Mental wandering and its relationship to cognitive burden among students of the faculty of Education-Janzour

Abstract

This research aimed to explore the relationship between mental wandering and cognitive load among students at the Faculty of Education in Janzour. It also sought to investigate differences in mental wandering and cognitive load based on gender (male-female) and academic specialization (humanities-science), and to determine whether mental wandering could predict cognitive load levels among these students. The research sample consisted of 190 students from the Faculty of Education in Janzour, University of Tripoli, aged between 19 and 22 years, with a mean age of 21.19 and a standard deviation of 1.05. Data was collected using two scales: the Mental Wandering Scale (prepared by Salem Muaid Al-Otaibi, 2020) and the Cognitive Load Scale (prepared by Helmy Mohamed Al-Feel, 2015). The results showed a statistically significant inverse relationship (p < 0.01) between mental wandering and cognitive load among the students at the Faculty of Education in Janzour, and no statistically significant differences in mental wandering. Cognitive load, in light of gender and specialization variables, is measured by mental wandering. Statistically significant differences exist in cognitive load (both the first dimension and the overall score) according to specialization, favoring scientific specialization. Furthermore, the level of cognitive load can be predicted by mental wandering among students at the College of Education in Janzour.