Comparison of the University Students in Turkey and Central Asia with Regards to Their Characteristics of Thinking, Decision Making and Cognitive Closure

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare the Turkish, Uzbek and Kyrgyz university students with regards to their thinking and decision making styles and as well as their cognitive closure. 141 Turkish, 69 Uzbek and 89 Kyrgyz students at the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University participated in the study. As the data collection tool, the 15-point version of the thinking styles scale, decision making styles scale and the need for cognitive closure scale were used. The data were examined with the one-way variance analysis and the T2 test of Scheffe and Tamhane was applied to find the source of the difference in groups where a difference was determined. As a result of the study, significant differences were found between the Turkish, Uzbek and Kyrgyz students in 11 of the 13 thinking styles and in 3 of the 5 decision making styles. The highest difference in 3 sample groups was found for the need for cognitive closure. The importance of knowing the thinking and decision making styles of different cultures as a prerequisite for intercultural communication and cooperation was highlighted and some recommendations were made on this matter.