Are cognitive styles still in style?

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Are cognitive styles still in style?

ARTICLE in AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST JUNE 1997

Impact Factor: 6.87 DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.52.7.700

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Oklahoma State University - Stillwater

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A r e C o g n i t i v e S t y l e s S t i l l i n S t y l e

R o b e r t J . S t e rn b e r g a n d E l e n a L . G r i g o r e n k o

Yale Univers i ty

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I iJ I I I I I

Are cogni t i ve s t y l e s s t i l l in s t y l e ? The au thor s as ser t t ha t

they are and , indeed , t ha t they may prov ide a s prom is ing

a n i n r o a d t o p r e d i c t in g s c h o o l a n d o t h e r k i n d s o f p e rf o r -

mance as do ab i l i t i e s . F i r s t , t he au thor s in t roduce the

c o n c e p t o f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s a n d d i s c u s s w h y t h e y h a v e

p i q u e d t h e i n t e re s t o f p sy c h o l o g i s t s f o r m a n y y e a r s a n d

cont inue to do so. Second , 3 mot i va t ions fo r theo ry and

research on cogni t i ve s t y l e s are descr ibed . Th i rd , some

of the pr inc ipa l l i t e ra ture on cog ni t i ve s t y l e s i s br i e fl y

rev iewed . Four th , t he au thor s presen t the i r own theory

and research , sugges t ing i t ma y prese n t a par t i cu lar l y

promis ing approach . F ina l l y , t hey draw some conc lu-

s ions about s t y l e s and make some sugges t ions r egard ing

pro f i tab le d i r ec t ions fo r fu ture theory an d research .

u p p o s e y o u w e r e t o l d t h at t h e re i s a m y s t e r y c o n -

s t r u c t t h a t p r e d i c t s s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t a s w e l l a s ,

o r p o s s i b l y e v e n b e t t e r t h an , i n t e l l e c t u a l a b i l it i e s ,

a s m e a s u r e d b y c o n v e n t io n a l p s y c h o m e t r i c t e s ts o f i n te l -

l i g e n c e . P e r h a p s y o u w o u l d b e s k e p t i c a l , b o t h b e c a u s e

c o n v e n t i o n a l a b i l i t y t e s t s p r e d i c t s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t s o

w e l l a n d b e c a u s e o t h e r k i n d s o f m e a s u r e s ( w i t h t h e e x -

c e p t i o n o f t e s t s o f s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t ) h a v e n o t h a d a s

m u c h s u c c e s s i n p r e d i c t i n g s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t a s h a v e

c o n v e n t i o n a l a b i l i t y te s t s ( A n a s t a s i , 1 9 8 8 ; C r o n b a c h ,

1990) .

N e x t , y o u a r e t o l d t h a t t h e c o r r e l a t i o n o f a m e a s u r e o f

t h i s m y s t e r y c o n s t r u c t w i t h s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t i n a s a m -

p l e o f 1 2 4 e l e m e n t a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s t u d e n t s i s

. 0 1. Y o u w o u l d s m i l e . S o m u c h f o r t h e m y s t e r y c o n s t r u c t :

a n o t h e r p r o m i s s o r y n o t e t h a t p r o v e s t o h a v e n o v a l u e

w h e n i t is c a s h e d i n , t h a t i s , w h e n i t i s a c t u a ll y e m p i r i c a l l y

va l ida t e d .

B u t y o u a r e t o l d , f i n a l l y , t h a t t h e t r u e c o r r e l a t i o n o f

t h e m y s t e r y c o n s t r u c t i s b e i n g m a s k e d b y a m o d e r a t o r

v a r i a b l e , n a m e l y , t h e s c h o o l i n w h i c h t h e e m p i r i c a l v a l i -

d a t i o n i s d o n e . I n a n a v a n t - g a r d e , p r i v a t e e l e m e n t a r y -

s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l e m p h a s i z i n g e m o t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n t h a t

v i e w s i t s e l f a s b e i n g a t t h e c u tt i n g e d g e o f s c h o o l r e f o r m ,

t h e c o r r e l a t i o n o f t h e m y s t e r y c o n s t r u c t w i t h s c h o o l

a c h i e v e m e n t i s - . 3 8 ( p < . 0 5 ); in a s e c o n d s c h o o l , a

C a t h o l i c p a r o c h i a l e l e m e n t a r y - s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l t h a t

v i e w s i t s e l f a s q u i t e t r a d it i o n a l , t h e c o r r e l a t i o n i s . 4 9 ( p

< . 01 ). I n t w o o t h e r s c h o o l s - - a w e l l - re s p e c te d , n a t io n -

a l l y k n o w n p r e p a r a t o r y s c h o o l a n d a l a r g e , u r b a n p u b l i c

s c h o o l - - t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s a r e - . 3 9 a n d . 1 0 , r e s p e c t i v e l y .

P e r h a p s n o w y o u r i n t e r e s t w o u l d b e p i q u e d . A f t e r a l l ,

h o w m a n y c o n s t r u c ts s h o w c o r r e l a ti o n s w i t h s c h o o l

a c h i e v e m e n t t h a t d i f f e r b y c l o s e t o . 9 0 in t w o d i f f e r e n t

sc hoo l s , t ha t a re s t a t i s t i c a l ly s ign i f i c a n t i n oppos i t e d i r e c -

t i o n s , a n d t h a t d i f f e r s i g n i f i c a n t l y f r o m e a c h o t h e r a s

w e l l ?

M o r e o v e r , h o w m a n y c o n s t r u c t s a l s o s i g n i f i c a n t l y p r e -

d i c t s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t , a b o v e a n d b e y o n d a b i l i t i e s , i n

p a r t b e c a u s e o f t h e g e n u i n e t a s k d e m a n d s o f th e s c h o o l

a n d i n p a r t b e c a u s e t h e y a r e s o u r c e s o f b i a s i n t e a c h e r s '

e v a l u a t i o n s o f s t u d e n t s , w h e r e b y t e a c h e r s e v a l u a t e s t u -

d e n t s m o r e f a v o r a b l y o n t h e s e d i m e n s i o n s i f s t u d e n ts a r e

m o r e l i k e t h e m s e l v e s ? S u c h c o n s t r u c t s c e r t a i n l y o u g h t t o

b e r e c e i v i n g a t t e n t io n , w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e y c u r r e n t l y a r e .

I f y o u r i n t e r es t i s i n d e e d p i q u e d , t h e n p e r h a p s y o u

w o u l d l i k e t o r ea d m o r e a b o u t

thinking s ty les ,

w h i c h a r e

n o t t h e m s e l v e s a b i l i ti e s b u t r a t h e r p r e f e r r e d w a y s o f u s i n g

the a b i l it i e s one ha s (S t e rnbe rg , 1988 , 1990 , 1 994b ,

1 9 9 7 ). T h i n k i n g s t y l e s a r e b u t o n e m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f a

b r o a d e r p r o g r a m o f r e se a r c h i n w h i c h p s y c h o l o g i s t s h a v e

b e e n e n g a g e d f o r m a n y d e c a d e s , t h a t o n cogni t ive s ty les ,

o r p e o p l e ' s c h a r a c t e ri s t ic a n d t y p i c a l ly p r e f e r r e d m o d e s

o f p r o c e s s i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . C o g n i t i v e s t y l e s a r e , in t u r n ,

a s u b s e t o f t h e g e n e ra l c o n s t r u c t o f s ty le , w h i c h c a n b e

d e f i n ed a s a d i s ti n c ti v e o r c h a r a ct e r is t i c m a n n e r . . .

o r m e t h o d o f a c t in g o r p e r f o r m i n g ( G u r a l ni k , 1 9 7 6 , p .

1415) .

O u r f u r t h e r d i s c u s s i o n o f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s i s d i v i d e d

i n t o f o u r m a j o r p a r t s . F i rs t , w e m o t i v a t e o u r d i s c u s s i o n b y

d e s c r i b i n g w h y p s y c h o l o g i s t s , i n c l u d i n g o u r s e l v e s , h a v e

b e e n i n t e r e s t e d o v e r t h e y e a r s i n c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s a s a

p s y c h o l o g i c a l c o n s t r u c t . S e c o n d , w e r e v i e w s o m e o f t h e

p r i n c i p a l l i t er a t u r e i n t h e f i e ld o f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s, r e c o g -

n i z i n g a t t h e s a m e t i m e t h a t a t h o r o u g h l i t e r a t u r e r e v i e w

Editor s note. Will iamBevan served as action editor for this article.

Author s note. Ro bert . Sternberg and Elena L. G rigorenko; Depart-

ment of Psychology,Yale University.

Preparation of this article was suppo rted under the Javits Act Pro-

gram (Gr ant R206R50001) as administeredby the Officeof Edu cational

Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. G rantees

undertaking such projects are encouraged to expre ss freely their profes-

sional judgm ent. Thi s article, therefore, does not n ecessarily represent

the position s or p olicies of the feder al government, and no o fficial

endorsement should be inferred.

We are grateful to Marie M artin and R ichard Wagner for their

collaborations in some of o ur w ork in the area of thinking styles.

Copies of instruments we have used in our research are available

at co st from us.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to

Robert J. Sternberg, Departm ent of Psychology, Yale University, Box

208205. New Haven, CT 06520-8205. Electronic mail may be sent via

Internet to [email protected].

7 0 0

J u l y 1 9 97 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g is t

Copyright 1997 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0003-066X/97/ 2.00

Vol. 52, No. 7, 700-712


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would be impossible in the context of a relatively brief

journal article. We also discuss why cognitive styles,

much like wide neckties, s eem cyclically to come in and

go out of fashion as the years pass and why we believe

that the construct, like one' s collection of wide neckties,

is worth saving. Third, we brief ly describe some o f our

own theory and research in the area and argue that our

approach shows the general promise of the construct.

Finally, we draw some conclusions and provide sugges-

tions for how research in the field might progress in the

future.

Why Should Psychologists Care bout

Cog nitive Styles

Interest in cognitive styles goes back at least to Jung

(1923), who proposed a theory of psychological types

that, in modified form, is still used today in assessments

of styles through the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory

(MB TI; Myers McC aulley, 1985; Myers Myers,

1980). However, modern research actively began in sev-

eral laboratories within a short span of time with the wo rk

of Witkin (1964; Witkin, D yk, Faterson, Goodenough,

Karp, 1962; Witldn et al., 1954); Klein (Klein, Gard-

ner, Schlesinger, 1962; Kl ein Schlesinger, 1951;

Smith Klein, 1953); Gardner, Mess ick, and Jacks on

(Gardner, 1959, 1962; Gardner, Holzman, Klein, Lin-

ton, Spen ce, 1959; Gardner, Jac kson , Me ssick , 1960;

Me ssick Ross, 1962); Kagan (1958, 1965a, 1965b,

1965c); Wallach and Kogan (1965); Pettigrew (1958);

and others who, by the 1950s and 1960s, had become

concerned with styles as representing an interface be-

tween w ork on cognition and work on personality .

What interested these researchers then, and contempo-

rary researchers now, about the construct of cognitive

styles? Styles are of interest for several reasons.

r idg ing Cog ni t ion and Personal ity

First, cognitive styles represent a bridge between what

might seem to be two fair ly distinct areas o f psychologi-

cal investigation: cognition and personality. Although

these two areas often have seemed to represent rather

distinct areas of selfhood, there have long been inves-

tigators, such as Cattell (1971) and Royce (1973),

who have tried to link them into a single encompassing

theory. In the case of Cattell, one of the factors in the

16 personality-factor model (Factor B) is an intelligence

factor. And in the widely accepted Big Five theory of

personality (Costa McC rae, 1992; Digman, 1990;

McC rae, 1996; Mc Crae Costa, 1987; Pea body Gold-

berg, 1989), one of the factors, Openness to Experience,

has been found to be Closely linked with intelligence.

Moreover, a single psychometric method has been used

to investigate both cognition and intelligence, leading

some investigators, such as Eysenck (1982; Eysenck

Eysenck, 1975), Vernon (1973), and Messick (1984), as

well as Cattell, Royce, and many others, to be active in

both fields.

Many other approaches have been use d to l ink person-

ality and aspects of cognition, especially intelligence

(Baron, 1982; Sak lofske Zeidner, 1995; Sternb erg

Ruzgis, 1994), including constructs of social intelligence

(Can tor Kihlstr om, 1987a, 1987b; Ford Tisak, 1983;

Keating, 1978), practical intelligence (Sternbe rg, 1985,

1996; Sternbe rg Wagner, 1986; Sternberg , Wagner,

Williams, Horvath, 1995), and emotion al intelligence

(Gole man, 1995; Sal ove y Mayer, 1990).Clearly, psy-

chologists see a need to link personality with cognition.

We suggest that cognitive styles have provided and can

continue to provide one viable way of doing so.

Cogni t ive Sty les Go to School

Second, as suggested in the introductory paragraphs of

this article, cognitive styles seem to have important impli-

cations for educational theory and practice (Dunn,

Beau dry, Klava s, 1989; Fisc her Fischer, 1979; Gri-

gore nko Sternberg , 1997; Hunt, 1979; Kaga n, 1965c;

Me ssick , 1984; Renz ulli Smith, 1978; Sternberg, 1990,

1994a, 1997; Sternberg Grig oren ko, 1993, 1995; Wal-

lach Kogan, 1965), an idea to whic h we return later

on. Indeed, one of the initial motivations for studying

styles, and which is still a motivation (Grigorenko

Sternberg, 1997), was the idea that perhaps prediction of

achievement could be improved by adding measures of

styles to measures of abilities as predictors of perfor-

mance. For example, perhaps impulsive children would

show low er performance in school because of their ten-

dency not to be careful in their work, above and bey ond

any question of their intellectual abilities (Kagan, 1965c,

1966). Or perhaps children w ho coul d not separate them-

selves from their perceptual field or elements o f this field

from each other (so-called field-dependent children)

would suffer when they were learning to read (Witkin,

1975).

July 1997 Am erican Psycho logist 701
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/9739634_Cognitive_control_principles_and_perceptual_behavior?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229691181_The_Measurement_and_Correlates_of_Category_Width_as_a_Cognitive_Variable?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232552745_Abilities_Their_Structure_Growth_and_Action?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243777522_The_Nature_of_Cognitive_Styles_Problems_and_Promise_in_Educational_Practice?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233896295_Emotional_Intelligence?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233896295_Emotional_Intelligence?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229691181_The_Measurement_and_Correlates_of_Category_Width_as_a_Cognitive_Variable?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/9739634_Cognitive_control_principles_and_perceptual_behavior?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243777522_The_Nature_of_Cognitive_Styles_Problems_and_Promise_in_Educational_Practice?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232552745_Abilities_Their_Structure_Growth_and_Action?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==


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Our own work in the area of cognit ive styles has been

motivated by educational considerat ions. For example,

the daughter of Robert J . Sternberg would occasionally

make sug gest ions to her teacher as to answers to problem s

that were a l ternat ives to the answers the teacher presented

in class. Over the course of the year, the teacher com-

plained to the child 's parents about wh at the teacher per-

ceived as the child 's disruptive behavior in c lass, and the

teacher ' s opinion of the child seem ed to decl ine mono ton-

ical ly. This experience made Sternberg wonder whether

students were devalued in the eyes of their teachers when

the students ' s tyles did not m atch the teachers ' s tyles, an

idea consistent with some past h ypotheses and data (see,

e .g. , Cronb ach Snow, 1977; Dun n Dunn, 1978;

Hym an Rosoff, 1984),

Such incidents and, potentia l ly, the valuing o f students

who m atch rather than mism atch teachers ' s tyles are not

l imited to the e lementary school level . When Sternberg

was a college freshman, his fi rst psycholo gy examination

required a series of short essays. Sternberg (mistakenly)

viewed the test ing si tuat ion as one in wh ich creat ive ideas

wou ld be valued. In fact , he foun d out when the examina-

t ion was re turned--and he had rece ived a composi te

score of 3 out of 1 0-- tha t the way each essay had been

scored was on a 10-point scale: The professor had 10

points he wanted the students to make, and the score out

of 10 was the number of the professor 's points that a

given student made. Whatever the professor may have

valued, i t was not students who wanted to come up with

their own ideas in that exam.

ogn i t i v e S t y le s on t he Job

Cognit ive styles have implicat ions no t only for schooling

but a lso for occupational choice and performan ce (Clapp,

1993; Gul, 1992; Holland, 1973; Huelsman, 1983; Jacob-

son, 1993; Kolb, 1974; Mye rs McC aulley, 1985; Stern-

berg, 1997). Suppose it were the case, as hypothesized

above, that teachers tend to reward certa in styles but not

other styles in their c lassrooms, effect ively confounding

styles with achievement. Suppose, moreover, that the

styles valued in the c lassroom do not correspond part icu-

larly or even at a l l well with the styles actual ly valued

in the jobs for which the c lassroom instruct ion is prepara-

tory. What would be the results?

Conceivably, psychologists might find that those who

are encouraged to go into a fie ld are those who have

styles compatible w ith the c lassroom preparat ion for the

job but not with the job i tse lf. Alternat ively, some of

those whomight have s ty les qui te compat ib le wi th the

job might be d i scouraged f rom going in to the job because

of less than laudatory performan ce in the c lassroom prep-

arat ion for the job.

We believe that this phenomenon is probably wide-

spread. Those who have styles compatible w ith the kinds

of learning required for mult iple-choice tests , for exam-

ple , may not have styles compatible with the kinds of

performance required on a job for which the courses

using the mult iple-choice tests are supposedly prepara-

tory. For example, psychologists need to come up with

ideas for theories, experiments, and therapy, but they

rarely, i f ever, have to m emorize books or lectures.

In sum, there are a t least three major motivat ions for

studying cognit ive styles: providing a l ink between cogni-

t ion and personali ty; understanding, predict ing, and im-

proving educational achievement; and improving voca-

t ional select ion, guidance, and, possibly, placement. Wh at

kinds of wo rk have researchers done to understand cogni-

t ive styles in these and other contexts?

ogn.itive Styles: A Capsule Review of

e L terature

We cannot possibly su mm arize in a short art ic le the ful l

range of work that has been done on cognit ive styles.

Fortunately, other works are available that provide re la-

t ively complete reviews (e .g. , Globerson Zelniker,

1984; Goldstein Blackman , 1978; Grigoren ko Stem-

berg, 1995; Ka gan Kog an, 1970; Ko gan, 1973, 1976,

1983; Ko gan Saarni, 1990; Messick , 1976, 1984;

Miller, 1991; Rid ing Cheem a, 1991; Wi tkin

Goodenough, 1981).

First , we describe the cri teria by which we evaluate

the various theories o f styles. Then, we classify much of

the extant wor k on cognit ive styles as fa l l ing into three

major categories, which we refer to as cognit ion-

centered, personali ty-centered, and act ivi ty-centered ap-

proache s, respectively (Gr igore nko Sternberg, 1995).

We briefly summarize some of the work that fa l ls under

each of these three approaches, placing mo re o f our a t ten-

t ion on the first two o f these approaches.

r i te r ia f o r Eva l uat i on o f Theo r ie s o f S t y le s

In discussing wo rk on cognit ive styles, we l imit ourselves

to style constructs that have been operat ionalized. In

702 July 1997 Am erican Psychologist


5/14

othe r words , by th i s c r i t e r ion , t he re i s a t l eas t one mea-

sure of t he s ty l e o r s ty l e s pos i t ed by a g iven theory .

W e a r e p a r t i c u l a r ly i n t e r e s t e d in t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e

r e se a r c h p r o g r a m s h a v e m e t t h e f o l l o w i n g f iv e a d d i ti o n a l

c r i te r i a , t w o o f w h i c h a r e q u a l i ta t iv e a n d t h r e e o f w h i c h

a re quant i t a t ive :

1. theoretical spec ification --the positing o f a reasonably com-

plete, well-specified, and internally consistent theory of styles

that makes connection with extan t psychological theory;

2. internal validity--a demonstration by factor analysis or

some other metho d of internal analysis that the underlying struc-

ture of the item o r subtest data is as predicted b y the theory;

3. convergent external va lidi ty-- a demonstration that the mea-

sures of styles correlate with other measures with which, in

theory, they should correlate;

4. discriminant external validity--a demonstration that the

measures of styles do not correlate with other measures with

which, in theory, they should not correlate; and

5. heuristic generativity--the extent to which the theory has

spawned and continues to spawn psychological research and,

ideally, practical application.

To some ex ten t , heur i s t i c gene ra t iv i ty i s a func t ion o f t he

ex ten t t o which a theory has sa t i s f i ed the f i r s t four c r i t e -

r i a . B u t i t is a l so a f u n c t i o n o f t h e e x t e n t to w h i c h a n

i d e a sp a r k s i n t e r es t i n p o t e n t i al f o l l o w e r s o f a t h e o r y a n d

i s a g g r e s s i v e ly m a r k e t e d t o t h e c o n su m e r p u b l i c.

T h e C o g n i t io n C e n t e r ed p p r o a c h

W o r k i n t h i s t r a d i t i o n i s b a se d l o o se l y o n a d e f i n i t i o n

of cogn i t ive s ty l e s a s t h e cha rac t e r i s ti c , se l f -cons i s t en t

m o d e s o f f u n c t i o n i n g w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s sh o w i n t h e i r

p e r c e p t u a l a n d i n te l l e c tu a l a c t i v i t i e s ( W i t k i n , O l t m a n ,

Rask in , & Karp , 1971 , p . 3 ) . The s ty l e s i n th i s ca t ego ry

most c lose ly re semble ab i l i t i e s and , l i ke ab i l i t i e s , have

o f t e n b e e n m e a s u r e d b y t e s t s o f m a x i m a l p e r f o r m a n c e

w i th r i g h t a n d w r o n g a n sw e rs . M u c h o f t he w o r k

in th i s t r ad i t i on a rose a s a re su l t o f a pe rce ived need to

u n d e r s t a n d q u a l i t at i v e m o d e s o f c o g n i t i v e f u n c t i o n i n g a n d

n o t j u s t t o o b t a i n a n o v e r a l l q u a n t it a ti v e a s se s sm e n t o f

c o g n i t iv e f u n c t i o n i n g , su c h a s I Q .

M a n y s t y l e s h a v e b e e n p r o p o se d i n t h e c o n t e x t o f th e

c o g n i t i v e a p p r o a c h t o t h e s t u d y o f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s , a s

sh o w n i n T a b l e 1 . H e r e , w e d i s c u s s o n l y t h e t w o s t y l e s

t h a t h a v e g e n e r a t e d t h e m o s t t h e o r y a n d r e se a r c h , a s w e l l

a s i n te r e s t: r e f l e c t i o n - i m p u l s i v i t y a n d f i e l d d e p e n d e n c e -

i n d e p e n d e n c e .

Re f lec l lon im puls iv ity . This p o la r i ty o f s ty l e s i s

so m e t i m e s r e f e r r e d t o a s conceptual t empo. Re f l ec t i v i t y

i s t he t endency to con s ide r and re f l ec t on a l t e rna t ive so lu-

t ion poss ib i l i t i e s . Ref l ec t ive ind iv idua l s pause to th ink

b e f o r e b e g i n n i n g a t a sk o r m a k i n g a d e c i s i o n a n d sp e n d

t ime eva lua t ing the i r op t ions . Converse ly , impul s i v i t y is

t h e t e n d e n c y t o r e sp o n d i m p u l s i v e l y w i t h o u t su f f i c i e n t

f o r e t h o u g h t . I m p u l s i v e i n d i v i d u a ls q u i c k l y o f f e r so l u t i o n s

t o p r o b l e m s , w i t h o u t su f f i c i e n t c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e p r o b -

a b l e a c c u r a c y o f t h e so l u t i o n s .

C o n c e p t u a l t e m p o a p p e a r s t o b e a r e l a t i v e l y s t a b l e

source o f i nd iv idua l d i f fe ren ces (Kagan , 1958, 1965a ,

1965b , 1965c , 1966). T here i s d i sagreem ent , however , a s

t o w h e t h e r i m p u l s i v i t y a n d r e fl e c ti v it y , a s c o n c e p t u a l i z e d

h e r e , a p p l y o n l y t o s i t u a t io n s o f h i g h r e sp o n se u n c e r t a i n t y

( K a g a n & M e sse r , 1 9 75 ) o r t o a w a y o f a p p r o a c h i n g l i f e

in gene ra l (Block , Block , & Har r ing ton , 1974) . Opera -

t io n a l ly , r e f l e c t i v i t y - i m p u l s i v i t y ty p i c a l l y h a s b e e n m e a -

su r e d b y p a t t er n s o f r e sp o n se l a t e n ci e s a n d e r r o r s o n

re l a t ive ly s imple , h igh ly speeded t a sks . In pa r t i cu la r , a

r e f l e c t i v e p e r so n w i l l h a v e a l o n g e r r e sp o n se t i m e w i t h

f e w e r e r r o r s , w h e r e a s a n i m p u l s i v e p e r so n w i l l h a v e a

sh o r t e r r e sp o n se t i m e w i t h m o r e e r r o r s . T h e i n s t r u m e n t

m o s t f r e q u e n t l y u se d t o m e a su r e t h e c o n s t r u c t h a s b e e n

the Match ing Fami l i a r F igures Tes t (M FFT ; But t e r , 1979;

Das , 1983; K agan , 1966; bu t see Block e t a l. , 1974) . In

t h e M F F T , a p e r so n i s r e q u i r e d t o s e l e c t f r o m a m o n g

seve ra l a l t e rna t ives the one tha t exac t ly ma tches a s t an-

d a r d . T h e n u m b e r o f e r r o r s a n d t h e t i m e t o c o m p l e t e t h e

t e s t a r e m e a su r e d , a n d t h e m e d i a n p o i n t i s v i e w e d a s a

c u t o f f f o r c a t e g o r i z in g i n d i v i d u a l s . P e o p l e w i t h f a s t e r

r e sp o n se t i m e s a n d r e l a t iv e l y m o r e e r r o r s a r e c a l l e d im-

pul s i ve ; t h o se w i t h l o n g e r r e sp o n se t i m e s a n d l o n g e r la -

t enc ie s a re ca l l ed ref lect ive . Two o t h e r g r o u p s o f l e s s

i n t e r e st f o r t h e p r e se n t p u r p o se s a r e t h o se w h o a r e q u i c k

( sh o r te r r e sp o n se t i m e s w i t h f e w e r e r ro r s ) a n d t h o se w h o

are s low ( l o n g e r r e sp o n se t i m e s w i t h m o r e e r r o r s ; E sk a &

Black, 1971).

M a n y e m p i r i c a l f i n d i n g s a b o u t c o n c e p t u a l t e m p o h a v e

e m e r g e d . F o r e x a m p l e , i m p u l s i v i t y a s a c o g n i t i v e s t y l e

a p p e a r s t o b e d i f f e r e n t f r o m i m p u l s i v e n e s s a s a p e r so n a l -

i t y t r a i t (G low, Lange , G low, & Barne t t , 1983) , a t l eas t

a s t h e l a t te r is m e a su r e d b y t h e E y se n c k P e r so n a l i t y Q u e s -

t i o n n a i r e ( E y se n c k & E y se n c k , 1 9 7 5 ). F o r e x a m p l e , c h i l -

d r e n w i t h a n i m p u l s i v e s ty l e , i n c o n t r a s t t o t h o se w i t h a

r e f le c t iv e s t y le , m a k e m o r e e r r o r s i n r e a d i n g p r o se , m a k e

m o r e e r r o r s o f c o m m i s s i o n o n s e r ia l - re c a l l t a sk s , a n d

a r e m o r e l i k e ly t o o f f e r i n c o r r e c t so l u t i o n s o n i n d u c t iv e -

r e a so n i n g p r o b l e m s a n d v i su a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n t a sk s

(S tah l , E r i cks on , & Ra ym an, 1986) . Ref l ec t ive peop le

t e n d t o m a k e f e w e r e r r o r s i n w o r d - r e c o g n i t i o n , s e r i a l -

l ea rn ing , and induc t ive - reasoning t e s t s (Ze ln ike r & Op-

penhe imer , 1973) . Impul s ive ind iv idua l s t end to have

m i n i m a l a n x i e t y a b o u t c o m m i t t i n g e r ro r s , a n o r i e n t a t i o n

t o w a r d q u i c k su c c e s s r a t h e r t h a n a v o i d i n g f a i l u r e , r e l a -

t i v el y lo w p e r f o r m a n c e s t a n d a r d s , l o w m o t i v a t io n t o m a s -

t e r t a sks , and l i t t l e a t t en t ion in moni tor ing of s t imul i

(Kagan , 1966; Messe r , 1970; Paul sen , 1978) .

Fie ld dependence independence . T h i s p o l a r

c o n s t r u c t , g e n e r a l ly a s so c i a t e d w i t h W i t l d n e t a l . ( 1 9 6 2 )

a n d a l s o k n o w n a s psychologica l d i f f e ren t ia t ion re fe r s

t o t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h a p e r so n i s d e p e n d e n t v e r su s i n d e -

p e n d e n t o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e su r r o u n d i n g p e r c e p t u a l

f i el d . T h e t w o p r i n c i p a l m e a su r e s o f p sy c h o l o g i c a l d i f f e r-

e n t i a t io n a r e t h e R o d a n d F r a m e T e st ( R F T ) a n d t h e E m -

b e d d e d F i g u r e s T e s t ( E F T ) . I n t h e R F T ( W i t k i n , 1 9 6 4 ;

Wi t ldn e t a l . , 1962) , i nd iv idua l s must i gnore a v i sua l

contex t , a pos tura l con tex t , o r bo th to loca t e a t rue ve r t i -

ca l . In the EFT (Wi t ldn e t a l . , 1971) , i nd iv idua l s must

l o c a t e a p r e v i o u s l y s e e n s i m p l e f i g u r e w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t

o f a l a r ge r , m o r e c o m p l e x f i g u r e t h a t h a s b e e n p u r p o se -

f u l l y d e s i g n e d t o e m b e d a n d o b sc u r e t h e s i m p l e f i g u r e.

Ju l y 1 9 9 7 A m e r i c a n P sy c h o l o g i s t 7 0 3
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/22490906_Reflection-Impulsivity_and_Level_of_Maturity?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/22490906_Reflection-Impulsivity_and_Level_of_Maturity?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/17282712_Reflection-Impulsivity_The_Generality_and_Dynamics_of_Conceptual_Tempo?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247637355_The_Effect_of_Anxiety_over_Intellectual_Performance_on_Reflection-Impulsivity_in_Children?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==


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T a b l e

Styles in the Cognition C enteredApproach

Style Reference efin i t ion

Abst rac t versus concre te

C a t e g o r y w i d t h

C o g n i t i v e c o m p l e x it y

Compar tmenta l iza t ion

Conceptua l d i f fe ren t ia t ion

Conceptua l in tegra t ion

Conceptua l s ty le

Conceptua l tempo

Const r ic ted versus f lex ib le

control

F ie ld dependence versus

independence

Scann ing

Tolerance for unreal ist ic

e x p e r i e n c e s

Ha r ve y , Hu n t , S ch r o d e r ( 1 9 6 1 )

Pet t ig rew (1958)

G a r d n e r S c h o e n ( 1 9 6 2 }

M e ss i ck K o g a n ( 1 9 6 3 )

G a r d n e r S c h o e n ( 1 9 6 2 )

Ha r ve y e t a l . ( 1 9 6 1 )

K a g a n , M o ss , S ig e l ( 1 9 6 3 )

K a g a n (1 9 5 8 , 1 9 6 6 )

S m i t h K le in ( 1 9 5 3 )

W i t k i n ( 1 9 6 4 )

G a r d n e r M o r i a r t y ( 1 9 6 8 )

K le in Sch les inger (1951 )

P re fe r red leve l o f abs t rac t ion

De g r e e t o wh i ch p e o p le a c t o n a wa r e n e ss o f d i ff e re n ce s

T e n d e n cy t o m a ke m o r e a n d m o r e co m p le x a sso c ia t io n s

between groups

Tendency to compar tmenta l ize ideas in to d iscre te ca tegor ies

Spontaneous d i f fe ren t ia t ion o f he te rogeneous i tems in to

r e la t e d g r o u p s

Rela t ing o f par ts to each o ther and to p r io r concepts

Pre fe rence fo r ana ly t ica l ve rsus re la tiona l o rga n iza t ion o f

informat ion

Tendency to cons ider and re f lec t on a l te rna t ive so lu t ion

versus tendency to respond impu ls ive ly

Tendency to d is regard o ne o f two conf l i c ting cues

Degree o f dependence on the s t ruc tu re o f the p reva i l ing

visual f ie ld

E x t e n t t o wh i ch a n i n d i v i d u a l a t te m p t s t o ve r i f y h i s o r h e r

judgments

Person 's read iness to accept o r repor t exper iences a t

va r i a n ce w i t h wh a t h e o r sh e kn o ws t o b e t r u e

Because the concept of psychological differentiation

was originated to overcome the incompleteness of con-

ventional intelligence tests as bases for explaining indi-

vidual differences in cognition, researchers have at-

tempted to find the relation between conventional mea-

sures of intelligence and field dependence-independence.

Witkin (1975) claimed that research showed the indepen-

dence of the construct from verbal skills as tapped by

the Wechsler scales. Moreover, Eagle, Goldberger, and

Breitman (1969) found no difference between groups in

ability to acquire new information. However, the story

changes with spatial aspects of abilities. Witkin (1975)

himself suggested that field independence is essent ially

identica l (p. 7) with the abilities required for the

Wechsler Block Design, Object Assembly, and Picture

Completion subtests. Cronbach and Snow (1977) sug-

gested that field dependence-independence adds nothing

to the concept

o f f l u i d b i l i t y

(Cattell, 1971),or the ability

to think flexibly and cope with novelty, and MacLeod,

Jackson, and Palmer (1986) used structural equation

modeling to argue that field independence is identical to

spatial ability. Goldstein and Blackman (1978), reviewing

20 studies, found consistent correlations between mea-

sures of field independence and both verbal and perfor-

mance aspects of intelligence. Thus, the evidence sug-

gests a close connection and perhaps an identity between

field independence and aspects of intelligence.

T h e P e r s o n a l i ty C e n t e r e d p p r o a c h

Whereas the styles produced by the cognition-centered

approach seem quite close to abilities, the styles produced

by the personality-centered approach seem closer to per-

sonality traits. Moreover, styles in this approach are

measured by typical-performance tests rather than by

maximum-performance tests, much as are personality

traits. We discuss two of the major theories based on this

approach: the theory of types associated with Jung (1923)

and the energic model associated with Gregorc (1979).

The

h e o ry o f t yp e s .

Jung (1923) proposed a the-

ory of psychological types, according to which individu-

als can be characterized as differing in terms of two

attitudes (extraversion and introversion), two perceptual

functions (intuition and sensing), and two judgment func-

tions (thinking and feeling). The atti tudes of extraversion

and introversion describe one's basic stance in dealing

with other people one encounters. Extraversion character-

izes those who are outgoing, with an interest in people

and the environment; introversion describes people

whose interests are more inwardly focused. Intuition and

sensing are used in Jung's typology to describe prefer-

ences in perceiving stimuli. An intuitive person tends to

perceive stimuli holistically and to concentrate on mean-

ing rather than details, whereas a sensing individual per-

ceives information realistically and precisely. Thinking

and feeling represent two distinct ways of judging or

understanding perceived stimuli. Judgments made in the

thinking mode tend to be logical, analytical, and imper-

sonal; those made in the feeling mode are usually based

on values rather than logic.

An extension of Jung's (1923) theory (Myers &

McCaulley, 1985; Myers & Myers, 1980) extended the

theory of types to include one more distinction, that be-

tween judgment and perception. According to this view,

704 July 1997 American Psychologist
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/9280261_Some_Implications_of_Research_on_Cognitive_Style_for_Problems_of_Education?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232552745_Abilities_Their_Structure_Growth_and_Action?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/9280261_Some_Implications_of_Research_on_Cognitive_Style_for_Problems_of_Education?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232552745_Abilities_Their_Structure_Growth_and_Action?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==


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t he re a re 16 type s of pe rson a l i ty s ty l e s re su l t i ng f ro m a l l

p o s s i b l e c o m b i n a t i o n s o f t h e f o u r d i f f e r e n t f u n c t i o n s ,

e a c h o f w h i c h h a s t w o c a t e g o r ie s . F o r e x a m p l e , a s e n s i n g

t y p e w h o i s i n t r o v e r t e d a n d w h o p r e f e r s j u d g i n g w i t h

t h i n k i n g i s a s e ri o u s , q u i e t p e r so n w h o r e a c h e s su c c e s s b y

c o n c e n t r a t i o n a n d t h o r o u g h n e s s . T h i s p e r so n i s p r a c ti c a l,

o rde r ly , ma t t e r -of - fac t , l og ica l , r ea l i s ti c , and depend able .

A n i n t u i t i v e e x t r a v e r t w h o p r e f e r s j u d g i n g w i t h f e e l i n g

i s so m e o n e w h o i s r e sp o n s i v e a n d r e sp o n s i b le . T h i s i n d i -

v i d u a l f e e l s r e al c o n c e r n f o r w h a t o t h e r s t h i n k a n d w a n t

a n d t r i e s t o h a n d l e t h i n g s w i t h r e g a r d f o r o t h e r p e o p l e ' s

fee l ings .

T h i s v i e w i s e m b o d i e d i n th e M B T I ( M y e rs & M c C a u l -

l ey , 1985) , a measure of s ty l e s t ha t has the appea rance

o f a s t a n d a r d p e r so n a l i ty i n v e n to r y . T h e m e a su r e h a s b e e n

w i d e l y u se d i n e d u c a t i o n a s w e l l a s i n b u s i n e s s, a l t h o u g h

i t s v a l i d i ty h a s b e e n c a l l e d i n t o s e r i o u s q u e s t i o n ( D r u c k -

man & Bjork , 1991 , 1994) . Desp i t e t hese re se rva t ions ,

t h e M B T I i s p r o b a b ly t h e m o s t w i d e l y u s e d m e a s u r e o f

s ty l e s t oday . Resea rche rs have shown s t a t i s t i ca l ly s ig -

n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a ti o n s o f s t y l e s d e r i v e d f r o m t h e M B T I

w i t h t h e m a s t e r y o f a s e c o n d l a n g u a g e (Ehrman, 1994) ,

c r e a ti v e p e r f o r m a n c e o n t h e j o b ( J a c o b so n , i 9 9 3 ) , a n d

m a n y o t h e r a c t i v i t i e s ( c f . H a h n - R o l l i n s & M o n g e o n ,

1 98 8 ). T h e r e a l so h a v e b e e n a n u m b e r o f a t t e m p t s t o u se

t h e M B T I i n s c h o o l s e t t i n g s . F o r e x a m p l e , H u e l sm a n

( 1 9 8 3 ) f o u n d t h a t w h e r e a s p r e f e r r e d s t y le s i n l e a rn e r s

a r e f a i r l y e v e n l y d i s t ri b u t e d a m o n g p sy c h o l o g i c a l t y p e s ,

p r e f e r r e d s t y l e s in t e a c h i n g a r e n o t . T h o se t e a c h er s w h o

r e p o r t e d i n t u i t i v e - t h i n k i n g a n d i n t u i t i v e - f e e l i n g a s t h e

pre fe r red l ea rn ing s ty l e s o f t he i r s tudent s t ended them-

s e lv e s t o p r e f er t e a c h in g b y m e a n s o f s e n s i n g - t h i n k i n g

a n d s e n s i n g - f e e l i n g s t y le s . H u e l sm a n su g g e s t e d t h a t t h i s

l a c k o f c o n g r u i t y b e t w e e n t e a c h e r s ' a n d s t u d e n t s ' s t y l es

could be de t r imenta l t o t eache rs ' e f fec t iveness . However ,

L a w r e n c e ( 1 9 8 2 ) r e p o r t e d t h a t e x t r a v e r s i o n a n d s e n s i n g

( n o t i n tu i t i o n ) a re t h e m o s t c o m m o n p sy c h o l o g i c a l t y p e s

a m o n g c h i l d r e n i n s c h o o l .

Gregorc s energ ic mo de l .

Gregorc (1979 , 1984 ,

1 9 8 5 ) su g g e s t e d t h a t s t y l e s c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d i n t e r m s

o f t w o b a s i c d i m e n s i o n s : u se o f sp a c e a n d u se o f t i m e .

Space re fe r s t o pe rcep tua l ca t egor i e s fo r acqui r ing and

e x p r e s s i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a n d i s d i v i d e d i n t o c o n c r e t e ( o r

p h y s i c a l ) a n d a b s t r a c t ( o r m e t a p h o r i c a l ) sp a c e . T i m e i s

d i v i d e d i n to t w o d i f f e r e n t w a y s o f o r d e r i n g f a c t s a n d

event s : sequent i a l ( i . e . , i n a s t ep-by-s t ep or b ranchl ike

m a n n e r ) a n d r a n d o m o r d e r i n g ( i .e . , i n a w e b l i k e o r sp i r a l

m a n n e r ) .

The Greg orc S ty l e De l in ea tor (Gregorc , 1982) c l a ss i -

f i e s i nd iv idua l s i n to four bas i c t ypes : conc re t e - sequent i a l

- - p e o p l e w h o f o c u s t h e i r a t t e n t i o n o n c o n c r e t e r e a l i t y

a n d p h y s i c a l o b j e c t s a n d v a l i d a t e i d e a s t h r o u g h t h e

s e ns e s; a b s t r a c t - s e q u e n t i a l - - p e o p l e w h o p r e fe r l og i c al

a n d sy n t h e t i c t h i n k i n g a n d v a l i d a t e i n f o r m a t i o n t h r o u g h

p r e s e t f o r m u l a s ; a b s t r a c t - r a n d o m - - p e o p l e w h o t e n d

t o f o c u s t h e i r a tt e n t i o n o n t h e w o r l d o f f e e li n g a n d e m o -

t i o n a n d t o v a l i d a t e i d e a s t h r o u g h i n n e r g u i d a n c e ; a n d

c o n c r e t e - r a n d o m - - p e o p l e w h o p r e f e r i n t u i t i v e a n d i n -

s t i n c t i v e t h i n k i n g a n d w h o r e l y o n p e r so n a l p r o o f f o r

va l ida t ing ideas , r a re ly accep t ing ou t s ide au thor i ty .

T h e A c t i v i t y C e n t e r ed A p p r o a c h

A t h i r d a p p r o a c h t o s t y l e s i s c e n t e r e d o n t h e n o t i o n o f

s t y l es a s m e d i a t o r s o f v a r i o u s f o r m s o f a c t i v it i es t h a t m a y

a r i s e f r o m a sp e c t s o f c o g n i t i o n a n d p e r so n a l i t y . T h u s ,

t h i s a p p r o a c h a t t e m p t s t o m o v e t o w a r d w h a t i t s p r o p o -

n e n t s w o u l d v i e w a s a m o r e d y n a m i c c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n

o f s t y l es . T h i s a p p r o a c h i s d e sc r i b e d o n l y b r i e f l y b e c a u se

t h e r e h a s b e e n m u c h l e s s v a l i d a t i o n o f i t s t h e o r i e s t h a n

o f t h e t h e o r i e s d e sc r i b e d u n d e r t h e o t h e r t w o a p p r o a c h e s .

Learning s tyles

A m a j o r k i n d o f a c t i v i t y i n

w h i c h s t y le s h a v e t r a d i ti o n a l l y b e e n v i e w e d a s b e i n g o f

p o t e n t i a l i m p o r t a n c e i s l e a r n i n g . T h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f

theor i e s o f l ea rn ing s ty l e s , bu t t he s ty l e s a re conceptua l -

i z e d i n v e r y d i f f e r e n t w a y s i n t h e se t h e o r i e s.

A c c o r d i n g t o o n e a p p r o a c h ( R e n z u l l i & S m i t h , 1 9 7 8 ),

l e a r n in g s t y l e s a re v i e w e d a s c o r r e sp o n d i n g t o p u p i l s ' f i t

a n d c o m f o r t w i t h v a r i o u s m e t h o d s o f t e ac h i n g , i n c l u d i n g

pro jec t s , d r i l l and rec i t a t ion , pee r t each ing , d i scuss ion ,

t e a c h i n g g a m e s , i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d y , p r o g r a m m e d i n s t r u c -

t i o n , le c t u re , a n d s i m u l a t i o n . S c h m e c k ( 1 9 8 3 ) su g g e s t e d

d i f f e r e n t ia t i o n o f d e e p ( e m p h a s i z i n g d e p t h ) a n d

e l a b o r a t i v e ( e m p h a s i z i n g b r e a d t h ) l e a r n i n g s t y le s . A n -

o t h e r c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n , t h a t o f D u n n a n d D u n n ( 1 9 7 8 ;

Du nn e t a l. , 1989) , uses fou r m a in ca t egor i e s : env i ron-

men ta l ( e .g . , sound and l i gh t ) , emot io na l (e .g ., mot iva t ion

and re spons ib i l i t y ) , soc io log ica l ( e .g . , pee rs and se l f ) ,

and phys ica l ( e .g . , pe rcep tua l and mobi l i t y ) .

T a k i n g a d i f f e r e n t v i e w p o i n t ,H o l l a n d ( 1 9 7 3 ) su g g e s t e d

t h a t j o b i n t e re s t s c a n b e p r e d i c t e d b y t h e w a y p e o p l e

se e k t o a c q u i r e a n d u se k n o w l e d g e : r e a l i st i c , i n v e s ti g a -

t ive , a r t i s t i c , soc i a l , en t e rpr i s ing , and convent iona l . Thi s

c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n h a s g e n e r a t e d m o r e r e se a r c h t h a n t h e

o the rs desc r ibe d in th i s sec t ion . In ye t ano the r v iew , Kolb

(1974 , 1978) ide n t i f i ed fou r type s of l ea rn ing s ty l e s based

o n t w o d i m e n s i o n s - - c o n v e r g i n g v e r su s d i v er g in g a n d

a s s i m i l a t i n g v e r s u s a c c o m m o d a t i n g - - a n d t h e s e f o u r

t y p e s y i e l d d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f l e a rn e r s . F o r e x a m p l e , c o n -

v e r g e rs p r e f e r h y p o t h e t i c a l - d e d u c t i v e t h i n k i n g , w h e r e a s

d ive rge rs p re fe r more imagina t ive and in tu i t i ve k inds of

th ink ing .

T e a c h i n g s ty les . S e v e r a l i n v e s ti g a t o r s h a v e n o t e d

t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s t y l e s o f t e a c h i n g t o t h e e d u c a t i o n a l

p r o c e s s . F o r e x a m p l e , Jo y c e a n d H o d g e s ( 1 9 6 6 ) sug-

g e s t e d t h a t te a c h e r s w h o h a v e a w i d e r r a n g e o f t e a c h i n g

s t y le s a r e l i k e l y t o b e m o r e su c c e s s f u l t h a n a r e t h o se

w h o se r e p e r to i r e is m o r e l i m i t e d . H e n so n a n d B o r t h w i c k

(1984) s ugge s t ed s ix d i f fe ren t and spec i f i c ca t egor i e s o f

t each ing s ty l e s , namely , t a sk-or i en ted , coopera t ive p l an-

ne r , ch i ld -cen te red , sub jec t -cen te red , l ea rn ing-cen te red ,

a n d e m o t i o n a l l y e x c it i n g .

E v a lu a t io n o f T h e o r y a n d R e s ea rc h o n

C o g n i t iv e S t y l e s

W e c o n s i d e r h e r e a n e v a l u a t i o n o f e x t a n t t h e o r y a n d r e -

s e a r c h i n t e r m s o f t h e c r it e r ia d i s c u s se d a b o v e . W e l i m i t

o u r e v a l u a t i o n t o t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a n d p e r so n a l i t y -

Ju l y 1 9 9 7 A m e r i c a n P sy c h o l o g i s t 7 0 5
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232455367_The_Type_Differentiation_Indicator_and_Adult_Foreign_Language_Learning_Success?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239555003_Making_Vocational_Choices_A_Theory_of_Career_Choices?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249702836_Instructional_Flexibility_Training?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249702836_Instructional_Flexibility_Training?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232455367_The_Type_Differentiation_Indicator_and_Adult_Foreign_Language_Learning_Success?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239555003_Making_Vocational_Choices_A_Theory_of_Career_Choices?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f9b9a64c-2735-4621-a679-1c3ed2f8a15d&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIzMjU2NDEyMjtBUzoxMDQ5MDgxODc1MDQ2NDhAMTQwMjAyMzQ2OTYyOQ==


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c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h e s b e c a u s e t h e r e d o e s n o t a p p e a r t o b e

suf f i c i en t va l ida t ion of the ac t iv i ty -based approaches to

eva lua te them proper ly .

F i r s t , w i th rega rd to theore t i ca l spec i f i ca t ion , t he re -

s e a r c h u n d e r t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h h a s p r e -

s e n t e d i t s e lf a s a s e r i es o f r e s e a r c h p a r a d i g m s , w i t h t h e

r e l a t i o n s a m o n g t h e m u n c l e a r a n d n o c l e a r t h e o r e t i c a l

r e l a t i o n t o b r o a d e r p s y c h o l o g i c a l t h e o r i z i n g . A l t h o u g h

t h e r e w e r e n u m e r o u s s t u d i e s i n v o l v i n g c o m p u t a t i o n o f

c o r r e l a ti o n s b e t w e e n t h e s t y l e m e a s u r e s a n d o t h e r k i n d s

o f m e a s u r e s , t h e b r o a d e n i n g e m p i r i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t o f

t h e w o r k w a s n e v e r m a t c h e d b y a n e q u a l b r o a d e n i n g i n

the theore t i ca l g rounding for the en te rpr i s e .

T h e o r y a n d r e s e a r c h u n d e r t h e p e r s o n a l i t y - c en t e r e d a p -

p r o a c h h a s y i e l d e d s o m e w h a t l a r g e r s c a l e t h e o r i e s , a l -

t h o u g h r e l a ti o n s w i t h m a i n s t r e a m p s y c h o l o g i c a l t h e o ri e s

a n d p a r a d i g m s s t i l l r e m a i n s o m e w h a t o b s c u r e . J u n g ' s

(1923) theory , a s mani fes t ed in the MBTI , i s about a s

b r o a d l y b a s e d a s a r e m o s t t h e o r i e s o f o t h e r k i n d s o f

psychologica l phenomena . Rea l i s t i ca l ly , people a re p rob-

a b l y n o t t y p e s , w h e t h e r a c c o r d i n g t o t h i s t h e o r y o r

a n y o t h e r , b u t r a t h e r v a r y c o n t i n u o u s l y a n d s o m e w h a t

d i f f e r e n t ly as a f u n c t i o n o f d i v e r s e p e r s o n - s i t u a t i o n

in te rac t ions .

S e c o n d , c o n s i d e r i n t e r n a l v a l i d a t i o n , w h i c h a s s e s s e s

w h e t h e r e m p i r i c a l d a t a s u p p o r t t h e p r o p o s e d s t y l e s

a n d t h e i r p r o p o s e d i n t e r r e l a t i o n s . W i t h r e g a r d t o t h e

c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , b e c a u s e t h e t h e o r i e s p r o -

posed were gene ra l ly of ind iv idua l s ty l e s , i n t e rna l va l ida -

t ion recover ing a s t ruc ture o f the in t e r re l a t ions of va r ious

s t y l e s w i t h i n a g i v e n t h e o r y t o e a c h o t h e r w a s n e v e r

poss ible .

T h e r e h a s b e e n m o r e i n t e rn a l v a l i d a t io n o f t h e o r i e s i n

t h e p e r s o n a l i t y - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h . T h e p r o p o s e d f a c t o r

s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e M B T I a s w e l l a s o t h e r p e r s o n a l i t y -

c e n t e r e d q u e s ti o n n a i r e s h a v e n o t b e e n w e l l s u p p o r t e d b y

emp i r i ca l f ind ings (Goldsm i th , 1985; Ke l l e r & Ho l l and ,

1 9 7 8 ; K i r t o n & D e C i a n t is , 1 9 8 6 ; M u l l i g a n & M a r t i n ,

1980; O 'B r ien , 1990) . Ross (1962) fou nd a m isma tch

b e t w e e n t h e M B T I s c a l e s a n d t h e f a c to r s r e su l t i n g f r o m

t h e a n a l y s i s h e p e r f o r m e d . J o n i a k a n d I s a k s e n ( 1 9 8 8 ) ,

a n a l y z i n g G r e g o r c ' s ( 1 9 8 2 ) q u e s t io n n a i r e , s h o w e d t h a t

a n i n s tr u m e n t w i t h o n l y t w o s u b s c a l e s ( S e q u e n t i a l -

R a n d o m a n d C o n c r e t e - A b s t r a c t ) b a s e d o n t w o o r t h o go -

n a l d i m e n s i o n s ( o r d e r i n g a n d p e r c e p t i o n ) w o u l d g i v e a

m o r e p a r s i m o n i o u s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f G r e g o r c ' s ( 1 9 7 9 )

s tyles .

Thi rd , cons ide r the i s sue of convergent va l id i ty . Wi th

r e g a r d t o t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , t h e c o n v e r g e n t

v a l i d i t y o f v a r i o u s m e a s u r e s o f t h e s a m e s t y l e , s u c h a s

c o n c e p t u a l t e m p o o r p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n , w a s

n e v e r a s h i g h a s o r i g i n a l l y h a d b e e n h o p e d . F o r e x a m p l e ,

i t w a s n o t c le a r t h a t t h e R F T a n d t h e E F T r e a l l y m e a s u r e d

t h e s a m e c o n s t r u c t , n o r t h a t c o n c e p t u a l t e m p o a s m e a -

s u r e d b y t h e E F T r e a l l y g e n e r a l i z e d m u c h b e y o n d s i m i l a r

k inds o f t a sks ou t s ide con s t ra ined s e t t ings ( s ee , e .g ., But -

ter , 1979; Mess ick, 1984).

C o n v e r g e n t - v a l i d i t y s t u d i e s o f e x t e r n a l c o r r e l a t e s o f

t h e p e r s o n a l i t y - c e n t e r e d m e a s u r e s y i e l d s o m e w h a t c o n -

fus ing f ind ings , t o the po in t tha t Mess ick (198 4) ob se rved

t h a t s o m e t i m e s q u i te d is p a r a te m e a s u r e s ar e u s e d to

as ses s os t ens ib ly the s am e s ty l e in d i f fe ren t s tud ies , whi l e

o n o t h e r o c c a s i o n s , h i g h l y s i m i l a r i n s t r u m e n t s s e r v e t o

t ap purp or t ed ly d i s t inc t s ty l e s (p . 59) . There a re som e

re la t ions . For example , Jon iak and I s aksen (1988) cor re -

l a t e d s c o r e s o n G r e g o r c ' s ( 1 9 8 2 ) m e a s u r e w i t h s c o r e s

o n t h e K i r t o n A d a p t a t i o n - I n n o v a t i o n I n v e n t o r y ( K i rt o n ,

1977) . K i r ton ' s (1976) th eory of s ty l e s spec i f i e s a b ipo la r

d i m e n s i o n w i t h t h e i n n o v a t o r a n d t h e a d a p t e r o n o p p o s i t e

e n d s . W h e n c o n f r o n t e d w i t h a p r o b l e m , t h e a d a p t e r t u r n s

t o t r a d i t i o n a l o r c o n v e n t i o n a l p r o c e d u r e s t o f i n d s o l u -

t ions ; i n cont ra s t , t he innova tor typ ica l ly rede f ines the

p r o b l e m a n d a p p r o a c h e s i t f r o m a n o v e l p e rs p e c ti v e . T h e

resu l t s i nd ica ted tha t Gr ego rc ' s (1982) s equent i a l s ty l is t s

w e r e a d a p t e r s o n K i r t o n ' s s c a l e a n d G r e g o r c ' s r a n d o m s

w e r e i n n o v a t o r s ; h o w ev e r , t h e c o n c r e t e - a b s t r a c t d i m e n -

s i o n s d i d n o t r e l a t e t o K i r t o n ' s m e a s u r e .

F o u r t h , c o n s i d e r d i s c r i m i n a n t v a l i d a t io n . W i t h r e s p e c t

t o t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , t h e n o t i o n o f s t y l e

w a s i n t e n d e d t o b e u s e f u l a s a b r i d g e b e t w e e n c o g n i t i o n

and pe rsona l i ty , and for the no t ion to succeed , d i s c r imi -

n a n t v a l i d i t y w i t h r e s p e c t t o m e a s u r e s o f c o g n i t i o n a n d

persona l i ty was e s sen t i a l . But the cogni t ive approach

y i e l d e d t a s k s t h a t a p p e a re d , o n t h e i r s u r f a ce , t o b e s o m e -

w h a t s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o n c o n v e n t i o n a l i n t e l li g e n c e t es t s,

w i t h r i g h t a n d w r o n g a n s w e rs a n d h i g h e r a n d l o w e r

scores . In fac t , one po le o f the s ty l i s t i c cons t ruc t s a lmo s t

a l w a y s s e e m e d t o c o r r e l a t e w i t h m e a s u r e s o f a b i l i t i e s ,

a n d i n t h e c a s e o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l d if f e r e n ti a t io n , it w a s n o t

c l e a r h o w t h e m e a s u r e s r e a l l y d i s ti n g u i s h e d t h e m s e l v e s a t

a l l f r o m p e r f o r m a n c e - b a s e d a n d e s p e c i a l l y s p a t i a l m e a -

sures o f in t e l l i gence .

W i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e p e r s o n a l i ty - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , i t

i s somew ha t d i f f i cu l t i n th i s approach to d i s t ingui sh be -

tween s ty l e s and pe rson a l i ty t ra i ts . More c once ptua l c l a r -

i t y is p r o b a b l y n e e d e d r e g a r d i n g t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e tw e e n

t h e t w o , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h r e g a r d t o d o m a i n g e n e r a l i ty v e r-

sus spec i f i c i ty and t ra i t l i ke ve rsus s t a t e l ike prope r t i e s .

P s y c h o l o g i s t s n e e d t o b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d t h e e x t e n t t o

w h i c h s t y l e s c h a n g e o v e r t i m e a n d e v e n o v e r p a r t i c u l a r

s i tua t ions . A t p resen t , t he d i s t inc t ion be tween s ty l e s and

t r ai t s r e m a i n s s o m e w h a t v a g u e .

F i f th , cons ide r heur i s t i c gene ra t iv i ty . Wi th rega rd to

t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , s o m e o f t h e t h e o r i e s

w e r e g e n e r a t i v e o f a w i d e b o d y o f r e s e a r c h , e s p e c i a l l y

t h e t h e o r ie s o f c o n c e p t u a l t e m p o a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i f -

f e r e n ti a ti o n . B u t m o s t o f t h e t h e o r y a n d r e s e a r c h o n t h e

c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h i s r a t h e r o l d , a n d a l t h o u g h

t h e r e w e r e s o m e p r o g r a m s o f r e s e a r c h i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s t o

resurrect i t (e .g. , Baron, 1979; Cooper, 1976; Day, 1970;

H o c k , G o r d o n , & M a r c u s , 1 9 7 4 ) , t h e s e r e s e a r c h p r o -

g r a m s n e v e r r e a ll y c a u g h t o n w i t h t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l p u b -

l ic , a n d t h e y r e c e d e d , a l t h o u g h n e v e r t o t a l l y d i s a p p e a r ed ,

a f t e r r a t h e r l i m i t e d p e r io d s o f t i m e , p r e s u m a b l y b e c a u s e

o f s o m e o f t h e v a l i d i t y i s s u e s d i s c u s s e d a b o v e .

A l t h o u g h p e r s o n a l i t y - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h e s h a v e b e e n

w i d e l y u s e d , t h e y , t o o , h a v e f a i l e d i n r e c e n t y e a r s t o

g e n e r a t e m u c h r e s e a r c h i n m a i n s t r e a m p s y c h o l o g y o r e d -

7 0 6 J u l y 1 9 97 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s t


9/14

u c a t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y o u t s i d e t h e c i r c l e o f i n d i v i d u a l s w h o

p r o d u c e o r a l r e a d y a r e a d h e r e n t s t o t he m o d e l s . A l t h o u g h

o u r e x p e r i e n c e s u g g e s t s t h e r e a r e l a r g e n u m b e r s o f a d h e r -

e n t s, t h e y s e e m t o b e s w a y e d m o r e b y p e r s o n a l p e r c e i v e d

s u c c e s s e s w i t h t h e i n s t r u m e n t s o r u n r e f e r e e d p u b l i s h e d

o r u n p u b l i s h e d r e p o r t s o f o t h e r s r e g a rd i n g s u c c e s s e s. F o r

e x a m p l e , D r u c k m a n a n d B j o r k ( 1 9 9 1 , 1 9 9 4 ) a rg u e d t h a t

t h e e x t a n t l it e r a tu r e d o e s n o t s u p p o r t u s e o f t h e M B T I

i n j o b c l a s s i f i c a t i o n a n d p l a c e m e n t .

A Mental Self Government Approach

W e h a v e p r o p o s e d a n a p p r o a c h t o s t y le s th a t w e b e l i e v e

m a y h a v e s o m e m e r i t a s a n a l te r n a ti v e to s o m e o f t he

t r a d it i o n a l a p p r o a c h e s d e s c r i b e d a b o v e . T h e a p p r o a c h i s

f o r t h e e l u c i d a t i o n o f t h i n k i n g s t y l e s a n d i s c a l l e d t h e

t heory o f men ta l se l f governm ent

( S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 8 8 , 1 9 9 0 ,

1994a , 1994b , 1997) .

T h e T h e o r y

T h e b a s i c i d e a o f t h e t h e o r y i s t h a t t h e v a r i o u s s t y l e s o f

g o v e r n m e n t th a t a r e s e e n i n th e w o r l d m a y b e , a t s o m e

l e v e l , e x t e r n a l r e f l e c t i o n s o f t h e s t y l e s t h a t c a n b e f o u n d

i n t h e m i n d . T h u s , t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e s t y l e s o f t h o u g h t ,

o n e c a n l o o k a t a s p e c t s o f g o v e r n m e n t f o r a s e n s e o f

w h a t i s i n t e r n a l l y ( a s w e l l a s e x t e r n a l l y ) p o s s ib l e .

T h e p r o p o s e d t h e o r y i s a n o m o t h e t i c a n d c o n t i n u o u s

o n e : E v e r y o n e p o s s e s s e s e v e r y s t y le t o s o m e d e g r e e , a n d

w h a t d i f f e r s a c r o s s in d i v i d u a l s i s s t r e n g t h o f p r e f e r e n c e s

a n d t h e k i n d s o f t a s k s a n d s i t u a t i o n s t h a t e v o k e v a r i o u s

p r e f e r e n c e s . W e s u s p e c t t h a t n o n e o f t h e p a s t th e o r i s t s

h a v e e v e r v i e w e d s t y l e s a s p u r e l y i d i o g r a p h i c a n d d i s -

c r e t e . I n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e t h e o r i s t s d o n o t a r g u e t h a t

e v e r y o n e h a s w h o l l y d i f f e r e n t st y le s a n d t h a t e i t h e r p e o p l e

h a v e a g i v e n s t y l e o r t h e y d o n t . E v e n s t u d i e s l a b e l i n g

ch i ld ren a s , s ay , impuls ive o r reflective h a v e a s s i g n e d

l a b e l s o n t h e b a s e s o f d i s c r e t e c u t o f f s a s s i g n e d t o v a l u e s

o n c o n t i n u o u s n u m e r i c a l s c a l e s . A n d w e d o u b t a n y o n e

w o u l d h a v e a r g u e d t h a t r e f l e c t i v e i n d i v i d u a l s n e v e r a c t

i m p u l s i v e l y , o r v i c e v e r s a . R a t h e r , t h e d i s c r e t e c a t e g o r i e s

w e r e s i m p l if i c a ti o n s f o r p u r p o s e s o f r e s e a r c h .

F u n c tio n s o f m e n t a l s e l f g o v e r n m e n t . Jus t a s

g o v e r n m e n t s c a r r y o u t l e g i sl a t iv e , e x e c u t i v e , a n d j u d i c i a l

f u n c t i o n s , s o d o e s t h e m i n d . T h e

legislative

s t y l e c h a r a c -

t e r iz e s p e o p l e w h o e n j o y c r e a ti n g a n d f o r m u l a t i n g . S u c h

i n d i v i d u a l s l i k e t o c r e a t e t h e i r o w n r u l e s , d o t h i n g s i n

t h e i r o w n w a y , a n d b u i l d t h e i r o w n s t r u c tu r e s w h e n d e c i d -

i n g h o w t o a p p r o a c h a p r o b l e m . T h e y p r e f e r t a sk s t h a t

a r e n o t p r e s t r u c t u r e d o r p r e f a b r i c a t ed . T h e

execut ive

s ty le

c h a r a c t e r iz e s p e o p l e w h o a r e i m p l e m e n t e r s . T h e y p r e f e r

t o f o l l o w r u l e s , a n d t h e y o f t e n r e l y o n e x i s t i n g m e t h o d s

t o m a s t e r a s i t u a t i o n . T h e y p r e f e r t h a t a c t i v i t ie s b e d e f i n e d

a n d s t r u c tu r e d f o r t h e m . T h e

j ud ic ia l

s t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s

p e o p l e w h o l i k e t o e v a l u a t e r u l e s a n d p r o c e d u r e s ; w h o

l i k e t o j u d g e t h i n g s ; a n d w h o l i k e t a s k s in w h i c h t h e y

a n a l y z e a n d e v a l u a t e e x i s t i n g r u l e s , w a y s , a n d i d e a s .

F o r m s o f m e n t a l s e l f g o v e r n m e n t . here are

f o u r m a i n f o r m s o f m e n t a l s e lf - g o v e r n m e n t . T h e

monar

chic s t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o l i k e t o f o c u s o n

o n e t a s k o r a s p e c t o f th a t t a s k u n t i l i t i s c o m p l e t e d . P e o p l e

w i t h a p r i m a r i l y m o n a r c h i c s t y l e t e n d t o f o c u s s i n g l e -

m i n d e d l y o n o n e g o a l o r n e e d a t a t i m e . T h e

hierarchic

s t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o a l l o w f o r m u l t i p l e

g o a l s , e a c h o f w h i c h m a y b e g i v e n a d i f f e r e n t p r i o r i t y .

P e o p l e w i t h a p r i m a r i l y h i e r a r c h i c s t y l e e n j o y d e a l i n g

w i t h m a n y g o a l s , a l t h o u g h t h e y r e c o g n i z e t h a t s o m e g o a l s

a r e m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n o t h e r s ; t h e y t e n d t o s e t p r i o r i t i e s

a n d t o b e s y s t e m a ti c i n t h e i r a p p r o a c h t o s o l v i n g p r o b -

l e m s . T h e

oligarchic

s t y le c h a r a c t e r iz e s p e o p l e w h o a l l o w

f o r m u l t i p l e g o a l s , a l l o f w h i c h a r e r o u g h l y e q u a l i n

i m p o r t a n c e . P e o p l e w i t h a p r i m a r i l y o l i g a r c h i c s t y l e l i k e

t o d o m u l t i p l e t h i n g s w i t h i n t h e s a m e t i m e f r a m e b u t

h a v e d i f f i c u l t y s e t t i n g p r i o r i t i e s f o r g e t t i n g t h e t h i n g s

d o n e . T h e

anarchic

s t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o

d o n o t l ik e t o b e t i e d d o w n t o s y s t e m s , r u l e s , o r p a r t i c u l a r

a p p r o a c h e s t o p r o b l e m s . O f t e n , t h e y o p p o s e e x i s t i n g s y s -

t e m s , a l t h o u g h n o t n e c e s s a r i l y i n f a v o r o f a n y c l e a r ly

s p e c i f i e d a l t e r n a t i v e . T h e y t e n d t o t a k e a r a n d o m a p -

p r o a c h t o p r o b l e m s , t h e r e b y s o m e t i m e s d r a w i n g c o n n e c -

t i o n s t h a t o th e r p e o p l e w o u l d n o t m a k e .

L e v e ls o f m e n t a l s e lF g o v e r n m e n t .

T h e r e a r e

t w o l e v e l s o f m e n t a l s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . T h e

local

s t y l e

c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o p r e f e r t a s k s t h a t r e q u i r e

e n g a g e m e n t w i t h s p e c i f i c , c o n c r e t e d e t a i l s a n d t h a t o f t e n

r e q u i r e c o n s i d e r a b l e p r e c i s i o n i n e x e c u t i o n . T h e

global

s t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o p r e f e r p r o b l e m s t h a t

a r e m o r e g e n e r a l i n n a t u r e a n d t h a t r e q u i r e a b s t r a c t t h i n k -

i n g . T h e g l o b a l p e r s o n l i k e s t o c o n c e p t u a l i z e a n d w o r k

i n t h e w o r l d o f i d e a s .

S c o p e o f m e n t a l s e lf g o v e r n m e n t .

T h e r e a r e

t w o s c o p e s o f m e n t a l s e l f -g o v e r n m e n t . T h e

in ternal

s t y l e

c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o p r e f e r t as k s t h a t a l l o w t h e m

t o w o r k a l o n e, i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f o t h e rs . T h e i r p r e f e r e n c e

i s g e n e r a l l y to b e o n t h e i r o w n . T h e

external

s t y l e c h a r a c -

t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o p r e f e r t a s k s t h a t a l l o w t h e m t o

w o r k w i t h o t h e r p e o p l e t h r o u g h i n t er a c t io n . T h e i r p r e f e r -

e n c e i s t o b e w i t h o t h e r s .

L e a n in g s o f m e n t a l s e l f g o v e r n m e n t . T h e r e

a r e t w o m a j o r l e a n i n g s o f m e n t a l s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . T h e

l iberal

s t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o l i k e to g o b e -

y o n d e x i s t i n g r u l e s a n d p r o c e d u r e s a n d w h o a l l o w s u b -

s t a n t i a l c h a n g e f r o m t h e w a y t h i n g s a r e c u r r e n t l y d o n e .

U n l i k e i n t h e l e g i s l a t iv e s t y l e , h o w e v e r , t h e n e w i d e a s d o

n o t h a v e to b e t h e i n d i v id u a l s o w n . T h e

conservat ive

s t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o p r e f e r f a m i l i a r i t y i n

l i f e a n d t o f o l l o w t r a d i t i o n s . U n l i k e i n t h e e x e c u t i v e s t y l e ,

t h e y m a y l ik e t o c o m e u p w i t h t h e i r o w n i d e as , b u t t h e s e

i d e a s a r e g r o u n d e d i n e x i s ti n g a n d a c c e p t e d c u s t o m s .

S o m e g e n e r a l p r o p e r l i e s o f t h i n k i n g s ~ d e s .

W h e n e v e r p o s s i b l e , p e o p l e c h o o s e s t y l e s o f m a n a g i n g

t h e m s e l v e s w i t h w h i c h t h e y a r e c o m f o r t a b l e . T h u s , p e o -

p l e h a v e s e t s o f m o r e a n d l e s s p r e f e r r e d t h i n k i n g s t y l e s .

S t i l l , p e o p l e a r e a t l e a s t s o m e w h a t f l e x i b l e i n t h e i r u s e

o f s t y l e s a n d t r y , w i t h v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f s u c c e s s , t o

a d a p t t h e m s e l v e s t o t h e s t y l i st i c d e m a n d s o f a g i v e n s i tu a -

t i o n . T h e f l e x i b l e u s e o f t h e m i n d f o r m e n t a l s e l f - g o v e r n -

m e n t a c c o u n t s f o r th e v a r i e t y o f t h i n k i n g s t y l e s , a n d f l e x -

i b i l i ty m a y i t s e l f b e v i e w e d a s a s o r t o f m e t a s t y l e t h a t

a c t i v at e s , m o n i t o r s , a n d e v a l u a t e s p a r t i c u l a r s t y l e s , m u c h

J u l y 1 9 9 7 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s t 7 0 7


10/14

a s m e t a c o m p o n e n t s ( h i g h e r o r d e r e x e c u t i v e p r o c e s s e s )

c o n t r o l t h e u s e o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n - p r o c e s s i n g c o m p o n e n t s

o f i n t e l l i g e n c e ( S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 8 5 ) .

S ty le s , l ike ab i l i t i e s , a re no t e tched in s tone a t b i r th .

T h e y a p p e a r t o b e l a r g e ly a f u n c t i o n o f a p e r s o n ' s i n te r a c -

t i o n s w i t h t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , a n d t h e y c a n b e d e v e l o p e d

a n d s o c i a l i z e d . A n i n d i v i d u a l w i t h o n e s t y l e i n o n e t a s k

o r s i t u a t i o n m a y h a v e a d i f f e r e n t s t y l e i n a d i f f e r e n t t a s k

o r s i t u a t i o n . M o r e o v e r , s o m e i n d i v i d u a l s m a y h a v e o n e

p r e f e r r e d s t y l i s ti c p r o f i l e a t o n e s t a g e o f l i f e a n d a n o t h e r

p r e f e r r e d s t y l i s ti c p r o f i l e a t a n o t h e r s t a g e . S t y l e s a r e n o t

f ixed , the re fore , bu t f lu id .

T h i n k i n g s t y le s s e e m t o b e l a r g e ly a f u n c t i o n o f p e o -

p l e ' s i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h t a s k s a n d s i t u a t io n s . C e r t a i n t a s k s

a r e m o r e o p t i m a l l y p e r f o r m e d w i t h c e r t a i n s t y l e s . F o r

e x a m p l e , c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g o r c o m p o s i n g m u s i c m i g h t

d r a w m o r e o n t h e l e g i s l a t i v e s t y l e , w h e r e a s m a n a g i n g a

p l a n t m i g h t c a p i t a l i z e o n t h e e x e c u t i v e s t y l e . R e w a r d i n g

s t u d e n t s f o r u s i n g p r e f e r r e d s t y l e s o n t h e s e t a s k s i s l i k e l y

t o l e a d t o g r e a t e r d i s p l a y o f th e r e w a r d e d s t y l e s . M o r e

g e n e r a l ly , a c h i l d ' s s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n t o a v a l u e s y s t e m w i l l

p r o b a b l y r e w a r d s o m e s t y l e s m o r e t h a n o t h e r s , l e a d i n g

t o p r e f e r e n c e s f o r t h e s e s t y l e s . B u t t h e f a c t t h a t s o m e

p e o p l e r e t a i n l e s s r e w a r d e d s t y l e s d e s p i t e e n v i r o n m e n t a l

p r e s s u r e s s u g g e s t s t h a t s o c i a l i z a t i o n d o e s n o t f u l l y a c -

c o u n t f o r t h e o r i g i n s o f s t y l e s a n d t h a t t h e r e m a y b e

p r e p r o g r a m m e d d i s p o s i t i o n s t h a t a r e d i f f i c u l t t o c h a n g e .

s s e s s m e n t o f T h i n k i n g S t y te s

W e h a v e d e v e l o p e d a n u m b e r o f c o n v e r g i n g o p e r a ti o n s

f o r m e a s u r i n g s t y le s , b o t h i n a d o l e s c e n t s a n d a d u l t s ( s e e

S t e r n b e r g & G r i g o r e n k o , 1 9 9 5 ) . F o u r o f t h e m a i n o n e s

a r e b r i e f l y d e s c r i b e d b e l o w .

F i r s t , t h e T h i n k i n g S t y l e s I n v e n t o r y ( S t e r n b e r g &

W a g n e r , 1 9 9 1 ) i s a s e l f - r e p o r t m e a s u r e i n w h i c h s t u d e n t s

( o r o t h e r e x a m i n e e s ) r a t e t h e m s e l v e s o n a 9 - p o i n t s c a l e

r a n g i n g f r o m 1 low) to 9 high) o n a n u m b e r o f p r e f e r -

e n c e s. E x a m p l e s o f i te m s o n t he i n v e n t o r y a r e I l i k e

t a sk s t h at a l l o w m e to d o t h in g s m y o w n w a y ( l eg i s la -

t i v e) , I l i k e s i t u a t io n s i n w h i c h i t is c l e a r w h a t r o l e I

m u s t p l a y o r i n w h a t w a y I s h o u ld p a r t i c i p a t e ( e x e c u -

t i ve ) , a n d I l i k e t o e v a l u a t e a n d c o m p a r e d i f f e r e n t p o i n t s

o f v i e w o n i s su e s th a t i n t e r e s t m e ( j u d i c i a l) .

S e c o n d , t h e T h i n k i n g S t y l es Q u e s t i o n n a i r e f o r T e a c h-

e r s ( G r i g o r e n k o & S t e i n b e r g , 1 9 9 3 c ) m e a s u r e s t e a c h e r s '

p r e f e r e n c e s f o r t h i n k i n g s t y l e s i n s t u d e n t s ( f o r s e v e n

o f t h e s t y le s ). T h e s e p r e f e r e n c e s m a y o r m a y n o t c o r r e -

s p o n d t o t h e i r p r e f e r e n c e s f o r t h e m s e l v e s . E x a m p l e s o f

i t e m s , r a t e d o n a 1 - 9 s c a l e , a r e I w a n t m y s tu d e n t s

t o d ev e l o p t h e i r o w n w a y s o f s o lv i n g p r o b l e m s ( l eg i s la -

t iv e ) a n d I a g r e e w i t h p e o p l e w h o c a l l f o r m o r e , h a r sh e r

d i s c i p l i n e , a n d a r e t u r n t o t h e ' g o o d o l d w a y s '

( c o n s e r v a t i v e ) .

T h i r d , t h e S e t o f T h i n k i n g S t y l e s T a s k s f o r S t u d e n t s

( G r i g o r e n k o & S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 9 3 a ) m e a s u r e s s t u d e n t s '

p r e f e r e n c e s f o r s t y l e s i n a c t u a l t a s k s . A n e x a m p l e o f a n

i t e m i s w h e n I a m s t u d y i n g l i t e r at u r e , I p r e f e r t o ( a)

f o l l o w t h e t e a c h e r ' s a d v i c e a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f a u t h o r s '

p o s i t i o n s , a n d t o u s e t h e t e a c h e r ' s w a y o f a n a l y z i n g l i t e ra -

t u r e ( e x e c u ti v e ) , ( b ) t o m a k e u p m y o w n s to r y w i t h

m y o w n c h a r a c te r s a n d m y o w n p l o t ( l eg i sl a ti v e) , ( c )

t o e v a l u a t e t h e a u t h o r ' s s t y l e , t o c r i t i c i z e t h e a u t h o r ' s

i d e a s , a n d t o e v a l u a t e c h a r a c t e r s ' a c t i o n s ( j u d i c i a l ) , o r

( d ) t o d o s o m e t h i n g e l s e ( p l e a s e i n d i c a t e i n t h e s p a c e

b e l o w ) .

F o u r t h , t h e S t u d e n t s ' T h i n k i n g S t y l e s E v a l u a t e d b y

T e a c h e r s ( G r i g o r e n k o & S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 9 3 b ) m e a s u r e h a s

t e a c h e r s e v a l u a t e t h e s t y l e s o f i n d i v i d u a l s t u d e n t s . E x a m -

p l e s o f i t e m s ar e s / h e p r e f e r s to s o l v e p r o b l e m s i n h e r

o r h i s o w n w a y ( l e g i sl a t iv e ) a n d s / h e l ik e s t o e v a l u a t e

h e r o r h i s o w n o p i n i o n s a n d t h o s e o f o t h e r s ( j u d ic i a l) .

D a t a G e n e r a te d b y t h e T h e o r y

n t e r na l va l id i ty .

A n i n i t i a l s t u d y w i t h M a r i e

M a r t i n ( s e e r e p o r t i n S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 9 4 b ) a s s e s s e d a s p e c t s

o f t h e i n t e r n a l v a l i d i t y o f t h e T h i n k i n g S t y l e s I n v e n t o r y .

S c a l e r e l i a b i l i t i e s r a n g e d f r o m

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