Rational Cognitive Style Research Articles

Literary Metaphor Comprehension in the Rational and Experiential Cognitive Styles of Human Thinking

Prior research on the poetic metaphor interpretation has focused on describing metaphoric structure and identifying its principles by observing semantically mapped properties of a metaphor. Cognitive literary studies have highlighted an experimental approach to the metaphoric thinking. The experimental approach examines, among others, the empirical processes of metaphor interpretation and comprehension. For metaphor processing, emergent meanings are crucial. We already have many reports, findings and normative data on metaphor processing, but individual cognitive mechanisms and variations across people have received an insufficient attention. To address this issue, this empirical study examines the influence of rational (analytical) and experiential (intuitive) cognitive styles on the comprehension of a poetic literary metaphor. In our statistical analysis, we have used a fractional pooling of the participants. It highlights the non-identical metaphor processes in rational and experiential cognitive preferences. According to our findings, people with a preference for the experiential cognitive style produce relatively more emergent metaphorical meanings than people with a preference for the rational cognitive style. These findings contribute to the more complex knowledge of the metaphoric thinking consequences. Keywords: Literary metaphor; Interpretation of metaphor; Rational (analytical) cognitive style; Experiential (intuitive) cognitive style; Emergent metaphorical meaning

Rational versus intuitive cognition and influence of dynamic managerial capabilities on SMEs’ perceived international performance: evidence from emerging economy

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationships between managers’ cognitive styles, dynamic managerial capabilities and firms’ perceived international performance. The study is based on cognitive-experiential self-theory, dynamic managerial capabilities and international entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 283 managers of small medium enterprises (SMEs) in Türkiye, an emerging economy. The research was conducted using quantitative methods, and Smart partial least squares (PLS) 4 software was used for data analysis. The data were examined through structural equation modelling and mediation analyses.FindingsFindings indicate that rational cognitive styles positively influence managerial human capital, managerial social capital, managerial cognition and perceived international performance. However, the effect of intuitive cognitive styles was confirmed only on managerial cognition. Additionally, it was found that managerial cognition positively affects perceived international performance, whereas managerial social capital has a negative impact. However, the effects of managerial human capital could not be confirmed. Moreover, a full mediation relationship of managerial cognition between intuitive cognitive styles and perceived international performance was identified.Originality/valueThis research carves out a unique niche by synergizing cognitive-experiential self-theory with dynamic managerial capabilities to investigate their conjoined effect on firms’ international performance, an area previously underexplored. Unveiling insights from burgeoning economies like Türkiye enriches the existing body of knowledge, offering substantial contributions to the field of international business.

Relationships between Dark Tetrad traits and beliefs in conspiracy theories: Mediation effects of cognitive styles

The aim of this study was to investigate the direct effects of the Dark Tetrad traits on beliefs in conspiracy theories as well as the indirect effects via rational and experiential cognitive styles. The study included 259 participants from the community population in Serbia. The results showed direct positive effects of Machiavellianism, primary psychopathy, and secondary psychopathy on conspiracy beliefs. Furthermore, only the rational cognitive style showed a significant mediation role, but the direction of its effect depends on the specific dark trait. Machiavellianism, primary psychopathy, secondary psychopathy, and narcissistic rivalry had an indirect effect on belief in conspiracy theories through a lower tendency toward rational style, while narcissistic admiration had an indirect effect through a higher tendency toward rational style. Surprisingly, the experiential cognitive style did not emerge as a significant mediator.

Cognitive Factors that Predict Gambling Fallacy Endorsement.

Gambling fallacies are a collection of error-stricken beliefs about gambling and how gambling works. Gambling fallacies, while common in the general public, appear to increase as a function of gambling severity. This being the case, many interventions have focused on reducing gambling fallacies as a means of treating problem-gambling. Less research, however, has investigated what factors contributes to gambling fallacy susceptibility in the first place. Available studies have identified associations between gambling fallacy susceptibility and isolated individual differences in, for example, statistical reasoning/understanding, intelligence, or cognitive ability. The current study aimed to assess these cognitive factors in conjunction, and their relative predictive potential for gambling fallacy susceptibility. In an Australian university student sample (n = 90) it was found that there were moderate to strong association between gambling fallacy endorsement and general intelligence, probabilistic reasoning ability, rational cognitive style and the ability to suppress intuitive thought, however, only probabilistic reasoning, rational cognitive style and the ability to suppress intuitive thinking contributed to the prediction of fallacy endorsement. Importantly, each of these factors are malleable. Interventions for the correction of gambling-specific fallacious beliefs should focus on these factors.

Informing Users: Effects of Notification Properties and User Characteristics on Sharing Attitudes

Information sharing on social networks is ubiquitous, intuitive, and occasionally accidental. However, people may be unaware of the potential negative consequences of disclosures, such as reputational damages. Yet, people use social networks to disclose information about themselves or others, advised only by their own experiences and the context-invariant informed consent mechanism. In two online experiments (N = 515 and N = 765), we investigated how to aid informed sharing decisions and associate them with the potential outcomes via notifications. Based on the measurements of sharing attitudes, our results showed that the effectiveness of informing the users via notifications may depend on the timing, content, and layout of the notifications, as well as on the users’ curiosity and rational cognitive style, motivating information processing. Furthermore, positive emotions may result in disregard of important information. We discuss the implications for user privacy and self-presentation. We provide recommendations on privacy-supporting system design and suggest directions for further research.

LEVEL OF ACCEPTANCE OF EPISTEMICALLY UNWARRANTED BELIEFS IN PRE-SERVICE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS: INFLUENCE OF COGNITIVE STYLE, ACADEMIC LEVEL AND GENDER

One of the main objectives of scientific literacy is the development of rational skills and critical thinking in citizens. This is a central goal for teachers. However, beliefs that lack rational foundation and supporting evidence, named “epistemically unwarranted beliefs” (EUB), spread rapidly among the population. If teachers had some of these EUB, their work could be compromised. The aim of this research was to determine the level of acceptance of different EUB in Spanish pre-service primary school teachers and to analyze the influence of their cognitive style, gender, and academic level. Two hundred and fifty undergraduate students of Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education participated in this study. Two questionnaires were used to collect data. ANOVA, ANCOVA, correlations, and linear regression analysis were used to quantify that influence. Results showed high levels of acceptance of some EUB in future teachers, with significant influences of gender and academic level, and a mediating role of cognitive styles. Experiential and rational cognitive styles, and academic level were significant predictors of EUB, being experiential thinking the most powerful one. Thus, pre-service teacher education should have an epistemological vigilance on future teachers’ scientific literacy and increase the presence of rational style among teachers. Keywords: cognitive style, epistemically unwarranted beliefs, gender influence, knowledge level, pre-service teachers, primary education

Intuition and rationality in intrapreneurship and innovation outputs: The case of health professionals in primary health care

The aim of this article is to explore the role of cognitive styles and intrapreneurship in health professionals’ innovation outputs, as well the mediated effect of intrapreneurship between cognitive styles and innovation output. This study used the survey method of data collection, through a self-administered questionnaire. Partial least square structural equation modelling method was used to analyse the result of the sample of 209 professionals of primary health care providers in Northern Portugal. Our findings reveal that cognitive style plays a significant role in intrapreneurship and innovation outputs, which are mediated by intrapreneurship. In particular, health care professionals with the rational cognitive style are likely to be more of a intrapreneur and innovative as compared to those with a intuitive cognitive style. Promoting intrapreneurship is crucial for successful innovation outputs. This study reveals that an understanding of the cognitive style of the health care professionals can help managers allocate appropriate individuals to different healthcare tasks. Our primary contribution to theory has been to highlight the importance of cognitive styles in intrapreneurship and innovation within the context of primary health care organizations.

The rhythm of effective entrepreneurs’ decision-making process. The pathways of alertness scanning and search and cognitive style. A mediation model

How can entrepreneurs be effective when making decisions? To enrich current research on entrepreneurship and cognition, the present study shows how alertness and decision making are closely related. Prompted by the scant attention that scholars have paid to the link between alertness and the pathways of entrepreneurs’ thought, it proposes that being alert by adequately scanning and searching for information is likely to increase decision-making effectiveness. Distinguishing between rational and intuitive cognitive styles and based on a sample of 98 Italian entrepreneurs from small and medium manufacturing companies, the analysis shows that while a rational cognitive style significantly mediated the relationship, intuition did not play a role in shaping entrepreneurial decision-making effectiveness. The results suggest that developing individual alertness might not be sufficient for entrepreneurs to make effective decisions; a rational cognitive style might also be a key mechanism shaping this association.

Roles of Rational and Irrational Cognitive Styles in the Reactivity of the α Rhythm in Convergent and Divergent Thinking

The roles of the rational and irrational cognitive styles in changes in the α1 and α2 rhythms were studied in convergent (mental addition) and divergent (heuristic task solving) thinking. Changes in the functional activity of the cerebral cortex in convergent thinking were found to be associated with the extent of the rational cognitive style and affected the reactivity of the low-frequency α1 rhythm mainly in the parietal area of the cortex, while in divergent thinking changes were linked with the irrational style and were present in the posterior areas of the cortex in the wide α1/α2 frequency range. When intuition was dominant, more original solutions to problems corresponded to desynchronization of α biopotentials in the posterior parts of the cortex, while low levels of intuition were associated with synchronization.

Thinking About One's Feelings: Association Between Alexithymia and Cognitive Styles in a Nonclinical Population.

Alexithymia is described as a disturbance in the cognitive and affective processing of emotions. Little is known about the cognitive styles associated with this personality trait. In this article, we examine to what extent alexithymia is linked with poorer rational cognitive style. A total of 685 participants from a nonclinical sample completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 along with self-reported and behavioral measures of cognitive styles. Results suggest that people with a high level of self-reported alexithymia show lower rational abilities. The findings of this study extend previous work on cognitive processes underlying emotional self-regulation impairments in alexithymia, suggesting that these difficulties may be linked to a poorer use of rational process.

Relationship of Cognitive Style and Job Level: First Demonstration of Cultural Differences.

Higher-level managers are said to have a more intuitive cognitive style. To verify this hypothesis, we must consider three factors that have often been left out of account. Previous studies, related to managerial cognitive style and job level, used a unidimensional model of cognitive style, did not consider age, and have mainly been conducted in the UK. Our study replicated previous studies on a population of 1,533 Japanese fulltime workers, using a questionnaire based on a two-dimensional model of cognitive style and setting a frame by age for each job level. Our results showed that higher job levels are associated with more rational cognitive styles. There were significant main effects of the interaction of job level and job level by age in rational thinking style. There was no correlation between intuition and job level. Our findings are the first demonstration that the relationship between job level and cognitive style likely depends on culture.

Assessing Individual Differences in Experiential (Intuitive) and Rational (Analytical) Cognitive Styles

Even though it is argued that intuition has ‘come of age’ in the behavioral sciences, there are still unresolved issues regarding self‐report assessment of intuitive and analytical styles of information processing (cognitive styles). The unitary view proposes that intuition and analysis are opposite ends of a single continuum. The dual view proposes that intuition and analysis are independent (orthogonal) constructs. Moreover, within the dual view, it has been proposed that intuition and analysis can be further subdivided into ability and engagement subcomponents. The aim of this article was to test both of these claims and thereby move discussions regarding the assessment of cognitive styles further forward. This research is important given that much intuition research in organizations is predicated on self‐report methods of assessment. Using data from a sample of police officers and police staff from a large police organization in the United Kingdom, we found that the adoption of a dual (rather than unitary) perspective when assessing experiential and rational cognitive styles is warranted, whereas adopting an ability and engagement refinement is not (hence a simpler formulation is to be preferred). We also observed a number of main effects and interactions with respect to job type, job level, gender, and experience. We offer guidelines for the self‐report assessment of intuition and analysis cognitive styles and discuss a typology of styles. The article concludes by outlining a number of practical implications for cognitive styles assessment in organizational settings.

Antecedents of proactive supply chain risk management – a contingency theory perspective

Since supplier insolvencies are a major source of supply chain disruptions, scholars have continuously suggested managing supply chain risk management (SCRM) proactively in order to avoid their occurrence. However, business practice seems to fail with this task. This paper investigates antecedents which foster proactive SCRM implementation from a contingency theory perspective. As a major contingency we choose past supplier insolvencies as an indicator for the level of vulnerability of organisations and investigate inter-organisational, intra-organisational, and individual antecedents. By consulting supply chain management and management accounting literature, hypotheses are developed and tested via content analysis in 63 interviews with representatives from the automotive industry. The findings demonstrate that a mechanistic management control system, a rational cognitive style and relational buyer–supplier relationships have positive impacts on proactively managing supplier insolvency risks. Furthermore, past experience with supplier insolvencies has a moderating, though not a direct, effect on proactiveness. This research suggests that a holistic risk management approach is required to proactively mitigate supplier insolvency risk.

Power of the desired self: Influence of induced perceptions of the self on reasoning

This research shows that the motivation to posses a desired characteristic (or to avoid an undesired one) results in self-perceptions that guide people’s use of base rate in the Lawyer–Engineer problem ( Kahneman & Tversky, 1973). In four studies, participants induced to believe (or recall, Exp. 2) that a rational cognitive style is success-conducive (or an intuitive cognitive style failure-conducive) subsequently viewed themselves as more rational and relied more on base rate in their probability estimates than those induced to believe that a rational cognitive style is failure-conducive (or an intuitive cognitive style success-conducive). These findings show that the desired self had an influence on reasoning in the self-unrelated lawyer–engineer task, since the use of base rates was mediated by changes in participants’ perceptions of their own rationality. These findings therefore show that the desired self, through the working self-concept that it entails, constitutes another factor influencing people’s use of distinct modes of reasoning.

The effects of mood, cognitive style, and cognitive ability on implicit learning

In an experiment with 109 undergraduates, we examined the effect of mood, cognitive style, and cognitive ability on implicit learning in the Artificial Grammar (AG) and Serial Reaction Time (SRT) tasks. Negative mood facilitated AG learning, but had no significant effect on SRT learning. Rational cognitive style predicted greater learning on both tasks, but this effect on SRT was mediated by cognitive ability. SRT, but not AG learning was significantly correlated with Math and English scores on the ACT. These findings confirm and contradict previous research. The association of negative mood and rational cognitive style with AG confirms that AG learning is facilitated by systematic, bottom-up processing. However, the lack of converging evidence for the SRT task suggests that the tasks involve different aspects of implicit processing. Theoretical explanations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Giftedness and Intuition

Two studies were conducted to show connections between giftedness and intuition. The first study was exploratory. A sample of 194 gifted adolescent students (N=194) included fifty-five students identified as gifted by their teachers and fifty-six percent who were female. Using the Polish version of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, the students were screened for their preferred cognitive style, i.e., either an intuitive or rational cognitive style. By comparing gifted intuitionists and gifted rationalists, interesting differences were observed. Rationalists were significantly more conformist and less oriented towards a creative, heuristic style of behaviour than intuitionists. The second study tested the theoretical model proposing intuition both as a style and an ability. The sample used in this study consisted of 561 students whose intelligence level, creative ability and intuition was assessed, respectively, using the Raven Progressive Matrices, the Urban & Jellen Test of Creative Thinking - Drawing Production (TCT-DP), and an experimental intuition test based on the work of Westcott (1968). Results with respect to human functioning showed independence between the ability level, i.e., intelligence and creative thinking, and cognitive style preferences, i.e., towards intuition or rationality. However, preference for rational style of cognition was correlated significantly with school grades indicating higher achievement levels in school for rationalists than intuitionists. The results are discussed in the light of school functioning of gifted intuitionists and rationalists.