What is it about?
This study examined the level of twisted thinking and its relationship with radical thinking among university students at the University of Mosul. Twisted thinking refers to distorted patterns of thought that negatively affect how individuals interpret reality, including catastrophic thinking, negative filtering, dismissing evidence, and unreliable predictions. The study involved 400 male and female university students from different academic specializations. Two psychological tests were developed and applied to measure twisted thinking and radical thinking patterns. The results showed that students demonstrated noticeable levels of both twisted and radical thinking, and a strong positive relationship was found between them. This suggests that distorted ways of thinking may gradually influence students' perceptions and contribute to more extreme ways of viewing society and the future.
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Why is it important?
This study is important because negative thinking patterns can significantly influence students' academic performance, emotional well-being, social relationships, and future decision-making. Distorted thinking may affect how students perceive themselves and the world around them and may gradually increase the risk of adopting more rigid and extreme viewpoints. The findings provide researchers, educators, and counselors with a better understanding of how unhealthy cognitive patterns may develop and interact. The study may help universities design educational and counseling programs that strengthen critical thinking, balanced judgment, and positive cognitive skills among students. The study also contributes important evidence from the Iraqi university context and may support future research and intervention programs aimed at reducing harmful thinking patterns.
Perspectives
From my perspective, understanding students' thinking patterns is not only an academic issue but also a social and educational responsibility. Thoughts influence attitudes, behaviors, and future choices. Identifying distorted thinking at an early stage can help educational institutions support students before these patterns become deeply rooted. I believe universities should place greater emphasis on developing critical thinking, cognitive flexibility, and healthy decision-making skills. This work represents an attempt to provide evidence that may help create more effective educational and psychological interventions for future generations.
Mohammed Hashim Taha Sulaiman AL-Ogaidi
University of Mosul
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Twisted thinking and its relationship to radical thinking among university students, SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, January 2025, AOSIS Open Journals,
DOI: 10.4102/sajip.v51i0.2245.
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