Relationship between Thinking Styles and Ability to Pay Attention of Malaysian Male and Female Student Teachers

Abstract

Previous studies have produced inconsistent evidences on the relationship between creative thinking, critical thinking and the ability to pay attention on learning stimuli of male and female students. Hence this study was conducted to identify the relationship between thinking styles and the ability to pay attention; thinking styles and gender; and the ability to pay attention and gender of Malaysian student teachers. Two instruments, the YCREATIVE-CRITICALS test and the Attention Ability Test, were utilized to collect data from a group of student teachers (n=144). Results indicate that critical thinking style was positively correlated with the ability to pay attention while creative thinking was negatively correlated with it. The male subjects were more creative but less able to pay attention to learning stimuli than their female counterparts. The findings implied that attempts should be made to move away from the current rote learning approach used in educational institutions towards interactive teaching methods to accommodate the more creative but less attentive males.