skills and dispositions on AS, operationalized as GPA and perceived academic success, while examining academic locus of control, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation as sequential mediating mechanisms. Methods: The sample consisted of 263 university students aged 18-28 years (M = 21.74; SD = 1.56). Data were collected using a short version of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA), the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS), selected dimensions of the College Learning Effectiveness Inventory, the Perceived Academic Control Scale, the Intrinsic Goal Orientation (IGO) subscale of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), the General Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, and GPA. Four sequential mediation models were tested. Results: The results showed that both CT skills and dispositions significantly predicted perceived AS, including indirect effects through the mediators examined. GPA was directly predicted only by CT skills, whereas the indirect effects of both skills and disposition on GPA emerged solely through academic control. Discussion: These findings highlight the importance of CT and social cognitive factors in student retention and success in higher education. Simultaneously, they underscore the complex and psychosocial nature of AS, extending beyond traditional performance-based indicators.