Constructing and applying an intellectual gluttony scale among students of the colleges of education for humanities and pure sciences

The present research aims to construct and apply a scale of Intellectual Gluttony among students of the Colleges of Education for Humanities and Pure Sciences at the University of Mosul. The research sample consisted of (400) male and female students, selected by the stratified random method with equal distribution across all academic levels. The scale was constructed by the researcher relying on theoretical bridging (the synthetic approach), and consisted of (24) items distributed across four dimensions: Cognitive Curiosity, Intellectual Passion, Cognitive Hoarding, and Intellectual Obsession. The apparent (face) validity value reached (96%), and construct validity was confirmed at a statistically significant level (0.05), while the test–retest reliability coefficient reached (0.83). The results indicated that the arithmetic mean of students' scores was (74.72) with a standard deviation of (18.00); when compared with the hypothetical mean of (60) using a one-sample t-test, the calculated t-value was (16.35), which is greater than the tabulated value (1.96) at the (0.05) significance level. The research concludes that students of both colleges possess a high level of Intellectual Gluttony, and that its four dimensions interact with psychosocial factors, transforming the legitimate desire for knowledge into unbalanced academic behaviors.