The Impact of Cognitive Illusion on Administrative Decision-Making Among Islamic Secondary School Principals: A Field Study

Abstract

This study aims to highlight the importance of cognitive illusion as one of the factors influencing administrative behavior and to examine its impact on administrative decisions among principals of Islamic secondary schools. The research problem stemmed from investigating the impact of cognitive illusion, represented by its dimensions of irrational judgments, personal subjective expectations, perceptual distortion, and psychological helplessness, on administrative decisions. The study also sought to measure the levels of the study variables and test the impact hypotheses between them. The study adopted the descriptive-analytical approach. The research population consisted of all principals of Islamic secondary schools, totaling (197) principals, and a census method was employed. A total of (195) valid responses were obtained for statistical analysis. A questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection, and the data were analyzed using several statistical techniques, including means, standard deviations, Cronbach’s Alpha, and simple linear regression. The findings revealed a statistically significant negative impact of cognitive illusion on administrative decision-making, accounting for 43.6% of the variance in the dependent variable. The results also indicated significant effects for all dimensions of cognitive illusion. The study concluded that higher levels of cognitive illusion lead to lower-quality administrative decisions. Accordingly, it recommended implementing training programs to enhance principals’ analytical thinking and decision-making skills, as well as promoting reliance on evidence and objective data in administrative decision-making processes in order to reduce the influence of cognitive illusion and improve the quality of decisions made.