Lateral Thinking and Its Relationship to Linguistic Intelligence Among Middle School Students in Schools for Gifted Students

Abstract

The current study aims to identify lateral thinking and its relationship to linguistic intelligence among middle school students in schools for gifted students. The study sample consisted of 175 male students, representing 30% of the original population of third-year middle school students enrolled in schools for gifted students affiliated with the General Directorates of Education in Baghdad/Al-Rusafa (First, Second, and Third) during the academic year 2023–2024 ,To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher developed two assessment instruments: a Lateral Thinking Test and a Linguistic Intelligence Test. The two instruments were administered by the researcher to the study sample. After the responses were scored and the data were analyzed, they were statistically processed.The results indicated the presence of a statistically significant positive difference in the mean scores of the lateral thinking test, indicating that the study sample possessed lateral thinking abilities. The results also revealed a statistically significant positive difference in the mean scores of the linguistic intelligence test, indicating that the stuidy sampple ,possessad linguistic, intelligence Regarding the relationship between lateral thinking and linguistic intelligence, the findings revealed a statistically significant correlation between lateral thinking and linguistic intelligence among third-year middle school students in schools for gifted students, In light of these findings, the researcher presented a number of recommendations and proposed several suggestions for future research