Thinking Styles, Perceived Stress and Life Satisfaction

This study investigates the relationship between rational and experiential thinking styles, perceived stress and life satisfaction in university students. The research sample included 259 students (56.8% females, [M.sub.age] = 21.57) of psychology and informatics. Lower stress and higher life satisfaction are predominantly related to the thinking style preferred by the given gender the rational style in males and the experiential style in females. More positive results in stress and life satisfaction were observed in the groups scoring higher in both styles compared to those scoring lower in both thinking styles. The relationships between thinking style preferred by the given gender and life satisfaction are mediated by the perceived stress. The present results indicate the possibility of increasing life satisfaction through changing information processing modes.