A Comparative Study on University Students' Rational and Experiential Thinking Styles in Terms of Faculty, Class Level and Gender Variables

Yemliha Coşkun

doi:10.13189/ujer.2018.060902

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the university students' thinking styles. The research was a descriptive study in the screening model. The study was carried out with 382 students from the faculties of physical education and sports, education, science and letters, theology, business administration, engineering, forestry and agriculture at Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University during the spring semester of 2016-2017 academic year. They were selected by convenience sampling method. 'Personal Information Form' and 'Rational-Experiential Thinking Styles Inventory' were used as data collection tools. The research data were analyzed through use of SPSS 15.0. The study has concluded that university students' rational and experiential thinking levels moderate, in other words, students use both styles of thinking. The female and male students' rational thinking styles are similar; however, female students score higher on the experimental thinking style. It was also found that there was no significant difference between thinking style and class level and faculties.

Highlights

Thought is the activity of acquiring new knowledge and results by passing through all kinds of data immersed in the brain during the perception process with its own internal flows
Thinking is defined as all the perceptions of the brain, making comparisons within itself, separating, consolidating, conceiving the forms, while thought implies the results obtained from them [1]
Recognizing the reasons for which two people in the same environment have different impressions and knowing the characteristics of individuals having very different forms of information processing will make the interpretation of behavior easier [4]. Expressing his views on this subject, George Kelly considers the cognitive structures we use to interpret and predict events as 'personal constructs', meaning that no one's personal structures resemble others, and that no one has organized mental structures in a similar way. He linked the reason why we demonstrate different behaviors to the use of different constructs [4]

Summary

Introduction

Thought is the activity of acquiring new knowledge and results by passing through all kinds of data immersed in the brain during the perception process with its own internal flows. Thinking is defined as all the perceptions of the brain, making comparisons within itself, separating, consolidating, conceiving the forms, while thought implies the results obtained from them [1]. The most important thing in such a process is likely that individuals can think qualitatively and use different thinking processes and skills in this regard [2]. These processes, which are rendered as thinking styles, are significant factors that shape and understand human behaviors

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Methods

Results