The differentiation of the self and its relation to information processing among physical education and sports science students at the Islamic University

Abstract

Self-differentiation is considered a cognitive style rather than a personality trait, and it varies from one student to another. It is an important element within the concept of self, reflecting the extent to which an individual feels their own worth. When individuals have positive attitudes toward themselves, their level of self-differentiation is high, and when they have negative or positive attitudes, this is directly reflected in their level of self-differentiation. Information processing encompasses all mental operations that occur within the brain, and it can be understood through the changes that occur in observable responses, which represents the first step toward the optimal utilization of these processes. The importance of this research lies in identifying the relationship between self-differentiation and information processing among students of the Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at the Islamic University

Based on the above, the research problem can be summarized in the following question: Is there a relationship between self-differentiation and information processing among students of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at the Islamic University? One of the main objectives of the research was to identify this relationship .The researchers used the descriptive approach with a correlational method, and the research population consisted of fourth-year students in the College of Education – Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at the Islamic University.

The study applied the self-differentiation scale consisting of 39 statements, and the information processing scale consisting of 66 statements. The results were presented on the research sample to determine the correlational relationship between self-differentiation and information processing among the participants. The results showed the presence of a statistically significant correlation between the variable of self-differentiation and the variable of information processing obtained from the research sample, using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The correlation value was (0.73) with a significance level of (0.025). This indicates that the correlation between the two variables is strong and statistically significant, and the results obtained can be relied upon and generalized to the population of the study, as they are due to the research procedures and not to chance. The most important conclusions indicate the presence of a correlation between self-differentiation and information processing among a sample of fourth-year students in the College of Education, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at the Islamic University, where an increase in students’ self-differentiation corresponds to a higher level of information processing. The most important recommendations include the necessity of paying attention to the level of self-differentiation among university students, especially those in the College of Education, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at the Islamic University, since higher self-differentiation increases their awareness and knowledge. It is also recommended to focus on the level of information processing among university students, particularly in the same department, as this directly reflects on their level of scientific knowledge and information.