Concept Of Cognitive Style Research Articles

Relevance and cognitive style: on the double characterization of science in Alfred Schutz

This paper reveals Schutz's double characterization of science. First, he characterizes science as a modification of interest and relevance. This is compatible with his basic view of science as embedded in the life-world. Second, in contrast, he often excludes working and communication from his argument on science and characterizes science as a pure cogitation. By critically examining the distinction between scientific attitude and scientific activity as well as the concept of cognitive style, this paper concludes that the second characterization proposed by Schutz is untenable. In addition, this paper indicates that the second characterization experienced a significant change from On Multiple Realities to Symbol, Reality, and Society. Although Schutz has been challenged by contemporary science studies because of his ineffectiveness to deal with scientific activity, the careful and critical examination of his argument allows a positive interpretation of his theory as offering basic concepts for the investigation of scientific activity.

COGNITIVE STYLE (FDI-Field Dependence-Independence): a motivational support for learning

The concept of cognitive style has its origins in the movement "New Look" emerging research proposed by Klein and Schlesinger, in an article titled “Where is the perceiver in perceptual theory?” an inappropriate assumption for psychologists of the time claiming the intelligibility and its evidence.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Revealing the Relation of Age-Related Differences in the Corpus Callosum With Cognitive Style.

People may differ in their ways of processing tasks or situations, which may be explained by cognitive styles that define individual differences in information processing strategies. The cognitive style ranges between two extremes: analytic and holistic processing style. The concept of cognitive style has been widely investigated in the literature, but its age-related differences in the neural substrates have remained elusive. In this study, we focused on the white matter structure of the corpus callosum and its possible link to age-related differences in cognitive style, given its functional ability to connect and facilitate efficient communication between the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Seventy-two participants aged 20–75 years participated in this study. Participants’ cognitive styles were measured by the Analysis-Holism Scale (AHS), and their white matter microstructures were acquired using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The results revealed that older adults tend to have a more holistic processing style than younger adults. We then compared the white matter of tracts of interest between high and low AHS groups and found that the white matter microstructure in the genu of the corpus callosum can be used to distinguish between AHS subgroups. Interestingly, we found that age negatively correlated with the white matter tracts across the brain, indicating that aging is associated with reduced microstructure integrity. Together, our findings suggest that analytic-holistic cognitive styles of information processing possibly reflect that the microstructure development in the anterior part of the corpus callosum may influence the type of age-related information processing.

The effect of brand identity-cognitive style fit and social influence on consumer-based brand equity

Purpose Brand identities have a dual nature that appeals to the head (rational appeal) and to the heart (emotional appeal) of their consumers. Furthermore, consumers can process information in a predominately analytic or intuitive cognitive style (CS) manner. This study aims to analyze the influence of brand identity-cognitive style (BI-CS) fit on the perceived value of a brand. It also analyzes how different forms of social influence affect the perceived value of the brand. Design/methodology/approach Using a two-step experimental design, Step 1 examines the effect that BI-CS fit has on consumer-based brand equity (CBBE); Step 2 evaluates the effect that the three elements of social influence–compliance, identification and internalization–have on CBBE. Findings Both the BI-CS fit, and the identification and internalization forms of social influence have a significant and positive effect over the perceived value of the brand. A rational brand identity is given a higher perceived brand value by analytic CS consumers than intuitive CS consumers. Conversely, an emotional brand identity is given a higher perceived brand value by intuitive CS consumers than analytic CS consumers. However, whether the brand identity is more emotional or rational is less important than the values and beliefs that the brand communicates to create social influence. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the branding literature by introducing the CS concept to better understand the influence of emotional and rational brand identities on consumers with either rational or intuitive cognitive thinking styles and reinforce the importance of the brand duality concept. Practical implications The results demonstrate the importance of brand duality and show how firms could present emotional or rational brand identities depending on their consumers’ CS to increase the effectiveness of their messaging to build stronger brand images that increase the perceived value of the brand. These findings could have important implications for market segmentation. Originality/value Brand identities can be emotional or rational, and this creates more or less value depending on the consumers’ CS, but what is more important is that consumers internalize the brand’s message or identify with what the brand represents. Although this has been discussed in prior literature, the original contribution of this paper is tying all these concepts together.

Unkept promises of cognitive styles: A new look at old measurements.

Cognitive style is thought to be a stable marker of one’s way to approach mental operations. While of wide interest over the last decades, its operationalization remains a challenge. The literature indicates that cognitive styles assessed via i) questionnaires are predicted by personality and ii) performance tests (e.g., Group Embedded Figures Test; GEFT) are related to general intelligence. In the first study, we tested the psychometric relationship between the Cognitive Style Index questionnaire (CSI) and personality inventories (NEO Five Factor Inventory; NEO-FFI, HEXACO Personality Inventory Revised; HEXACO-PI-R). In the second study, we assessed the CSI, NEO-FFI, GEFT and a general intelligence test (Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices Test; RSMT). We found that CSI scores were largely predicted by personality and that CSI was uncorrelated with GEFT performance. Instead, better performance on the GEFT was associated with better performance on the RSMT. We conclude that i) cognitive style questionnaires overlap with personality inventories, ii) cognitive style performance tests do not measure cognitive styles and should not be used as such and iii) the cognitive style concept needs to be assessed with alternative measurement types. We discuss possible future directions.

Systematic Review of Cognitive Style, Its Approaches and Cultural Research

The present paper attempts to go through a systematic review on nature of cognitive styles and approaches. When it comes to studying psychological process cognitive style appear as most prominent concept linked with many other psychological processes like problem solving, decision-making, socialization and spatial ability etc. Cognitive style is generally known as way of processing and analyzing information from the environment. The term cognitive styles have been studied since 1960 it was assumed as part of psychological differentiation. But nowadays it is also known as perceptual styles. Often times these terms have been used interchangeably but there is slight difference between these concepts. In the present paper we will analyze the concept of cognitive style, approaches to study cognitive style, new emerging fields in cognitive styles and researches in cognitive styles in Indian perspective. Analysis of review showed that there is abundance of research in cognitive style and its relationship to ecological perspective, and teaching but there is still need for the research in using socio-cultural variable in Indian context.

Cartographic Design and Usability of Visual Variables for Linear Features

This article addresses the measurement and assessment of response times and error rates in map-reading tasks relative to various modes of linear feature visualization. In a between-subject design study, participants completed a set of map-reading tasks generated by approaches to a traffic problem. These entailed quick and correct decoding of graphically represented quantitative and qualitative spatial information. The tasks first involved the decoding of one graphic variable, then of two variables simultaneously. While alternative representations of qualitative information included colour hue and symbol shape, the quantitative information was communicated either through symbol size or colour value. In bivariate tasks, quantitative and qualitative graphical elements were combined in a single display. Individual differences were also examined. The concept of cognitive style partially explains the variability in people’s perception and thinking, describing individual preferences in object representation and problem-solving strategies. The data obtained in the experiment suggest that alternative forms of visualization may have different impacts on performance in map-reading tasks: colour hue and size proved more efficient in communicating information than shape and colour value. Apart from this, it was shown that individual facets of cognitive style may affect task performance, depending on the type of visualization employed.

Cognitive Style of Culture and the Problem of Cultural-Historical Cognitive Development

Anthropos , Seite 573 - 582

Cognitive Style as Environmentally Sensitive Individual Differences in Cognition

The key aims of this article are to relate the construct of cognitive style to current theories in cognitive psychology and neuroscience and to outline a framework that integrates the findings on individual differences in cognition across different disciplines. First, we characterize cognitive style as patterns of adaptation to the external world that develop on the basis of innate predispositions, the interactions among which are shaped by changing environmental demands. Second, we show that research on cognitive style in psychology and cross-cultural neuroscience, on learning styles in education, and on decision-making styles in business and management all address the same phenomena. Third, we review cognitive-psychology and neuroscience research that supports the validity of the concept of cognitive style. Fourth, we show that various styles from disparate disciplines can be organized into a single taxonomy. This taxonomy allows us to integrate all the well-documented cognitive, learning, and decision-making styles; all of these style types correspond to adaptive systems that draw on different levels of information processing. Finally, we discuss how the proposed approach might promote greater coherence in research and application in education, in business and management, and in other disciplines.

Individual differences in virtual environments: concept of cognitive style

AbstractThere is a renewed interest in the differences of individuals due to the advances in virtual environments, especially through far-reaching technologies. In particular, we highlight the notion of the role of individuals' abilities to recognize and use this structure to perform various information-intensive tasks. It has been found that the concept of cognitive styles is very applicable to such researches. The paper presents the classification of cognitive styles. The major findings of the Palquist and Kim study (2000) are outlined. They examine the effects of cognitive styles - a field dependent and a field independent cognitive style, and on-line database experience on a Web search. An interesting find is that the on-line search experience can greatly reduce the effect of field dependence on the Web search performance. Ford's article (2000) draws attention to the connection between field dependence and cognitive styles in terms of individual behavioral patterns in navigation of the hypermedia systems. Virtual environments provide a wider framework for integrating and directly manipulating global and analytic aspects of a given body of information, and it seems to map well onto the requirements suggested by research on cognitive styles. However, more further research is required before we can develop adaptive virtual environments capable of offering realistic improvements in the effectiveness of information processing activities.

Motivation to Learn Science and Cognitive Style

This article investigates the relation between cognitive style and motivation to learn science. The concept of cognitive style proposes the interplay of two core psychological dimensions, empathizing and systemizing. The cognitive style is defined as the interplay between the two abilities. We used the so-called EQ score (empathy quotient) and the SQ score (systemizing quotient) to measure the empathizing and the systemizing dimension respectively. The motivation to learn science was measured by the so–called Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), which reflects the operationalization of five basic motivational constructs. We investigated a sample of 44 high school students, 17 to 19 year-old, stratified by their sex and by their science/non-science orientation. Our data showed a highly significant and fairly strong correlation between the motivation to learn science and the systemizing quotient. However, different from what we expected, we found no correlation between the motivation to learn science and the empathy quotient. We also found no difference in the motivation to learn science neither for sex nor for science-orientation. The implications of these findings are discussed, especially in the light of school science and research of science education.

Decision‐making styles and physiological correlates of negative stress: Is there a relation?

There are 5 independent, although not mutually exclusive, styles used by military officers when making decisions: rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant, and spontaneous (Scott & Bruce, 1995). The rational and intuitive styles are part of the cognitive style concept, whereas the conceptual foundation of the remaining 3 styles is less clear. The dependent and the avoidant styles were expected to be accompanied by increased levels of negative stress, while this was not expected of the remaining 3 styles. This hypothesis was put to test. Twenty-three male Swedish Army majors were asked to make decisions in 2 different military situations. Their decision styles were measured by the General Decision Making Style inventory (GDMS; Scott & Bruce, 1995). Saliva cortisol release indicated negative stress and was measured on 4 occasions: twice before, after the first decision, and after the second decision. The avoidant style was related to negative stress, as predicted. There was, however, no difference between the base-line measurements and the after-decision measurements, suggesting that officers with an avoidant decision style may, in general, have higher levels of cortisol secretion (i.e., being more of the worrying kind).

Cognitive style and experiences of working environment in small and medium-sized enterprises

Cognitive style and experiences of working environment in small and medium-sized enterprisesIndividual differences in information processing are viewed through the concept of cognitive style. Cognitive style is displayed in various situations in working life in which the individual engages in problem solving, decision making or learning. The aim of this study was to analyse the relationships between personal (gender, age, level of education) and work-specific (position, field of trade, number of years of work experience in the field) variables and cognitive style. This research applies a quantitative design by using the Cognitive Style Index and a working environment index. Data were collected from 228 staff members in 100 small and medium-sized enterprises in Finland. The study replicated previous research findings in which women display a more analytical cognitive style than men. The lower the level of education, the higher the score is on the scale measuring analytic cognitive style. Regarding position in working hierarchies, the managers constituted the least analytic group in terms of cognitive style (convergent thinking with focus on detail), the workers the most analytic one. The experiences of a supportive working environment correlated positively with an intuitive cognitive style. The experiences of a prejudiced working environment correlated positively with an analytic cognitive style (divergent thinking with focus on the "big picture"). The implications for human resources management are outlined.

Managerial intuition across cultures: beyond a “West‐East dichotomy”

PurposeStudies investigating intuition from a cultural and cross‐cultural perspective have a long tradition in various disciplines but, due to the increased internationalization of business, an understanding of the mental lives of other cultures became one of the priorities of management practitioners and theoreticians. Cultures of Anglo‐American and East Asian origins have drawn particular attention. However, an analysis of management research studies and those in other disciplines shows that the former do not back up the “intuitive East versus analytical West” pattern set by the latter. The article aims at discussing this discrepancy, its origins as well as the implication for the managerial practice.Design/methodology/approachThe article provides an overview of the various concepts of intuition and methods of measuring it across cultures. It seeks to understand how various epistemological assumptions incorporated in the research affected the results obtained. An aspect under particular scrutiny in the article is the concept of cognitive style, which is employed frequently in management studies.FindingsOne explanation for inconsistent results is a premature effort of management science to test a hypothesis generated by other disciplines, applying different conceptualizations, definitions, methodologies as well as populations. The conclusion is that the cross‐cultural research in management is in need of a more exploratory research, paying attention to the specificity of management context and local knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsThe article proposes that a methodology that potentially has a capacity to meet these requirements is the narrative approach. Possible implications of this observation are discussed in the context of multicultural teams management practice.Originality/valueThe article provides useful information on managerial intuition and methods of measuring it across cultures.

Cognitive aspect of education for democracy

Education for democracy is of particular importance for a society undergoing democratization. The paper investigates a cognitive aspect of education for democracy, and identifies psychological predispositions for the acceptance of plurality of ideas as a central indicator of democratic thinking. The acceptance of plurality is defined as the ability of an individual to consider different arguments in controversial topics, to accept the existence of different ideas in a discussion as well as different explanations. This psychological phenomenon integrates certain cognitive affective and conative characteristics. The acceptance of plurality of ideas is a fundamental prerequisite for democratic communication, therefore a prerequisite for the creation of democratic climate in a society. The concept of cognitive style has been examined from the perspective of different research traditions in an attempt to identify a psychological profile of cognitive style, provisionally named pluralist profile, which would help an individual behave democratically. The paper also studies the connection between the manner of thinking, personality characteristics and cognitive style. It is the author?s conclusion that it is reasonable to assume that there are ways to encourage the development of pluralistic cognitive style by practicing the acceptance of different ideas through teaching process which would significantly improve the effectiveness of education for democracy.

Understanding strategy selection

This paper explores several issues associated with explanations of why different people use different strategies for learning and inference tasks. It is suggested that although the concept of cognitive style is a useful starting point, it is unable to account for many findings in the literature, and that any model of strategy usage that confines itself to mechanisms governing strategy selection is incomplete. In addition, it is necessary to take account of strategy availability: Which strategies do people possess, and how do people discover new strategies? Several findings in the literature indicate that strategy discovery is related to general abilities. Specifically, those who are best able to execute a current strategy are those who are the most likely to identify new, more effective methods. It is suggested that many findings that support the notion of cognitive style can be reinterpreted in this light.

Field independence, cultural context and academic achievement: a commentary

Background. This review of literature on cross‐cultural aspects of perceptual disembedding skills takes as a starting point a commentary on the Spanish work on field dependence‐independence and scholastic achievements (Tinajero & Páramo, 1997).Aims. To place findings from cross‐cultural psychology on field independence in the context of current literature on multicultural education.Methods. A review of literature, and in particular a review of the authors' studies in this field.Results. It appears that because of the wide variation in abilities in perceptual disembedding between cultures, and the malleability of cognitive styles in migrant children, the concept of cognitive style is more usefully deployed as an indicator of process and change in migration and multicultural education than as a description of basic cognitive processes. Those factors which have influenced change in the direction of children's greater perceptual disembedding skills (urbanisation, migration, exposure to computers and computer games) may also be related to some of the factors responsible for the increase in mean levels of intelligence seen in children in the developed world. The paradox of very high mean scores on the Children's Embedded Figures Test found in studies of Japanese and Chinese 9‐ to 11‐year‐olds, in the absence of identifiable factors which could explain why children in group oriented cultures have such marked abilities in perceptual disembedding, is considered.Conclusion. Multicultural educational practices should not be framed on the presumption that particular ethnic groups possess a particular kind of cognitive style. It is the teacher in the multicultural classroom who should have a field independent cognitive style, so that he or she can accommodate different learning styles in classroom tasks.

Need for Cognition: Exploratory Relationships with Sibship Structure and Cognitive Style

Statistical evidence indicates that need for cognition scores may be linked to the number of male children in the family. Responses from 33 female and 46 male university students indicated that the independent variable of number of male children in the family was related to need for cognition scores. The number of female children was not related. The concept of cognitive style as related to Jungian psychological type theory is discussed as a partial explanation.

Stability of Cognitive Style in Adults and Some Implications, a Longitudinal Study of the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory

This study ( N = 69) confirms the longer term stability (test-retest over 3.5 years) of Kirton's Adaption-Innovation Cognitive Style concept. Earlier test-retest studies were limited to periods of up to 1.5 years, although longer term stability (implied by, for example, consistent item-factor loadings across samples from different countries and organisations) was expected. The longer term stability was supported in this study by a test-retest coefficient of 0.82. This finding indicates clearly that studies and organisational interventions which have the objective of modifying this individual style preference will, by implication, fail. If any training intervention is to be regarded as successful, then overt behaviour rather than personal preference must be addressed. More attention must now be paid to Kirton's notion of “coping behaviour” and the ways available for reducing the psychological expense to the individual when overt behaviour needs to be different from personal preference.

Neuropsychodynamics of alcoholism and addiction: Personality, psychopathology, and cognitive style

The literature on the neuropsychology, personality, and psychopathology of alcoholism and addiction is reviewed. Neuropsychological studies of substance abusers have found deficits in abstract concept formation, set-maintenance, set-shifting, behavioral control, and cognitive flexibility. However, the evidence that these deficits are the result of direct substance effects on the brain is slim. Both alcoholics and as-yet nondrinking offspring of alcoholics have been found to be deficient in verbal skills and language functioning. Personality studies of alcoholics and addicts have emphasized such characteristics as field dependency, external locus of control, attenuated time extension, poor ego strength, and disturbed object relations. The psychopathology of alcoholics and opiate abusers seems to be dominated by impulsive character disorder, although there may also be a subgroup of anxious, depressed substance abusers. The present review integrates brain-behavioral perspectives with the data on personality and psychopathology, focusing on the relevance of a multidimensional neuropsychological model to psychodynamic concepts of ego functioning and the substance abusers' problems in the regulation of affect and behavior. It is argued that the concept of cognitive style is useful for understanding the relationship of neuropsychological functioning to personality dynamics, and that this approach can be especially productive in understanding the addictions.