Investigation of Decision Making and Thinking Styles of Volleyball Referees in Terms of Some Variables

Abstract

This study aims to examine the decision making and thinking styles of volleyball referees in terms of some variables. A total of 91 volleyball referees (51 men and 40 women) in Ankara volunteered to participate in the study. Of the participants, 56 are regional referees while 35 are national referees. The participants were applied rational-experiential thinking styles scale developed by Epstein et al (1996) and adapted into Turkish by Buluş (2000) and decision-making styles scale developed by Scott and Burce (1995) and adapted into Turkish by Taşdelen (2002). It was determined that the data obtained from the study did not show normal distribution according to Shapiro Wilk and Levene tests (p <0.05), therefore, in line with the purposes of the study, the data were analyzed by Mann Whitney U test and Kruskall Wallis test, and the Steel Dwass test was applied to determine the groups from which the difference originated in multiple comparisons. The significance level was accepted as (p <0.05). According to research findings, decision-making styles are significant in terms of gender, age, referee category and experience (years) variables (p<0.05). When the scores of the "cognitive requirement and intuitive belief" subscales of the rational-experiential thinking style scale were examined, significance was determined (p <0.05) in terms of participants' gender, age, referee category and experience variables. Consequently, the research revealed that variables such as gender, age, referee category, and experience had an important impact on the decision-making and rational-experiential thinking styles of volleyball referees.