Comparison of thinking styles between the fourth stages students in some colleges of Diyala University

The purpose of this study was to determine the dominant thinkers among the fourth stage students in Diyala University and, furthermore, it aimed at knowing if there were any differences of statistical effect between thinking dimensions due to specialization (Physical Education & Sport Science, Chemistry and Biology). The researcher adopted a descriptive method with the comparative study design. The study population included 264 year four students using stratified random sampling. Sternberg's Thinking Styles Inventory of 65 items under 13 styles was employed to develop research plan. Statistical processing The data were treated statistically by SPSS program as follows: mean and standard deviation, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the least significant difference (LSD). The main findings were as follows: statistically significant differences between academic specializations (11 out of 13 thinking style categories) were found. The students of Physical Education and Sports Sciences are the only ones who surpassed the Science and Biology concentration, achieving better scores in terms of Managerial (Executive, Hierarchical, Monarchic, Oligarchic) inclination. Science (Chemistry) students were characterized by a contemplative perspective, due to their personal and laboratory setting, whereas Biology and Sports students had more innovative and law-related categories. Results revealed the same pattern for all specializations when considering global and local processing, revealing a balanced profile of cognitive development in students from Year 4. It was found that the type of specialty played a significant and effective role in shaping student's intellectual structures; hands-on environment of field based subjects supported leadership styles, while the laboratory environment fostered contemplative (or holding reflective) styles.