Cognitive Styles
Cognitive Styles and Learning Styles
Cognitive styles describe how the individual acquires knowledge
(cognition) and processes information (conceptualization). Cognitive styles are related to mental behaviors which individuals apply habitually when they are solving problems. In general, they affect the way in which information is obtained, sorted, and utilized. Cognitive style is usually described as a stable and persistent personality dimension which influences attitudes, values, and social interaction. It is a characteristic of cognitive processing which is particular to a certain individual or class of individuals.
Before the 1970s, individual differences were synonymous with differences in ability, at least in the field of learning theory. Nevertheless, many psychologists in the 1950s and 1960s became increasingly concerned about the narrowness of abilities measured by standard intelligence tests. Emphasis on abstract logical reasoning seemed to restrict intelligence to “convergent thinking” towards pre-determined answers but excluded the type of "divergent thinking" which leads to imaginative or creative innovation. Guilford (1965) introduced a model of the structure of the intellect which differentiated between a number of cognitive operations, including convergent and divergent thinking. Divergent thought soon became equated with creativity, but although his concepts of fluency, flexibility, and originality are still widely used, the value of his contributions to the understanding of creative thinking is now thought to be questionable. 2
To date, as many as 19 different ways of describing cognitive styles have been identified, all of which consist of bi-polar distinctions
(Entwistle, 1988).
It was Witkin who introduced the term “cognitive style” to describe the concept that individuals consistently exhibit stylistic preferences for the ways in which they organize stimuli and construct meanings for themselves out of their
Cognitive styles describe how the individual acquires knowledge
(cognition) and processes information (conceptualization). Cognitive styles are related to mental behaviors which individuals apply habitually when they are solving problems. In general, they affect the way in which information is obtained, sorted, and utilized. Cognitive style is usually described as a stable and persistent personality dimension which influences attitudes, values, and social interaction. It is a characteristic of cognitive processing which is particular to a certain individual or class of individuals.
Before the 1970s, individual differences were synonymous with differences in ability, at least in the field of learning theory. Nevertheless, many psychologists in the 1950s and 1960s became increasingly concerned about the narrowness of abilities measured by standard intelligence tests. Emphasis on abstract logical reasoning seemed to restrict intelligence to “convergent thinking” towards pre-determined answers but excluded the type of "divergent thinking" which leads to imaginative or creative innovation. Guilford (1965) introduced a model of the structure of the intellect which differentiated between a number of cognitive operations, including convergent and divergent thinking. Divergent thought soon became equated with creativity, but although his concepts of fluency, flexibility, and originality are still widely used, the value of his contributions to the understanding of creative thinking is now thought to be questionable. 2
To date, as many as 19 different ways of describing cognitive styles have been identified, all of which consist of bi-polar distinctions
(Entwistle, 1988).
It was Witkin who introduced the term “cognitive style” to describe the concept that individuals consistently exhibit stylistic preferences for the ways in which they organize stimuli and construct meanings for themselves out of their