Cognitive Style Preferences Research Articles

Promoting Creativity in Vocational Education: The Role of Self-Efficacy, Cognitive Style, and Playful Motivation in Students' Innovation Skills Development in Shandong Vocational Colleges

This study delves into the influential factors shaping students' innovation skills within Shandong Vocational Colleges, China. It focuses on academic self-efficacy, cognitive style, motivation for cooperative playful learning, and their interplay in fostering creativity within vocational education. Employing a quantitative research approach, data from vocational program students were gathered through self-report questionnaires. Path analysis was utilized to examine the direct connections between independent factors (academic self-efficacy, cognitive style, playful learning motivation) and the growth of innovative skills. Additionally, a mediation study explored the impact of encouraging creativity on these associations. Results highlighted the robust positive influence of academic self-efficacy on innovation skill development, indicating that higher self-efficacy correlates with greater innovative abilities. Cognitive style exhibited a nuanced impact: the knowing style hindered while the developing style enhanced innovative skills. Motivation for cooperative playful learning significantly bolstered innovation skill development, showcasing a link between playful learning inclination and heightened innovative talents. Notably, fostering creativity in vocational education significantly mediated these relationships, enhancing the positive effects of self-efficacy, creative style, and playful motivation while exacerbating the negative impact of the knowing style on innovative skills. The study underscores the importance of nurturing self-efficacy, promoting playful learning environments, and accommodating cognitive style preferences to enhance innovative skills in vocational education. It contributes valuable insights tailored to the Chinese educational context, offering practical implications for educational policies aiming to foster innovation in vocational settings.

Analysis of the gaze fixations in performance of mental recall of the route on a city map. Effects of landmark type and gender

A psychophysiological eye-tracking experiment was conducted to investigate map navigation (including tasks of familiarization with the map, route memorization and recall of the route) as a function of landmark type (no landmarks, object landmarks, verbal landmarks, both types of landmarks) and gender. It was found that the number of fixations decreased and the fixation duration increased during recall compared to map familiarization and route memorization. The effect of task type on eye movements varied between route proximity areas. In the proximal areas, the number of fixations decreased during recall in comparison to memorization, while in the distal (“off route”) area the effect was opposite. These changes were pronounced in the male participants and did not reach statistical significance in the females. Men switched more frequently from the proximal to the distal area during memorization, thus forming a connection between the route and the remote environment. In contrast, women’s gaze was more often directed to the distal area during route recall. The map with object landmarks differed from the other maps in the lower number and longer fixation duration, indicating the advantage of object landmarks and, possibly, a preference for the object visual cognitive style among our participants.

Psychological Aspects of Political Choices: Focus on Cognition, Decision-Making Styles, and Emotions in Voting Behaviour

The presented paper focuses on the issue of voting behaviour. It aims to determine the importance of selected cognitive factors, decision-making styles and emotional factors in electoral decision-making and behaviour in voters with different political preferences and voters of specific Slovak political parties. The cognitive style was evaluated using the Cognitive Reflection Test - Version 2. Decision-making styles were explored using the General Decision Making Styles Questionnaire and emotion preferences in information processing were evaluated using the following affective states test. Within the research sample (N = 308, average age 36.2 years), distinct groups of Slovak voters were created: 1. based on parties with different ideological orientations, and 2. based on specific Slovak political parties. The predictive significance of the observed characteristics for the choice of a political subject with a particular ideology and the choice of a specific Slovak political party was explored. All the variables monitored – cognitive style, decision-making style, and emotion preferences in information processing – proved to be significant.

Cognitive Styles, Gender, and Student Academic Performance in Engineering Education

Cognitive styles affect the learning process positively if tasks are matched to the cognitive style of learners. This effect becomes more pronounced in complex education, such as in engineering. We attempted to critically assess the effect of cognitive styles and gender on students’ academic performance in eight engineering majors to understand whether a cognitive style preference is associated with certain majors. We used the Cognitive Style Indicator (CoSI) with a sample of n = 584 engineering students. Multiple standard statistical tests, regression tree analysis, and cluster analysis showed that none of the three cognitive styles was exclusively associated with better performance. However, students who had a stronger preference for a cognitive style were more likely to perform better. Gender, the major, and students’ clarity about their cognitive style were shown to be the best predictors of academic performance. Female students performed better and were clearer about their preferred cognitive style, whereas male students were more capable of adapting to different learning tasks. Furthermore, certain engineering majors were shown to be associated with certain cognitive styles. We concluded the study with theoretical and practical implications for engineering education and suggestions for further research.

Cognitive Styles on Media and Technology Usage and Attitude

People began to spend more time with devices as technology developed. The increasingly widespread use of technology in daily life has triggered new studies on this subject. Evaluated as a personal attribute, cognitive style affects individual behavior in all aspects of life. Nowadays, in parallel to the increased use of media and technology, it has become of interest how this personal attribute affects the use of media and technology. Actually, the ways people use technology indicate or affected by their cognitive styles. This study aims at determining the relationships between the cognitive styles of university students and the manners they use technology and media. The student participants were selected from social science departments (total of 94 students from the departments of psychology, sociology, and philosophy) and the Computer Technology and Information Systems (CTIS) department (total of 74 students). Of the 171 participants, 94 were female and 77 were male and their ages ranged from 19 to 27 (mean = 21.08; sd = 1.35). The participants were given a parallel form of the Cognitive Style Analysis (CSA) test on a computer and then were asked to complete the media and technology usage and manners scale. According to the results of analyses, social science students were found to be leaning towards verbal cognitive style, whereas the CTIS students tended to the visual cognitive style. In addition, the participants with the analytic cognitive style preference were found to have more social network friends than those who leaned towards the holistic cognitive style. Overall findings indicate that analytic cognitive style is associated with tendency to socialize in using media and technology, whereas the holistic cognitive style is associated with individualistic tendencies.

Field-dependent/independent cognitive style preferences of EFL learners in an implicit learning task from information processing perspective: A qualitative investigation

Field-dependent/independent cognitive style preferences of EFL learners in an implicit learning task from information processing perspective: A qualitative investigation

KABOOM: an agent-based model for simulating cognitive style in team problem solving

The performance of a design team is influenced by each team member’s unique cognitive style – i.e., their preferred manner of managing structure as they solve problems, make decisions, and seek to bring about change. Cognitive style plays an important role in how teams of engineers design and collaborate, but the interactions of cognitive style with team organization and processes have not been well studied. The limitations of small-scale behavioral experiments have led researchers to develop computational models for simulating teamwork; however, none have modeled the effects of individuals’ cognitive styles. This paper presents the Kirton Adaption–Innovation Inventory agent-based organizational optimization model (KABOOM), the first agent-based model of teamwork to incorporate cognitive style. In KABOOM, heterogeneous agents imitate the diverse problem-solving styles described by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation construct, which places each individual somewhere along the spectrum of cognitive style preference. Using the model, we investigate the interacting effects of a team’s communication patterns, specialization, and cognitive style composition on design performance. By simulating cognitive style in the context of team problem solving, KABOOM lays the groundwork for the development of team simulations that reflect humans’ diverse problem-solving styles.

Strategies for Multimedia Learning Object Recommendation in a Language Learning Support System: Verbal Learners Vs. Visual Learners

ABSTRACTFor the purpose of exploring strategies for multimedia learning object (LO) suggestion in customizable language learning support systems, particularly suggestion for learners with visual and verbal cognitive style preferences, a learning style based experiment was conducted in a Japanese grammar course. The support system under examination offers two learner modes: Open mode, which provides learners with both visual and verbal LOs, and Style-Matching mode, which provides visual learners with only visual LOs and verbal learners with only verbal LOs. Ninety students were assigned to three groups on the basis of their visual/verbal learning styles preferences and their previously measured learning achievement. Experimental group A studied with Open mode; experimental group B studied with Style-Matching mode; and the control group studied with verbal LOs from the course textbook. Learning performance differences among the three groups were examined in terms of (a) learning perception (including technology acceptance measures, cognitive load and satisfaction with learning mode) and (b) achievement differences. The control group had significantly lower scores on visual tasks than experimental groups, but no significant differences in scores were found on verbal tasks among these three groups. Moreover, despite the learners’ report of significantly higher distraction in Open mode, the learning motivation of learners with stronger visual style preference improved more in Open mode than in Style-Matching mode.

The Effects of Field Independent/Field Dependent Cognitive Styles on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition under Reading Task

The present study undertook an empirical study to investigate the effects of field independent/field dependent (FI/FD) cognitive style on incidental vocabulary acquisition from the perspective of reading task. The results show that the participants in both groups acquired the vocabulary knowledge incidentally, whether tasks were arranged or not. Besides, their FI/FD cognitive style had a significantly positive correlation with their outcomes of IVA. Moreover, when fulfilling the same tasks, the participants with FI cognitive style preference acquired relatively more vocabulary knowledge than that acquired by FD participants. The study offers some suggestions for learners in second language vocabulary building. Meanwhile, as for the pedagogical implications, language educators and teachers are informed that different cognitive style preferences must be highly considered for effective vocabulary teaching.

Cognitive style assessment of Indian medical faculty - A step toward achieving cognitive integration in teaching practices

Background: Prodigious growth of medical knowledge necessitates pedagogical shift of focus from knowledge-based teaching to metacognitive teaching. Teachers’ knowledge about their cognitive style can be used in implementing practices which synergize the same with medical students’ cognitive styles for the better educational outcome. Aims and Objectives: The present study was carried out to determine cognitive styles of medical teachers and enhance their awareness about metacognition based teaching practices, with a view to derive logical implications for enhancing teaching-learning process. Material and Methods: Cognitive style assessment of teachers was carried out using “Alert Scale of Cognitive Style.” Pre-session awareness, post-sensitization awareness, relevance, usefulness, and applicability of cognitive styles were tapped using single Likert- type questions. Analysis was done to know cognitive style preferences, their association with age, gender, handedness, subject specialization, and teaching experience. Faculty members were sensitized about cognitive styles and methods of synthesizing them in teaching. Results: Of 88 participants studied, left, middle, and right brain cognitive styles were observed in 32%, 56%, and 12%, respectively. Cognitive style was not found associated with any factors. Mean awareness about cognitive styles was 3.6 before the sessions. Post-sensitization mean rating for awareness, relevance, usefulness, and applicability of cognitive style was 6.57, 6.81, 6.89, and 6.73, respectively. Conclusion: Study significantly enhanced cognitive style awareness, which was low before the intervention. Sensitization sessions helped teachers for orienting them to combining analytical and synthesizing processes in teaching. Cognitive diversity among teachers is an institutional resource for pedagogic interventions.

Effect of Indirect Teacher Influence on Dependent-prone Students’ Learning Outcomes in Secondary School Mathematics

Introduction. Student’s personality orientation and teacher’s classroom behavior are among the many factors that influence student’s learning. In this study, the author examined the effect of indirect teacher influence on dependent-prone students' learning outcomes (achievement) in mathematics at the senior secondary school level.Method. The sample comprised 270 (117 boys and 153 girls) dependent-prone senior secondary school one students. Based on their scores in the dependent-proneness test the 270 dependent- prone students were identified from a pool of 587 students from twelve randomly selected senior secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria. Their ages ranged between 15 and 17 years .Twelve intact classes were used. There were two treatment groups: Indirect Teacher Influence Group (Experimental Group) and Direct Teacher Influence Group (Control Group). The Modified Flanders’ Interaction Category System was used to determine the extent to which the instructors in the two contrasting groups were able to exhibit the pattern of indirect influence and direct influence. The moderating effect of student’s cognitive style preferences (Field Independence versus Field Dependence) on achievement in mathematics was also assessed. Data were analyzed by using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA).Results. Results showed that dependent-prone students in indirect teacher influence group had higher achievement score in mathematics than their colleagues in the direct teacher influence group. The main effect of cognitive style was not statistically significant. However, the interaction effect of treatment and cognitive style preferences was statistically significant..Discussion and Conclussion. The findings of this study point out that the dependent-prone students’ learning outcomes in highly structured school subjects such as mathematics can be enhanced by giving them maximum opportunities to participate in the teaching and learning processes in the classroom. The effect of indirect teacher influence was stronger for dependent- prone students who were field depentdents than for field independents. A major implication of this study is that closer supervision through the use of direct influence in mathematics class may be harmful to dependent-prone students.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Abstract. We examined the relationship between cognitive style, empathy, and willingness to help. In Study 1 (N = 186), we measured preference for visuospatial or verbal cognitive style using the ZenQ ( Zenhausern, 1978 ), and empathy using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index ( Davis, 1983 ). In Study 2 (N = 76), we experimentally elicited verbal or visual cognitive processing via priming and measured empathy in response to a vignette about a woman injured in a car accident. In both studies, we measured willingness to help by assessing participants’ willingness to assist the injured woman. Results showed that visuospatial cognitive processing increased empathy and willingness to help. Empathic concern mediated the relationship between cognitive style and willingness to help. Results highlight the importance of mental imagery in increasing empathy and helping.

Using Critical Thinking Styles of Opinion Leaders to Drive Extension Communication

In order to address the complex challenges facing the agricultural and natural resource industry, extension educators must collaborate with opinion leaders. Extension educators can use the assistance of opinion leaders in program design and implementation in order to best meet the needs of stakeholders and the public. Collaboration between extension educators and opinion leaders is more easily conducted when each party understands one another’s cognitive style and communication channel preference. This study explored the relationship between opinion leader critical thinking style among three contextual issue groups in agriculture and natural resources and preferred communication preferences used by extension educators. The three contextual issue groups included opinion leaders from the areas of water, food safety, and genetic modification (GM). Researchers used the University of Florida Critical Thinking Inventory (UFCTI) to measure critical thinking style of 300 respondents in Florida. Each of the contextual issue groups preferred engagement with information as their preferred critical thinking style. Among the contextual issue groups, significant differences were identified between the water and food safety groups in the information seeking UFCTI score and the GM and food safety groups in the information engagement score. The preferred method of receiving information overall was visiting a website.

The Preferences of Cognitive Style Among University Students From Various Study Fields

The aim of the study is to investigate the cognitive style preference differences among students from universities focused on various fields of study. We have conducted a study on 366 university students. There were 137 psychology students (116 women and 21 men, age AM=20.11), 115 machine engineering students (46 women and 69 men, age AM=31.35), 115 management students (62 women and 53 men, age AM=24.48). We have used the Cognitive Style Indicator (CoSI) developed by Cools and Van Den Broeck, 2007. The results indicate that there is significant difference between engineering students and psychology students in the preference of cognitive style (t=6.341, p<0.001). Similar differences were found between engineering students and managements students (t=3.551, p<0.001). Based on these results, we propose specific implications for education and human resources management.

Exploring cognitive style and task-specific preferences for process representations

Process models describe someone’s understanding of processes. Processes can be described using unstructured, semi-formal or diagrammatic representation forms. These representations are used in a variety of task settings, ranging from understanding processes to executing or improving processes, with the implicit assumption that the chosen representation form will be appropriate for all task settings. We explore the validity of this assumption by examining empirically the preference for different process representation forms depending on the task setting and cognitive style of the user. Based on data collected from 120 business school students, we show that preferences for process representation formats vary dependent on application purpose and cognitive styles of the participants. However, users consistently prefer diagrams over other representation formats. Our research informs a broader research agenda on task-specific applications of process modeling. We offer several recommendations for further research in this area.

Analysis of assessment practice and subsequent performance of third year level students in natural sciences

Summative assessment qualifies the achievement of a student in a particular field of specialization at a given time. Questions should include a range of cognitive levels from Bloom's taxonomy and be consistent with the learning outcomes of the module in question. Furthermore, a holistic approach to assessment, such as the application of the principles of the Herrmann Whole Brain Model, needs to be used to accommodate learning style diversity. The purpose of this study was to analyse, assess and compare the summative assessment of two third year level modules in the Bachelor of Science degree programme, namely Biochemistry and Zoology as part of action research with a view to enhancing the professional development of the lecturers involved. The questions posed in summative assessments were classified in terms of Bloom's differentiation of cognitive levels and the four different learning styles determined by Herrmann. Spearman's non-parametric analysis indicated that no correlation existed in this study between cognitive level and student performance based on achievement. In addition, there was not much difference between the cognitive levels and student performance between the two disciplines. Although the students seemed to do better at application level questions, the authors need to reflect on whether the assessments were valid with respect to the learning outcomes, methods of facilitating learning, and the assessments based on cognitive levels and learning style preferences. We conclude that continuous action research must be taken to improve the formulation of learning outcomes and students' achievement of these outcomes and quality of student learning – the main aim being the successful completion of the modules.

Cognitive Style Variable in E-learning

Body of research shows the impact of cognitive style preference on students’ attitudes towards e-learning. Our research results did not indicate statistically significant impact of the analytic-intuitive and category width dimensions of cognitive style on perception of e-learning. The correlation coefficient was on an insignificant level ranging from r=0.02 to r=0.16, p<0.05, n=234 (Simuth and Sarmany-Schuller, 2008).Based on these results, we assume that we need a more refined tool to further investigate the cognitive style variable in e- learning. Recently, Cools and Van den Broeck (2007) reported on the development of a reliable, valid, and convenient cognitive style instrument – the Cognitive Style Indicator (CoSI). Reliability, item, and factor analyses confirmed the internal consistency and homogeneity of three cognitive styles: a knowing, a planning, and a creating style. The article focuses on possible relationship between CoSI preference and preference of e-learning activities.

DEVELOPMENTAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS OF FIELD-DEPENDENCE IN 11 AND 12 YEARS OLD ESTONIAN AND FINNISH STUDENTS

1. Introduction The field dependence-independence (FDI) model of information acquisition, processing, and recollection represents one of the most widely researched cognitive styles in relation to human personality and learning (Guisande et al. 2007). According to Keefe (1979:9), FDI measures the degree to which an individual uses an analytical as opposed to a global way of experiencing the environment. The construct of field-dependence (FD) and field-independence (FI) has been shown to manifest across a broad spectrum of cognitive processing behaviors (e.g. Angeli and Valanides 2004, Guisande et al. 2012) and acknowledged as having important educational implications (Dewey 2004) that may influence the way teachers teach (Evans 2004) and the structuring of interactions between teachers and students (Saracho 2000). It is valuable, therefore, to foster a clearer understanding of the manner in which children process information, so as to facilitate improvements in teaching and learning strategies that could benefit the educational outcomes of students in school settings. In considering how FDI may affect the learning of children, the work of Jonassen and Grabowski (1993) serves as an appropriate descriptive platform. Specifically, when interacting with stimuli, children who are FD may find it difficult to locate the information they are seeking because it can become masked by other information within the stimulus field. Contrastingly, FI typically find it easier to recognize and select the critical information from the surrounding field. Furthermore, when information is ambiguous and unstructured in its presentation, FI children will impose their own structure on the information. Children who are FD, however will attempt to understand and learn that information directly as it is presented and without restructure. An additional classification of the FDI construct is the intermediate or mobile style and represents a preference between FI and FD (Graff 2000, Witkin and Goodenough 1981). Graff (2000) suggested that this style may highlight versatility in wholistic and analytic preference, whereas, Witkin and Goodenough (1981) proposed that mobility of FDI may represent diversity in adaptation of preference. Finally, individuals that can adopt a style different from their dominant style demonstrate a capacity for interchangeability to suit their immediate evaluation of the information field (Saracho 2000). Overall, classification of FDI appears to be more commonly directed towards a two dimensional framework, however, recent research has incorporated the intermediate category (e.g. Guisande et al. 2012). Continuing access to specific data regarding individual differences in cognitive style preference is important in framing pedagogical practice. Interestingly, in discussing children's learning patterns associated with cognitive style, Kleinfeld (1994) was firm in her acknowledgement that while it is necessary to be aware of different styles of learning, it is equally essential that teachers avoid narrowly matching their preferred teaching styles to the patterns of abilities shown by specific cultures at particular ages. Instead, teachers need to be conscious of both the influence of biological developmental and a unique societal effect that guide the approaches children utilize to learn inside and outside of their school settings. Cassidy (2004:421) highlighted that cognitive style in the learning domain may be considered as both a state and a trait, whereby an individual's style is responsive to experiences and the demands of the situation (process) to allow change and enable adaptive behaviour. Furthermore, Cassidy's overview of the FDI cognitive style leads to the proposition that specific learning preference characteristics of FI (i.e. learning in isolation) and FD (i.e. integrated learning) individuals have implications for both learning situation and outcome. Children of different ages and cultural backgrounds typically demonstrate variation in their preferred style pattern when engaging in the cognitive processes associated with learning. …

Developmental Counseling and Therapy: A Promising Intervention for Preventing Relapse with Substance-Abusing Clients

Developmental Counseling and Therapy (DCT) increases awareness by helping clients understand their cognitive style preferences and gain insight into factors underlying their substance abuse. This article presents the four DCT cognitive emotional styles, their relationship to relapse, and a format for conducting a DCT assessment-intervention interview and counseling intervention plan with a relapsing substance-abuse client, which is also demonstrated in a case vignette.

Characterizing communication networks in a web-based classroom: Cognitive styles and linguistic behavior of self-organizing groups in online discussions

In this study, we explore the cognitive style profiles and linguistic patterns of self-organizing groups within a web-based graduate education course to determine how cognitive preferences and individual behaviors influence the patterns of information exchange and the formation of communication hierarchies in an online classroom. Network analysis was performed on communication data collected from 1131 student messages posted in 19 asynchronous online discussion forums to determine centrality, clique membership, and core-periphery structure in the communication networks. The social network data were examined in relation to the students' cognitive style profiles, which were assessed using the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) (Kirton, 1976, 2011). The cognitive style composition of small cliques (dyadic and triadic) was found to be highly heterogeneous, often with large cognitive gaps between clique members, which suggests that web-based environments may mask cognitive style differences that have been shown to create conflict in face-to-face interactions. In addition, the cognitive style mean of the students in the core of the network was found to be significantly more adaptive than that of the periphery group. To further characterize the nature of the communicative interactions, automated linguistic analysis was used to analyze the students' writing samples. Interestingly, students in the core of the social network demonstrated a significantly higher usage of several language features associated with individuals who actively promote enhanced group performance and cohesion. For our sample, the linguistic behaviors of students in the core of the social network, coupled with their more adaptive cognitive style preferences, suggest that these students may inherently place greater value on fostering group cohesion than those in the periphery.