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A r e C o g n i t i v e S t y l e s S t i l l i n S t y l e ?R o b e r t J . S t e r n b e r g a n d E l e n a L . G r i g o r e n k oYale Universi ty

I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I I . . . . . I I I I I I I I I I iJ I I I I IAre cogn i t i v e s t y l e s s t i l l in s t y l e ? The au thors asse r t t ha tt hey are and , i ndeed , t ha t they may prov ide as prom i s inga n i n r o a d t o p r e d i c t in g s c h o o l a n d o t h e r k i n d s o f p e r f o r -mance as do ab i l i t i e s . F i rs t , t he au thors i n t roduce t hec o n c e p t o f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s a n d d i s c u s s w h y t h e y h a v ep i q u e d t h e i n t er e s t o f p s y c h o l o g i s t s f o r m a n y y e a r s a n dcon t inue t o do so . Second , 3 m ot i va t i ons f o r t he ory andresearch on cogn i t i v e s t y l e s are de sc r ibed . Th i rd , someo f t he pr inc ipa l l i te ra ture on c ogn i t i v e s t y l e s i s br i e f l yr e v i e w e d . F o u r t h , t h e a u t h o r s p r e s e n t t h e i r o w n t h e o r ya n d r e se a r ch , s u g g e s t i n g i t m a y p r e s e n t a p a r t i c u l a r l yp r o m i s i n g a p p r o a c h . F i n a l l y , t h e y d r a w s o m e c o n c l u -s i o n s a b o u t s t y l e s a n d m a k e s o m e s u g g e s t i o n s r e g a rd i n gpro f i t ab l e d i rec t i ons f o r f u ture t heory and re search .

u p p o s e y o u w e r e t o l d t h a t t h e r e is a m y s t e r y c o n -s t r u c t t h a t p r e d i c t s s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t a s w e l l a s ,o r p o s s i b l y e v e n b e t t e r th a n , i n t e l l e c t u a l a b i l i ti e s ,a s m e a s u r e d b y c o n v e n t i o n a l p s y c h o m e t r i c t e s t s o f i n te l -

l i g e n c e . P e r h a p s y o u w o u l d b e s k e p t i c a l , b o t h b e c a u s ec o n v e n t i o n a l a b i l i t y t e s t s p r e d i c t s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t s ow e l l a n d b e c a u s e o t h e r k i n d s o f m e a s u r e s ( w i t h th e e x -c e p t i o n o f t e s t s o f s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t ) h a v e n o t h a d a sm u c h s u c c e s s i n p r e d i c t i n g s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t a s h a v ec o n v e n t i o n a l a b i l i t y t e s t s ( A n a s t a s i , 1 9 8 8 ; C r o n b a c h ,1 9 9 0 ) .

N e x t , y o u a r e t o l d t ha t t he c o r r e l a t i o n o f a m e a s u r e o ft h is m y s t e r y c o n s t r u c t w i t h s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t i n a s a m -p l e o f 1 2 4 e l e m e n t a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s t u d e n t s i s. 01 . Y o u w o u l d s m i l e . S o m u c h f o r t h e m y s t e r y c o n s t r u c t :a n o t h e r p r o m i s s o r y n o t e t h a t p r o v e s t o h a v e n o v a l u ew h e n i t is c a s h e d i n , th a t i s , w h e n i t i s a c t u a l ly e m p i r i c a l l yv a l i d a t e d .

B u t y o u a r e t o l d , f i n a l l y , t h a t t h e t r u e c o r r e l a t i o n o ft h e m y s t e r y c o n s t r u c t i s b e i n g m a s k e d b y a m o d e r a t o rv a r i a b l e , n a m e l y , t h e s c h o o l i n w h i c h t h e e m p i r i c a l v a l i -d a t i o n i s d o n e . I n a n a v a n t - g a r d e , p r i v a t e e l e m e n t a r y -s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l e m p h a s i z i n g e m o t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n t h a tv i e w s i t s e l f a s b e i n g a t t h e c u t ti n g e d g e o f s c h o o l r e f o r m ,t h e c o r r e la t i o n o f t h e m y s t e r y c o n s t r u c t w i t h s c h o o la c h i e v e m e n t i s - . 3 8 ( p < . 0 5 ); i n a s e c o n d s c h o o l , aC a t h o l i c p a r o c h i a l e l e m e n t a r y - s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l t h a tv i e w s i t s e l f a s q u it e t r a d i t io n a l , t h e c o r r e l a t i o n i s . 4 9 ( p< . 01 ). I n t w o o t h e r s c h o o l s - - a w e l l - r e s p e c te d , n a t io n -a l ly k n o w n p r e p a r a t o r y s c h o o l a n d a l a r g e , u r b a n p u b l ics c h o o l - - t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s a r e - . 3 9 a n d . 1 0 , r e s p e c t i v e l y .P e r h a p s n o w y o u r i n t e r e s t w o u l d b e p i q u e d . A f t e r a l l ,h o w m a n y c o n s t r u c t s s h o w c o r r e l a ti o n s w i t h s c h o o l

a c h i e v e m e n t t h a t d i f f e r b y c l o s e t o . 9 0 i n t w o d i f f e r e n ts c h o o l s , t h a t a r e s t a t i s ti c a l l y s i g n i fi c a n t i n o p p o s i t e d i r e c -t i o n s , a n d t h a t d i f f e r s i g n i f i c a n t l y f r o m e a c h o t h e r a sw e l l ?

M o r e o v e r , h o w m a n y c o n s t r u c t s a l s o s i g n i f ic a n t ly p r e -d i c t s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t , a b o v e a n d b e y o n d a b i l i t i e s , i np a r t b e c a u s e o f t he g e n u i n e t a s k d e m a n d s o f t h e s c h o o la n d i n p a r t b e c a u s e t h e y a r e s o u r c e s o f b ia s i n t e a c h e r s 'e v a l u a t i o n s o f s t u d e n ts , w h e r e b y t e a c h e r s e v a l u a t e s t u-d e n ts m o r e f a v o r a b l y o n t h e s e d i m e n s i o n s i f s tu d e n ts a r em o r e l ik e t h e m s e l v e s ? S u c h c o n s t r u c t s c e r t a i n l y o u g h t t ob e r e c e i v i n g a t t e n t i o n , w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e y c u r r e n t l y a r e .

I f y o u r i n t e r e s t i s i n d e e d p i q u e d , t h e n p e r h a p s y o uw o u l d l i k e to r e a d m o r e a b o u t t h ink ing s t y le s , w h i c h a r en o t t h e m s e l v e s a b i l it i es b u t r a t h e r p r e f e r r e d w a y s o f u s i n gth e ab i l i ti e s o n e h as (S t e rn b e rg , 1 9 8 8 , 1 9 9 0 , 1 9 9 4 b ,1 9 9 7 ). T h i n k i n g s t y l e s a r e b u t o n e m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f ab r o a d e r p r o g r a m o f r e s e a r c h i n w h i c h p s y c h o l o g i s t s h a v eb e e n e n g a g e d f o r m a n y d e c a d e s , t h a t o n cogn i t i v e s t y l es ,o r p e o p l e ' s c h a r a c t e r i s ti c a n d t y p i c a ll y p r e f e r r e d m o d e so f p r o c e s s i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . C o g n i t i v e s t y l e s a r e , in t u r n ,a s u b s e t o f th e g e n e r a l c o n s t r u c t o f sty le , w h i c h c a n b ed e f i n e d a s " a d i s t in c t iv e o r c h a r a c t e r is t i c m a n n e r . . .o r m e t h o d o f a c t in g o r p e r f o r m i n g " ( G u r a l n ik , 1 9 76 , p.1415) .

O u r f u r t h e r d i s c u s s i o n o f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s i s d i v i d e di n t o f o u r m a j o r p a r ts . F i r s t, w e m o t i v a t e o u r d i s c u s s i o n b yd e s c r i b i n g w h y p s y c h o l o g i s t s , i n c l u d i n g o u r s e l v e s , h a v eb e e n i n t e r e s t e d o v e r t h e y e a r s i n c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s a s ap s y c h o l o g i c a l c o n s t ru c t . S e c o n d , w e r e v i e w s o m e o f th ep r i n c i p a l l i t e ra t u r e i n t h e f i e l d o f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s , r e c o g -n i z i n g a t t h e s a m e t i m e t h a t a t h o r o u g h l i t e r a t u r e r e v i e w

Editor's note . Will iamBevan served as action editor for this article.Author's note . Ro ber t . Sternberg and Elena L. Grigorenko; Depart-ment of Psychology,Yale University.Preparation of this article was supported under the Javits Act Pro-gram (Grant R206R50001) as administeredby the Officeof EducationalResearch and Im provement, U.S. D epartment of Education. Granteesundertaking such projects are encouraged to express freely their profes-sional judgment. Th is article, therefore, does not necessarily representthe positions or policies of the federal government, and no officialendorsement should be inferred.We are grateful to M arie Martin and Richard Wag ner for theircollaborations in some of o ur w ork in the a rea of thinking styles.Copies of instruments we hav e used in our resea rch are availableat co st from us.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed toRobert J. Sternberg, Departm ent of Psychology, Yale University, Box208205. New Have n, CT 06520-8205. Electronic mail may be sent viaInternet to [email protected].

7 0 0 J u l y 1 9 9 7 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s tCopyright 1997 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0003-066X/97/$2.00Vol. 52, No. 7, 700-712


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would be impossible in the context of a relatively briefjournal article. We also discuss why cognitive styles,much like wide neckties , seem cyclically to come in andgo out of fashion as the years pass and why we believethat the construct, like on e' s collection of wide nec kties,is worth saving. Third, we briefly describe some of ourown theory and research in the area and argue that ourapproach shows the general promise of the construct.Finally, we draw some conclusions and provide sugges-tions for how research in the field might progress in thefuture.Why Should Psychologists Care AboutCog nitive Styles?Interest in cognitive styles goes back at least to Jung(1923), who proposed a theory of psychological typesthat, in modified form, is still used today in assessmentsof s tyles through the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory(MBTI; Myers & McCaulley, 1985; Myers & Myers,1980). However, modern research actively began in sev-eral laboratories within a sho rt span of time with the wo rkof Witkin (1964; Witkin, Dyk, Faterson, Goodenough, &Karp, 1962; Witldn et al., 1954); Klein (Klein, Gard-ner, & Schlesinger, 1962; Klei n & Schlesinger, 1951;Smith & Klein, 1953); Gardner, Messick, and Jackson(Gardner, 1959, 1962; Gardner, Holzman, Klein, Lin-ton, & Spence, 1959; Gardner, Jackson, & Messick, 1960;Me ssick & Ross, 1962); Kagan (1958, 1965a, 1965b,1965c); Wallach and Kogan (1965); Pettigrew (1958);and others who, by the 1950s and 1960s, had becomeconcerned with styles as representing an interface be-tween w ork on cognition and work on personality.What interested these researchers then, and contempo-rary researchers now, about the construct of cognitivestyles? Styles are of interest for several reasons.

Bridging Cognition and PersonalityFirst, cognitive styles represent a bridge between whatmight seem to be two fair ly dis tinct areas o f psychologi-cal investigation: cognition and personality. Althoughthese two areas often have seemed to represent ratherdistinct areas of selfhood, there have long been inves-tigators, such as Cattell (1971) and Royce (1973),who have tried to link them into a single encompassingtheory. In the case of Cattell, one of the factors in the16 personality-factor model (Factor B) is an intelligencefactor. And in the widely accepted Big Five theory ofpersonality (Costa & McCrae, 1992; Digman, 1990;McCrae, 1996; McCrae & Costa, 1987; Peabody & Gold-berg, 1989), one of the factors, Openness to Experience,has been found to be Closely linked with intelligence.Moreover, a single psychometric method has been usedto investigate both cognition and intelligence, leadingsome investigators, such as Eysenck (1982; Eysenck &Eysenck, 1975), Vernon (1973), and Messick (1984), aswell as Cattell, Royce, and many others, to be active inboth fields.Many other approaches have be en used to l ink person-ality and aspects of cognition, especially intelligence(Baron, 1982; Saklofske & Zeidner, 1995; Sternberg &Ruzgis, 1994), including constructs o f social intelligence(Cantor & Kihlstrom, 1987a, 1987b; Ford & Tisak, 1983;Keating, 1978), practical intelligence (Sternbe rg, 1985,1996; Sternberg & Wagner, 1986; Sternberg, Wagner,Williams, & Horvath, 1995), and emotional intelligence(Goleman, 1995; Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Clearly, psy-chologists see a need to link personality with cognition.We suggest that cognitive styles have provided and cancontinue to provide one viable way of doing so.Cognitive Styles Go to SchoolSecond, as suggested in the introductory paragraphs ofthis article, cognitive styles seem to have im portant im pli-cations for educational theory and practice (Dunn,Beaudry, & Klavas, 1989; Fischer & Fischer, 1979; Gri-gorenko & Sternberg, 1997; Hunt, 1979; Kagan, 1965c;Messick, 1984; Renzulli & Smith, 1978; Sternberg, 1990,1994a, 1997; Sternberg & Grigorenko, 1993, 1995; Wal-lach & Kogan, 1965), an idea to which we return lateron. Indeed, one of the initial motivations for studyingstyles, and which is still a motivation (Grigorenko &Sternberg, 1997), was the idea that perhaps prediction o fachievement could be improved by adding measures ofstyles to measures of abilities as predictors of perfor-mance. For example, perhaps impulsive children wouldshow lower performance in school because o f their ten-dency not to be careful in their work, above and bey ondany question o f their intellectual abilities (Kagan, 1965c,1966). Or perhaps children w ho coul d not separate them-selves from their perceptual field or elements of this fieldfrom each other (so-called field-dependent children)would suffer when they were learning to read (Witkin,1975).

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Our own work in the area of cognit ive s tyles has beenmotivated by educat ional considerat ions. For example,the daughter of Robert J . Sternberg would occasional lymake suggest ions to her teacher as to answers to problemsthat were al ternat ives to the answers the teacher presentedin class . Over the course of the year, the teacher com-plained to the chi ld 's parents abou t what the teacher per-ceived as the chi ld 's disrupt ive behav ior in class , and theteacher ' s opinion of the chi ld seem ed to decl ine mon oton-ical ly. This experience made Sternberg wonder whetherstudents were devalued in the eyes of their teachers whenthe s tudents ' s tyles did not match the teachers ' s tyles , anidea consis tent with some past hypotheses and data (see,e.g. , Cronbach & Snow, 1977; Dunn & Dunn, 1978;Hyman & Rosoff, 1984),Such incidents and, potent ial ly, the valuing o f s tudentswho match rather than mismatch teachers ' s tyles are notl imited to the elementary school level . When Sternbergwas a col lege freshm an, his f i rs t psycho logy examinat ionrequired a series of short essays. Sternberg (mistakenly)viewed the test ing s i tuat ion as one in whic h creat ive ideaswould be valued. In fac t , he found ou t when the examina-t ion was re turned--and he had received a compos i tescore of 3 ou t o f 10 -- th at the way each essay had beenscored was on a 10-point scale: The professor had 10points he wanted the s tudents to make, and the score outof 10 was the number of the professor 's points that ag iven s tudent made. Whatever the professor may havevalued , it was no t s tudents who wanted to come up wi ththeir own ideas in that exam.Cognitive Styles on the JobCognit ive s tyles have im plicat ions not only for schoolingbut also for occupa t ional choice and performanc e (Clapp,

1993; Gul, 1992; Holland, 1973; Huelsman, 1983; Jacob-son, 1993; Kolb, 1974; Myers & McCa ulley , 1985; Stern-berg, 1997). Suppose i t were the case, as hypothesizedabove, that teachers tend to reward ce rtain s tyles but notother s tyles in their classrooms, effect ively confoundingstyles with achievement . Suppose, moreover, that thestyles valued in the classroom d o not correspo nd part icu-larly or even at al l wel l with the s tyles actual ly valuedin the jobs for which the cla ssroom instruc t ion is prepara-tory. What would be the resul ts?Conceivably, psychologists might f ind that those whoare encouraged to go into a f ield are those who havestyles compatible with the classroom preparat ion for thejob but not with the job i tself . Alternat ively, some ofthose whomight have s ty les qu i te compat ib le wi th thejob might be d i scouraged f rom going in to the job becauseof l ess than l audatory performance in the c lass room prep-arat ion for the job.We bel ieve that th i s phenomenon i s p robably wide-spread. Those wh o have s ty les compa tible with the kindsof learning required for mult iple-choice tests , for exam-ple, may not have s tyles compatible with the kinds ofperformance requi red on a job for which the coursesusing the mult iple-choice tests are supposedly prepara-tory. For example, psychologists need to come up withideas for theories , experiments , and therapy, but theyrarely, i f ever, have to memorize books or lectures .In sum, there are at least three major motivat ions forstudying cognit ive s tyles: providing a l ink betwe en cogn i-t ion and personal i ty; understanding, predict ing, and im-proving educat ional achievement; and improving voca-t ional select ion, guidance, and, possibly, placement . W hatkinds of work have researchers done to understand cogni-t ive s tyles in these and other contexts?

ogn.itive Styles: A Capsule Review ofe L,teratureWe cannot possibly summarize in a short art icle the ful lrange of work that has been done on cognit ive s tyles .Fortunately, other works are avai lable that provide rela-t ively complete reviews (e.g. , Globerson & Zelniker,1984; Goldstein & Blackman , 1978; G rigorenko & Stem -berg, 1995; Kag an & Kog an, 1970; Kogan , 1973, 1976,1983; K oga n & Saarni, 1990; Messick , 1976, 1984;Mil ler, 1991; Riding & Cheema, 1991; Witkin &Goodenough, 1981).Firs t , we describe the cri teria by which we evaluatethe various theories of s tyles . Then, w e classify muc h ofthe extant wo rk on cogn it ive s tyles as fal l ing into threemajor categories , which we refer to as cognit ion-centered, personal i ty-centered, and act ivi ty-centered ap-proaches, respect ively (Grigorenko & Sternberg, 1995).We br ief ly summarize some of the work that fa l ls undereach o f these three approaches, placing m ore o f our at ten-t ion on the fi rs t two of these approaches.Criteria for Evaluation of Theories of StylesIn discussing wor k on cognit ive s tyles , we l imit ourselvesto s tyle constructs that have been operat ional ized. In

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o the r words , by t h i s c r i t e r i on , t he re i s a t l e a s t one mea -s u r e o f t h e s t y l e o r s t y l e s p o s i t e d b y a g i v e n t h e o r y .W e a r e p a r t i c u l a r ly i n t e r e s t e d in t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h er e s e a r c h p r o g r a m s h a v e m e t t h e f o l l o w i n g f iv e a d d i t i o n a lc r i te r i a , t w o o f w h i c h a r e q u a l i ta t iv e a n d t h r e e o f w h i c ha re qu an t i t a ti ve :1. theoretical spec if ication --the posit ing o f a reasonably com-plete, well-specified, and internally consistent theory of stylesthat makes connection with extan t psychological theory;2. internal validity--a demonstration by factor analysis orsome other metho d of internal analysis that the underlying struc-ture of the i tem o r subtest data is as predicted b y the theory;3. convergent external valid ity- -a dem onstration that the mea-sures of styles correlate with other measures with which, intheory, they should correlate;4. discriminant external validity--a demonstration that themeasures of styles do not correlate with other measures withwhich, in theory, they should no t correlate; and5. heuristic generativity--the extent to which the theory hasspawned and continues to spawn psychological research and,ideally, practical application.To some ex t en t , heur i s t i c gene ra t i v i t y i s a func t i on o f t heex t en t t o wh ich a t heory has sa t i s f i ed t he f i r s t fou r c r i t e -r i a . B u t i t is a l s o a f u n c t i o n o f t h e e x t e n t to w h i c h a ni d e a s p a r k s i n t e r es t i n p o t e n t i al f o l l o w e r s o f a t h e o r y a n di s a g g r e s s i v e ly m a r k e t e d t o t h e c o n s u m e r p u b l i c.The Co gnition-Cen teredApproachW o r k i n t h i s t r a d i t i o n i s b a s e d l o o s e l y o n a d e f i n i t i o no f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s a s " t h e c h a r a c te r i s ti c , s e l f - c o n s i s te n tm o d e s o f f u n c t i o n i n g w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s s h o w i n t h e i rp e r c e p t u a l a n d i n t e l l e c t u a l a c t i v i t i e s " ( W i t k i n , O l t m a n ,Rask in , & K arp , 1971 , p . 3 ) . The s ty l e s i n t h i s c a t eg orymost c lose ly r e semble ab i l i t i e s and , l i ke ab i l i t i e s , haveo f t e n b e e n m e a s u r e d b y t e s t s o f m a x i m a l p e r f o r m a n c ew i t h " r i g h t " a n d " w r o n g " a n sw e r s. M u c h o f t he w o r kin t h i s t r ad i t i on a rose a s a r e su l t o f a pe rce ived need t ou n d e r s t a n d q u a l i t at i v e m o d e s o f c o g n i t i v e f u n c t i o n i n g a n dn o t j u s t t o o b t a i n a n o v e r a l l q u a n ti t at i v e a s s e s s m e n t o fc o g n i t iv e f u n c t i o n i n g , s u c h a s I Q .M a n y s t y l es h a v e b e e n p r o p o s e d i n t h e c o n t e x t o f th ec o g n i t i v e a p p r o a c h t o t h e s t u d y o f c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s , a ss h o w n i n T a b l e 1 . H e r e , w e d i s c u s s o n l y t h e t w o s t y l e st h a t h a v e g e n e r a t e d th e m o s t t h e o r y a n d r e s e a rc h , a s w e l la s i n te r e s t: r e f l e c t i o n - i m p u l s i v i t y a n d f i e l d d e p e n d e n c e -i n d e p e n d e n c e .Reflec l lon- impuls iv i ty . T h i s p o l a r i t y o f s t y le s i ss o m e t i m e s r e f e r r e d t o a s concep tua l t empo . Re f l ec t i v i t yi s t he t endency to con s ide r and re f l ec t on a l t e rna t i ve so lu -t i on poss ib i l i t i e s . Re f l ec t i ve i nd iv idua l s pause t o t h inkb e f o r e b e g i n n i n g a t a s k o r m a k i n g a d e c i s i o n a n d s p e n dt ime eva lua t i ng t he i r op t i ons . Conve rse ly , impu l s i v i t y ist h e t e n d e n c y t o r e s p o n d i m p u l s i v e l y w i t h o u t s u f f i c i e n tf o r e t h o u g h t . I m p u l s i v e i n d i v i d u a ls q u i c k l y o f f e r s o l u t i o n st o p r o b l e m s , w i t h o u t s u f f i c ie n t c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e p r o b -a b l e a c c u r a c y o f t h e s o l u t io n s .C o n c e p t u a l t e m p o a p p e a r s t o b e a r e l a t i v e l y s t a b l es o u r c e o f i n d i v id u a l d i f fe r e n c e s ( K a g a n , 1 9 58 , 1 9 6 5 a,1965b , 1965c , 1966). T he re i s d i sag reem ent , howeve r , a s

to whe the r impu l s iv i t y and re f l ec t i v i t y , a s concep tua l i zedh e r e , a p p l y o n l y t o s i t u a ti o n s o f h i g h r e s p o n s e u n c e r t a i n t y( K a g a n & M e s se r , 1 9 75 ) o r t o a w a y o f a p p r o a c h i n g l i f ein gene ra l (B lock , B lock , & Har r ing ton , 1974) . Ope ra -t io n a l ly , r e f l e c t i v i t y - i m p u l s i v i t y ty p i c a l l y h a s b e e n m e a -s u r e d b y p a t t er n s o f r e s p o n s e l a t e n ci e s a n d e r r o r s o nre l a t i ve ly s imple , h igh ly speeded t a sks . In pa r t i cu l a r , ar e f l e c t i v e p e r s o n w i l l h a v e a l o n g e r r e s p o n s e t i m e w i t hf e w e r e r r o r s , w h e r e a s a n i m p u l s i v e p e r s o n w i l l h a v e as h o r t e r r e s p o n s e t i m e w i t h m o r e e r r o r s . T h e i n s t r u m e n tm o s t f r e q u e n t l y u s e d t o m e a s u r e t h e c o n s t r u c t h a s b e e nt h e M a t c h i n g F a m i l i a r F i g u r e s T e st ( M F F T ; B u t te r , 1 9 7 9;Das , 1983; K agan , 1966 ; bu t see B lock e t a l. , 1974) . Int h e M F F T , a p e r s o n i s r e q u i r e d t o s e l e c t f r o m a m o n gseve ra l a l t e rna t i ve s t he one t ha t exac t l y ma tches a s t an -d a r d . T h e n u m b e r o f e r r o r s a n d t h e t i m e t o c o m p l e t e t h et e s t a r e m e a s u r e d , a n d t h e m e d i a n p o i n t i s v i e w e d a s ac u t o f f f o r c a t e g o r i z in g i n d i v i d u a l s . P e o p l e w i t h f a s t e rr e s p o n s e t i m e s a n d r e l a t iv e l y m o r e e r r o r s a r e c a l l e d im -pu l s i ve ; t h o s e w i t h l o n g e r r e s p o n s e t i m e s a n d l o n g e r la -t enc i e s a re ca l l ed re f lec t ive . Two o t h e r g r o u p s o f l e s si n t e r e st f o r t h e p r e s e n t p u r p o s e s a r e t h o s e w h o a r e q u i c k( s h o r te r r e s p o n s e t i m e s w i t h f e w e r e r ro r s ) a n d t h o s e w h oare s low ( l o n g e r r e s p o n s e t i m e s w i t h m o r e e r r o rs ; E s k a &Black , 1971) .M a n y e m p i r i c a l f i n d i n g s a b o u t c o n c e p t u a l t e m p o h a v ee m e r g e d . F o r e x a m p l e , i m p u l s i v i t y a s a c o g n i t i v e s t y l ea p p e a r s t o b e d i f f e r e n t f r o m i m p u l s i v e n e s s a s a p e r s o n a l -i t y t r a i t (Glow, Lange , Glow, & Barne t t , 1983) , a t l e a s ta s t h e l a t te r is m e a s u r e d b y t h e E y s e n c k P e r s o n a l i t y Q u e s -t i o n n a i r e ( E y s e n c k & E y s e n c k , 1 9 7 5 ). F o r e x a m p l e , c h i l-d r e n w i t h a n i m p u l s i v e s t y l e, in c o n t r a s t t o t h o s e w i t h ar e f le c t iv e s t y le , m a k e m o r e e r r o r s i n r e a d i n g p r o s e , m a k em o r e e r r o r s o f c o m m i s s i o n o n s e r ia l - re c a l l t a s k s , a n da r e m o r e l i k e ly t o o f f e r i n c o r r e c t s o l u t i o n s o n i n d u c t iv e -r e a s o n i n g p r o b l e m s a n d v i s u a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n t a s k s(S t ah l , E r i cks on , & Ra ym an , 1986) . Re f l ec t i ve peop let e n d t o m a k e f e w e r e r r o r s i n w o r d - r e c o g n i t i o n , s e r i a l -l e a rn ing , and i nduc t ive - rea son ing t e s t s (Ze ln ike r & Op-penhe imer , 1973) . Impu l s ive i nd iv idua l s t end t o havem i n i m a l a n x i e t y a b o u t c o m m i t t i n g e r ro r s , a n o r i e n t a t i o nt o w a r d q u i c k s u c c e s s r a t h e r t h a n a v o i d i n g f a i l u r e , r e l a -t i v el y lo w p e r f o r m a n c e s t a n d a r d s , l o w m o t i v a t i o n to m a s -t e r t a sks , and l i t t l e a t t en t i on i n moni to r ing o f s t imul i(Kagan , 1966 ; Messe r , 1970 ; Pau l sen , 1978) .Fie ld dependence- independence . T h i s p o l a rc o n s t r u c t , g e n e r a l ly a s s o c i a t e d w i t h W i t l d n e t a l . ( 1 9 6 2 )a n d a l s o k n o w n a s psycho log i ca l d i f f e ren t ia t i on , r e fe r st o t h e e x t e n t to w h i c h a p e r s o n i s d e p e n d e n t v e r s u s i n d e-p e n d e n t o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e s u r r o u n d i n g p e r c e p t u a lf i el d . T h e t w o p r i n c i p a l m e a s u r e s o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i f f e r-e n t i a t io n a r e t h e R o d a n d F r a m e T e st ( R F T ) a n d t h e E m -b e d d e d F i g u r e s T e s t ( E F T ) . I n t h e R F T ( W i t k i n , 1 9 6 4 ;Wi t ldn e t a l . , 1962) , i nd iv idua l s mus t i gnore a v i sua lcon tex t , a pos tu ra l con t ex t , o r bo th t o l oca t e a t rue ve r t i -ca l . In t he EFT (Wi t ldn e t a l . , 1971) , i nd iv idua l s mus tl o c a t e a p r e v i o u s l y s e e n s i m p l e f i g u r e w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x to f a l a r ge r , m o r e c o m p l e x f i g u r e t h a t h a s b e e n p u r p o s e -f u l l y d e s i g n e d t o e m b e d a n d o b s c u r e t h e s i m p l e f i g u r e.

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T a b l e 1Styles in the Co gnition-CenteredApproachSty le Re fe rence De f in i t ionAbst ract versus concre teC a t e g o r y w i d t hC ogn i t i ve comp lex i t yCompar tmenta l iza t ionConceptua l d i f fe rent ia t ionConceptua l in tegra t ionConceptua l s ty leConceptua l tempoConst r ic ted versus f lex ib lecont ro lF ie ld dependence versusindependenceScann ingTolerance for unreal ist ice x p e r i e n c e s

H ar vey , H un t , & S ch r ode r ( 1961 )Pet t ig rew (1958)G a r d n e r & S c h o e n ( 1 9 6 2 }Mess i ck & K ogan ( 1963 )G a r d n e r & S c h o e n ( 1 9 6 2 )H a r vey e t a l . ( 1961 )K agan , Moss , & S ige l ( 1963 )K a g a n ( 1 9 5 8 , 1 9 6 6 )S mi th & K le in ( 1953 )W i t k i n ( 1 9 6 4 )G a r d n e r & M o r i a r t y ( 1 9 6 8 )K le in & Sch les inger (1951 )

Pre fer red leve l o f abst rac t ionDegree to wh ich peop le act on awareness o f d i f fe rencesT endency t o ma ke mor e and m or e comp lex assoc ia ti onsbetween groupsTendency to compar tmenta l ize ideas in to d iscre te ca tegor iesSpontaneous d i f fe rent ia t ion o f he terogeneous i tems in tor e la ted g r ou psRela t ing o f par ts to each o ther and to pr io r conceptsPre ference fo r ana ly t ica l ve rsus re la tiona l o rga n iza t ion o finformationTendency to cons ider and re f lec t on a l te rnat ive so lu t ionversus tendency to respond impu ls ive lyTendency to d is regard o ne o f two conf l ic t ing cuesDegree o f dependence on the s t ruc ture o f the preva i l ingvisual f ie ldE x ten t t o w h i ch an i nd i v i dua l a t temp ts t o ve r i f y h i s o r he rjudgmentsPerson 's read iness to accept o r repor t exper iences a tva r i ance w i t h w ha t he o r she know s t o be t r ue

Because the concept of psychological differentiationwas originated to overcome the incompleteness of con-ventional intelligence tests as bases for explaining indi-vidual differences in cognition, researchers have at-tempted to find the relation between conventional mea-sures of intelligence and field dependence-independence.Witkin (1975) claimed that research showed the indepen-dence of the construct from verbal skills as tapped bythe Wechsler scales. Moreover, Eagle, Goldberger, andBreitman (1969) found no difference between groups inability to acquire new information. However, the storychanges with spatial aspects of abilities. Witkin (1975)himself suggested that field independence is "essentiallyidentical" (p. 7) with the abilities required for theWechsler Block Design, Object Assembly, and PictureCompletion subtests. Cronbach and Snow (1977) sug-gested that field dependence-independence adds nothingto the concept o f f l u i d a b i l i t y (Cattell, 1971), or the abilityto think flexibly and cope with novelty, and MacLeod,Jackson, and Palmer (1986) used structural equationmodeling to argue that field independence is identical tospatial ability. Goldstein and Blackman (1978), reviewing20 studies, found consistent correlations between mea-sures of field independence and both verbal and perfor-mance aspects of intelligence. Thus, the evidence sug-gests a close connection and perhaps an identity betweenfield independence and aspects of intelligence.The Perso nality-CenteredApproachWhereas the styles produced by the cognition-centeredapproach seem quite close to abilities, the styles producedby the personality-centered approach seem closer to per-

sonality traits. Moreover, styles in this approach aremeasured by typical-performance tests rather than bymaximum-performance tests, much as are personalitytraits. We discuss two of the major theories based on thisapproach: the theory of types associated with Jung (1923)and the energic model associated with Gregorc (1979).The h e o r y o f t yp e s. Jung (1923) proposed a the-ory of psychological types, according to which individu-als can be characterized as differing in terms of twoatti tudes (extraversion and introversion), two perceptualfunctions (intuit ion and sensing), and two judgment func-tions (thinking and feeling). The atti tudes of extraversionand introversion describe one's basic stance in dealingwith other people one encounters. Extraversion character-izes those who are outgoing, with an interest in peopleand the environment; introversion describes peoplewhose interests are more inwardly focused. Intuition andsensing are used in Jung's typology to describe prefer-ences in perceiving stimuli. An intuitive person tends toperceive stimuli holistically and to concentrate on mean-ing rather than details, whereas a sensing individual per-ceives information realistically and precisely. Thinkingand feeling represent two distinct ways of judging orunderstanding perceived stimuli. Judgments made in thethinking mode tend to be logical, analytical, and imper-sonal; those made in the feeling mode are usually basedon values rather than logic.

An extension of Jung's (1923) theory (Myers &McCaulley, 1985; Myers & Myers, 1980) extended thetheory of types to include one more distinction, that be-tween judgment and perception. According to this view,

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t h e re a r e 1 6 t y p e s o f p e r s o n a l i t y s t y le s r e s u l ti n g f r o m a l lp o s s i b l e c o m b i n a t i o n s o f t h e f o u r d i f f e r e n t f u n c t i o n s ,e a c h o f w h i c h h a s t w o c a t e g o r i e s . F o r e x a m p l e , a s e n s in gt y p e w h o i s i n t r o v e r t e d a n d w h o p r e f e r s j u d g i n g w i t ht h i n k i n g i s a s e r i o u s, q u i e t p e r s o n w h o r e a c h e s s u c c e s s b yc o n c e n t r a t i o n a n d t h o r o u g h n e s s . T h i s p e r s o n i s p r a c ti c a l,o rde r ly , ma t t e r -o f - f ac t , l og i ca l , r e a l i s ti c , and depend ab le .A n i n t u i t i v e e x t r a v e r t w h o p r e f e r s j u d g i n g w i t h f e e l i n gi s s o m e o n e w h o i s r e s p o n s i v e a n d r e s p o n s i b le . T h i s i n d i -v i d u a l f e e l s re a l c o n c e r n f o r w h a t o t h e r s th i n k a n d w a n ta n d t r i e s t o h a n d l e t h i n g s w i t h r e g a r d f o r o t h e r p e o p l e ' sf ee l i ngs .

T h i s v i e w is e m b o d i e d i n t h e M B T I ( M y e r s & M c C a u l -l ey , 1985) , a measure o f s t y l e s t ha t ha s t he appea ranceo f a s t a n d a r d p e r s o n a l i ty i n v e n to r y . T h e m e a s u r e h a s b e e nw i d e l y u s e d i n e d u c a t i o n a s w e l l a s i n b u s i n e s s , a l t h o u g hi t s v a l i d i ty h a s b e e n c a l l e d i n to s e r io u s q u e s t i o n ( D r u c k -man & Bjo rk , 1991 , 1994) . Desp i t e t he se r e se rva t i ons ,t h e M B T I i s p r o b a b ly t h e m o s t w i d e l y u s e d m e a s u r e o fs ty l e s t oday . Resea rche r s have shown s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g -n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a ti o n s o f s t y l e s d e r i v e d f r o m t h e M B T Iw i t h t h e m a s t e r y o f a s e c o n d l a n g u a g e ( E h r m a n , 1 99 4 ),c r e a ti v e p e r f o r m a n c e o n t h e j o b ( J a c o b s o n , i 9 9 3 ) , a n dm a n y o t h e r a c t i v i t i e s ( c f . H a h n - R o l l i n s & M o n g e o n ,1 98 8 ). T h e r e a l s o h a v e b e e n a n u m b e r o f a t t e m p t s t o u s et h e M B T I i n s c h o o l s e t t i n g s . F o r e x a m p l e , H u e l s m a n( 1 9 8 3 ) f o u n d t h a t w h e r e a s p r e f e r r e d s t y l e s in l e a r n e r sa r e f a i r l y e v e n l y d is t r i b u t e d a m o n g p s y c h o l o g i c a l t y p e s ,p r e f e r r e d s t y l e s in t e a c h i n g a r e n o t . T h o s e t e a c h er s w h or e p o r t e d i n t u i t i v e - t h i n k i n g a n d i n t u i t i v e - f e e l i n g a s t h ep r e f e r r e d l e a r n i n g s t y l e s o f t h e i r s t u d e n t s t e n d e d t h e m -s e lv e s t o p r e f er t e a c h in g b y m e a n s o f s e n s i n g - t h i n k i n ga n d s e n s i n g - f e e l i n g s t y le s . H u e l s m a n s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h i sl a c k o f c o n g r u i t y b e t w e e n t e a c h e r s ' a n d s t u d e n t s ' s t y l e sc o u l d b e d e t r i m e n t a l t o t e a c h e r s ' e f f e c ti v e n e s s . H o w e v e r ,L a w r e n c e ( 1 9 8 2 ) r e p o r t e d t h a t e x t r a v e r s i o n a n d s e n s i n g( n o t i n tu i t i o n ) a re t h e m o s t c o m m o n p s y c h o l o g i c a l t y p e sa m o n g c h i l d r e n i n s c h o o l .Gregorc 's energ ic mode l . Gregorc (1979 , 1984 ,1 9 8 5 ) s u g g e s t e d t h a t s t y l e s c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d i n t e r m so f t w o b a s i c d i m e n s i o n s : u s e o f s p a c e a n d u s e o f t i m e .Space r e fe r s t o pe rcep tua l c a t egor i e s fo r acqu i r i ng ande x p r e s s i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a n d i s d i v i d e d in t o c o n c r e t e ( o rp h y s i c a l ) a n d a b s t r a c t ( o r m e t a p h o r i c a l ) s p a c e . T i m e i sd i v i d e d i n to t w o d i f f e r e n t w a y s o f o r d e r i n g f a c t s a n deven t s : sequen t i a l ( i . e . , i n a s t ep -by-s t ep o r b ranch l ikem a n n e r ) a n d r a n d o m o r d e r i n g ( i .e . , i n a w e b l i k e o r s p i r a lm a n n e r ) .T h e G r e g o r c S t y l e D e l i n e a t o r ( G r e g o r c , 1 9 82 ) c l a s s i -f i e s i nd iv idua l s i n to four ba s i c t ypes : conc re t e - sequen t i a l- - p e o p l e w h o f o c u s t h e i r a t t e n t i o n o n c o n c r e t e r e a l i t ya n d p h y s i c a l o b j e c t s a n d v a l i d a t e i d e a s t h r o u g h t h es e n s e s ; a b s t r a c t - s e q u e n t i a l - - p e o p l e w h o p r e f e r l o g i c a la n d s y n t h e t i c t h i n k i n g a n d v a l i d a t e i n f o r m a t i o n t h r o u g hp r e s e t f o r m u l a s ; a b s t r a c t - r a n d o m - - p e o p l e w h o t e n dt o f o c u s t h e i r a tt e n t i o n o n t h e w o r l d o f f e e l in g a n d e m o -t i o n a n d t o v a l i d a t e i d e a s t h r o u g h i n n e r g u i d a n c e ; a n dc o n c r e t e - r a n d o m - - p e o p l e w h o p r e f e r i n t u i t i v e a n d i n -

s t i n c t i v e t h i n k i n g a n d w h o r e l y o n p e r s o n a l p r o o f f o rva l i da t i ng i deas , r a re ly accep t ing ou t s ide au thor i t y .The A ct iv i ty -Centered Ap proachA t h i r d a p p r o a c h t o s t y l e s i s c e n t e r e d o n t h e n o t i o n o fs t y l es a s m e d i a t o r s o f v a r i o u s f o r m s o f a c t iv i t ie s t h a t m a ya r i s e f r o m a s p e c t s o f c o g n i t i o n a n d p e r s o n a l i t y . T h u s ,t h i s a p p r o a c h a t t e m p t s t o m o v e t o w a r d w h a t i t s p r o p o -n e n t s w o u l d v i e w a s a m o r e d y n a m i c c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o no f s t y l es . T h i s a p p r o a c h i s d e s c r i b e d o n l y b r i e f l y b e c a u s et h e r e h a s b e e n m u c h l e s s v a l i d a t i o n o f i t s t h e o r i e s t h a no f t h e t h e o r ie s d e s c r i b e d u n d e r t h e o t h e r t w o a p p r o a c h e s .Learning s tyles , A m a j o r k i n d o f a c t i v i t y i nw h i c h s t y le s h a v e t r a d i ti o n a l l y b e e n v i e w e d a s b e i n g o fp o t e n t i a l i m p o r t a n c e i s l e ar n i n g . T h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o ftheor i e s o f l e a rn ing s ty l e s , bu t t he s t y l e s a re concep tua l -i z e d i n v e r y d i f f e r e n t w a y s i n t h e s e t h e o r ie s .A c c o r d i n g t o o n e a p p r o a c h ( R e n z u l l i & S m i t h , 1 9 7 8 ),l e a r n in g s t y l e s a re v i e w e d a s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o p u p i l s ' f i ta n d c o m f o r t w i t h v a r i o u s m e t h o d s o f t e ac h i n g , i n c l u d i n gpro j ec t s , d r i l l and rec i t a t i on , pee r t e ach ing , d i scuss ion ,t e a c h i n g g a m e s , i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d y , p r o g r a m m e d i n s t r u c -t i o n , le c t u re , a n d s i m u l a t i o n . S c h m e c k ( 1 9 8 3 ) s u g g e s t e dd i f fe r e n ti a ti o n o f " d e e p " ( e m p h a s iz i n g d e p th ) a n d" e l a b o r a t i v e " ( e m p h a s i z i n g b r e a d t h ) l e ar n i n g s t y le s . A n -o t h e r c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n , t h a t o f D u n n a n d D u n n ( 1 9 7 8 ;D unn e t a l ., 1989), u se s fo u r m a in ca t egor i e s : env i ron-men ta l ( e .g . , sound and l i gh t ) , emot io na l ( e .g ., mo t iva t i onand re spons ib i l i t y ) , soc io log i ca l ( e .g . , pee r s and se l f ) ,and phys i ca l ( e .g . , pe rcep tua l and mobi l i t y ) .T a k i n g a d i f f e r e n t v i e w p o i n t , H o l l a n d ( 1 9 7 3 ) s u g g e s t e dt h a t j o b i n t e re s t s c a n b e p r e d i c t e d b y t h e w a y p e o p l es e e k t o a c q u i r e a n d u s e k n o w l e d g e : r e a l i st i c , i n v e s ti g a -t i ve , a r t i s t i c , soc i a l , en t e rp r i s i ng , and conven t iona l . Th i sc o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n h a s g e n e r a t e d m o r e r e s e a r c h t h a n t h eo the r s de sc r ibe d i n t h i s sec t i on . In ye t ano the r v iew, Ko lb(1974 , 1978) i de n t i f i ed fou r type s o f l e a rn ing s ty l e s ba sedo n t w o d i m e n s i o n s - - c o n v e r g i n g v e rs u s d iv e r g in g a n da s s i m i l a t i n g v e r s u s a c c o m m o d a t i n g - - a n d t h e s e f o u rt y p e s y i e l d d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f l e a rn e r s . F o r e x a m p l e , c o n -v e r g e r s p r e f e r h y p o t h e t i c a l - d e d u c t i v e t h i n k i n g , w h e r e a sd ive rge r s p re fe r more imag ina t i ve and i n tu i t i ve k inds o fth ink ing .Teaching s t y l es . S e v e r a l i n v e s t ig a t o r s h a v e n o t e dt h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s t y l e s o f t e a c h i n g t o t h e e d u c a t i o n a lp r o c e s s . F o r e x a m p l e , J o y c e a n d H o d g e s ( 1 9 6 6 ) s u g -g e s t e d t h a t te a c h e r s w h o h a v e a w i d e r r a n g e o f t e a c h i n gs t y le s a r e l i k e l y t o b e m o r e s u c c e s s f u l t h a n a r e t h o s ew h o s e r e p e r to i r e is m o r e l i m i t e d . H e n s o n a n d B o r t h w i c k(1984) s ugge s t ed s ix d i f f e ren t and spec i f i c ca t egor i e s o ft each ing s ty l e s , name ly , t a sk -o r i en t ed , coope ra t i ve p l an -ne r , ch i l d -cen t e red , sub j ec t - cen t e red , l e a rn ing-cen t e red ,a n d e m o t i o n a l l y ex c i t in g .Eva luat ion o f T heory and Research onCog nit ive S tylesW e c o n s i d e r h e r e a n e v a l u a t i o n o f e x t a n t t h e o r y a n d r e -s e a r c h i n t e r m s o f t h e c r it e r ia d i s c u s s e d a b o v e . W e l i m i to u r e v a l u a t i o n t o t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a n d p e r s o n a l i t y -



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c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h e s b e c a u s e t h e r e d o e s n o t a p p e a r t o b es u f f i ci e n t v a l id a t i o n o f t h e a c t i v i t y - b a s e d a p p r o a c h e s t oeva lua t e t hem prope r ly .F i r s t , wi th r ega rd t o t heore t i ca l spec i f i ca t i on , t he r e -s e a r c h u n d e r t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h h a s p r e -s e n t e d i t s e l f a s a s e r ie s o f r e s e a r c h p a r a d i g m s , w i t h t h er e l a t i o n s a m o n g t h e m u n c l e a r a n d n o c l e a r t h e o r e t i c a lr e l a t i o n t o b r o a d e r p s y c h o l o g i c a l t h e o r i z i n g . A l t h o u g ht h e r e w e r e n u m e r o u s s t u d i e s i n v o l v i n g c o m p u t a t i o n o fc o r r e l a ti o n s b e t w e e n t h e s t y l e m e a s u r e s a n d o t h e r k i n d so f m e a s u r e s , t h e b r o a d e n i n g e m p i r i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t o ft h e w o r k w a s n e v e r m a t c h e d b y a n e q u a l b r o a d e n i n g i nthe t heore t i ca l g round ing fo r t he en t e rp r i se .T h e o r y a n d r e s e a r c h u n d e r t h e p e r s o n a l i ty - c e n t e r e d ap -p r o a c h h a s y i e l d e d s o m e w h a t l a r g e r s c a l e t h e o r i e s , a l -t h o u g h r e l a t i o n s w i t h m a i n s t r e a m p s y c h o l o g i c a l th e o r i e sa n d p a r a d i g m s s t i l l r e m a i n s o m e w h a t o b s c u r e . J u n g ' s( 1 9 2 3 ) t h e o r y , a s m a n i f e s t e d i n t h e M B T I , i s a b o u t a sb r o a d l y b a s e d a s a r e m o s t t h e o r i e s o f o t h e r k i n d s o fp s y c h o l o g i c a l p h e n o m e n a . R e a l is t ic a l ly , p e o p l e a r e p r o b -a b l y n o t " t y p e s , " w h e t h e r a c c o r d i n g t o t h i s t h e o r y o ra n y o t h e r , b u t r a t h e r v a r y c o n t i n u o u s l y a n d s o m e w h a td i f f e r e n t ly a s a f u n c t i o n o f d i v e rs e p e r s o n - s i t u a t i o nin t e rac t i ons .S e c o n d , c o n s i d e r i n t e r n a l v a l i d a t i o n , w h i c h a s s e s s e sw h e t h e r e m p i r i c a l d a t a s u p p o r t t h e p r o p o s e d s t y l e sa n d t h e i r p r o p o s e d i n t e r r e l a t i o n s . W i t h r e g a r d t o t h ec o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , b e c a u s e t h e t h e o r i e s p r o -posed were gene ra l l y o f i nd iv idua l s t y l e s , i n t e rna l va l i da -t i on r ecove r ing a s t ruc tu re o f t he in t e r re l a t i ons o f va r iouss t y l e s w i t h i n a g i v e n t h e o r y t o e a c h o t h e r w a s n e v e rposs ib l e .T h e r e h a s b e e n m o r e i n t e rn a l v a l i d a t io n o f t h e o r i e s i nt h e p e r s o n a l i t y - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h . T h e p r o p o s e d f a c t o rs t r u c t u r e s o f t h e M B T I a s w e l l a s o t h e r p e r s o n a l i t y -c e n t e r e d q u e s t io n n a i r e s h a v e n o t b e e n w e l l s u p p o r t e d b yemp i r i ca l fi nd ings (Go ldsm i th , 1985; Ke l l e r & Ho l l and ,1 9 7 8 ; K i r t o n & D e C i a n t i s , 1 9 8 6 ; M u l l i g a n & M a r t i n ,1980; O 'B r i en , 1990) . Ross (1962) fou nd a m i sm a tchb e t w e e n t h e M B T I s c a l e s a n d t h e f a c t o r s r e s u l t in g f r o mt h e a n a l y s i s h e p e r f o r m e d . J o n i a k a n d I s a k s e n ( 1 9 8 8 ) ,a n a l y z i n g G r e g o r c ' s ( 1 9 8 2 ) q u e s t io n n a i r e , s h o w e d t h a ta n i n s t r u m e n t w i t h o n l y t w o s u b s c a l e s (S e q u e n t i a l -R a n d o m a n d C o n c r e t e - A b s t r a c t ) b a s e d o n t w o o r th o g o -n a l d i m e n s i o n s ( o r d e r i n g a n d p e r c e p t i o n ) w o u l d g i v e am o r e p a r s i m o n i o u s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f G r e g o r c ' s ( 1 9 7 9 )styles.T h i r d , c o n s i d e r t h e i s s u e o f c o n v e r g e n t v a l id i ty . W i t hr e g a r d t o t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , t h e c o n v e r g e n tv a l i d i t y o f v a r i o u s m e a s u r e s o f t h e s a m e s t y l e , s u c h a sc o n c e p t u a l t e m p o o r p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n , w a sn e v e r a s h i g h a s o r i g i n a l l y h a d b e e n h o p e d . F o r e x a m p l e ,i t w a s n o t c l e a r t h a t th e R F T a n d t h e E F T r e a l l y m e a s u r e dt h e s a m e c o n s t r u c t , n o r t h a t c o n c e p t u a l t e m p o a s m e a -s u r e d b y t h e E F T r e a l l y g e n e r a l iz e d m u c h b e y o n d s i m i l a rk inds o f ta sks ou t s ide cons t r a ined se t t i ngs ( see , e .g ., Bu t -ter , 1979; Messick, 1984) .C o n v e r g e n t - v a l i d i t y s t u d i e s o f e x t e r n a l c o r r e l a t e s o ft h e p e r s o n a l i t y - c e n t e r e d m e a s u r e s y i e l d s o m e w h a t c o n -

f u s i n g f i n d in g s , t o t h e p o i n t t h a t M e s s i c k ( 1 9 8 4 ) o b s e r v e dt h a t " s o m e t i m e s q u i t e d i s p a r a t e m e a s u r e s a r e u s e d t oa sse ss os t ens ib ly t he same s ty l e i n d i f f e ren t s t ud i e s , wh i l eo n o t h e r o c c a s i o n s , h i g h l y s i m i l a r i n s t r u m e n t s s e r v e t ot a p p u r p o r t e d l y d i s t i n c t s t y l e s " ( p . 5 9 ) . T h e r e a r e s o m er e l a ti o n s . F o r e x a m p l e , J o n i a k a n d I s a k s e n ( 1 9 8 8 ) c o r r e -l a t e d s c o r e s o n G r e g o r c ' s ( 1 9 8 2 ) m e a s u r e w i t h s c o r e so n t h e K i r t o n A d a p t a t i o n - I n n o v a t i o n I n v e n t o r y ( K i rt o n ,1977) . K i r t on ' s (1976) t heo ry o f s ty l e s spec i f i e s a b ipo l a rd i m e n s i o n w i t h th e i n n o v a t o r a n d t h e a d a p t e r o n o p p o s i t ee n d s . W h e n c o n f r o n t e d w i t h a p r o b l e m , t h e a d a p t e r t u r n st o t r a d i t i o n a l o r c o n v e n t i o n a l p r o c e d u r e s t o f i n d s o l u -t i ons ; i n con t ra s t , t he i nnov a to r t yp i ca l l y r ede f ine s t hep r o b l e m a n d a p p r o a c h e s i t f r o m a n o v e l p e rs p e c ti v e . T h ere su l t s i nd i ca t ed t ha t Gr ego rc ' s (1982) sequen t i a l s t y l i s tsw e r e a d a p t e r s o n K i r t o n ' s s c a l e a n d G r e g o r c ' s r a n d o m sw e r e i n n o v a t o r s ; h o w e v e r , t h e c o n c r e t e - a b s t r a c t d i m e n -s i o n s d i d n o t r e l a t e t o K i r t o n ' s m e a s u r e .F o u r t h , c o n s i d e r d i s c r i m i n a n t v a l id a t i o n . W i t h r e s p e c tt o t h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , t h e n o t i o n o f s t y l ew a s i n t e n d e d t o b e u s e f u l a s a b r id g e b e t w e e n c o g n i t i o na n d p e r s o n a l it y , a n d f o r t h e n o t i o n t o s u c c e e d , d i s c r i m i -n a n t v a l i d i t y w i t h r e s p e c t t o m e a s u r e s o f c o g n i t i o n a n dp e r s o n a l i t y w a s e s s e n t i a l . B u t t h e c o g n i t i v e a p p r o a c hy i e l d e d t a s k s t h a t a p p e a r e d , o n t h e i r s u r f a c e , t o b e s o m e -w h a t s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o n c o n v e n t i o n a l i n t e ll i g e n c e te s ts ,w i t h " r i g h t " a n d " w r o n g " a n s w e r s a n d h i g h e r a n d l o w e rscore s . In f ac t , one po l e o f t he s t y l i s t i c cons t ruc t s a lm os ta l w a y s s e e m e d t o c o r r e l a t e w i t h m e a s u r e s o f a b i l i t i e s ,a n d i n t h e c a s e o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i f fe r e n t ia t i o n , i t w a s n o tc l e a r h o w t h e m e a s u r e s r e a l l y d is t i n g u i s h e d t h e m s e l v e s a ta l l f r o m p e r f o r m a n c e - b a s e d a n d e s p e c i a l l y s p a t i a l m e a -su re s o f i n t e l l i gence .W i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e p e r s o n a l i t y - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , i ti s s o m e w h a t d i f f ic u l t i n t h i s a p p r o a c h t o d i s t i n g u i s h b e -t w e e n s t y le s a n d p e r s o n a l i t y tr a it s . M o r e c o n c e p t u a l c l a r -i t y is p r o b a b l y n e e d e d r e g a r d i n g t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e nt h e t w o , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h r e g a r d t o d o m a i n g e n e r a l i t y v e r-sus spec i f i c i t y and t r a i t l i ke ve r sus s t a t e l i ke p rope r t i e s .P s y c h o l o g i s t s n e e d t o b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d t h e e x t e n t t ow h i c h s t y l e s c h a n g e o v e r t i m e a n d e v e n o v e r p a r t i c u l a rs i t ua t i ons . At p re sen t , t he d i s t i nc t i on be tween s ty l e s andt r ai t s r e m a i n s s o m e w h a t v a g u e .F i f t h , cons ide r heur i s t i c gene ra t i v i t y . Wi th r ega rd t ot h e c o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h , s o m e o f t h e t h e o r i e sw e r e g e n e r a t i v e o f a w i d e b o d y o f r e s e a r c h , e s p e c i a l l yt h e t h e o ri e s o f c o n c e p t u a l t e m p o a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i f -f e r e n ti a ti o n . B u t m o s t o f t h e t h e o r y a n d r e s e a r c h o n t h ec o g n i t i o n - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h i s r a t h e r o l d , a n d a l t h o u g ht h e r e w e r e s o m e p r o g r a m s o f r e s e a r c h i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s t oresurrec t i t (e .g . , Baron, 1979; Cooper , 1976; Day, 1970;H o c k , G o r d o n , & M a r c u s , 1 9 7 4 ) , t h e s e r e s e a r c h p r o -g r a m s n e v e r r e a ll y c a u g h t o n w i t h t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l p u b -l ic , a n d t h e y r e c e d e d , a l t h o u g h n e v e r t o t a l l y d i s ap p e a r e d ,a f t e r r a t h e r l i m i t e d p e ri o d s o f t i m e , p r e s u m a b l y b e c a u s eo f s o m e o f t h e v a l i d i t y i s s u e s d i s c u s s e d a b o v e .A l t h o u g h p e r s o n a l i t y - c e n t e r e d a p p r o a c h e s h a v e b e e nw i d e l y u s e d , t h e y , t o o , h a v e f a i l e d i n r e c e n t y e a r s t og e n e r a t e m u c h r e s e a r c h i n m a i n s t r e a m p s y c h o l o g y o r ed -

7 0 6 J u l y 1 9 97 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s t


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u c a t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y o u t s i d e t h e c i r c l e o f i n d iv i d u a ls w h op r o d u c e o r a l r e a d y a r e a d h e r e n t s t o th e m o d e l s . A l t h o u g ho u r e x p e r i e n c e s u g g e s t s t h e r e a r e l a rg e n u m b e r s o f a d h e r -e n t s, t h e y s e e m t o b e s w a y e d m o r e b y p e r s o n a l p e r c e i v e ds u c c e s s e s w i t h t h e i n s t r u m e n t s o r u n r e f e r e e d p u b l i s h e do r u n p u b l i s h e d r e p o r t s o f o t h e rs r e g a r d i n g s u c c e s s e s . F o re x a m p l e , D r u c k m a n a n d B j o r k ( 1 9 9 1 , 1 9 9 4 ) a r g u e d t h a tt h e e x t a n t l i t e r a t u r e d o e s n o t s u p p o r t u s e o f t h e M B T Ii n jo b c l a s s i fi c a t io n a n d p l a c e m e n t .A Me ntal Self -Go vernmen t App roachW e h a v e p r o p o s e d a n a p p r o a c h t o s t y l e s t h a t w e b e l i e v em a y h a v e s o m e m e r i t a s a n a l t e rn a t iv e t o s o m e o f th et r a d i t i o n a l a p p r o a c h e s d e s c r i b e d a b o v e . T h e a p p r o a c h i sfo r t he e l uc i da t i on o f t h i nk i ng s t y l es and i s ca l l ed t hetheory o f men ta l se l f-government (S t e rnberg , 1988 , 1990 ,1994a , 1994b , 1997 ) .The TheoryT h e b a s i c i d e a o f t h e th e o r y i s t h a t t he v a r i o u s s t y l e s o fg o v e r n m e n t t h a t a r e s e e n in t h e w o r l d m a y b e , a t s o m el eve l , ex t e rna l r e f l ec t i ons o f t he s t y l es t ha t can be foundi n t he mi nd . Thus , t o under s t and t he s t y l es o f though t ,o n e c a n l o o k a t a s p e c t s o f g o v e r n m e n t f o r a s e n s e o fwh at i s i n t e rna l l y ( as wel l as ex t e rna l l y ) poss i b l e .T h e p r o p o s e d t h e o r y i s a n o m o t h e t i c a n d c o n t i n u o u so n e : E v e r y o n e p o s s e s s e s e v e r y s ty l e t o s o m e d e g r e e , a n dw h a t d i f f e r s a c r o s s i n d i v id u a l s i s s t r e n g t h o f p r e f e r e n c e sand t he k i nds o f t asks and s i t ua t i ons t ha t evoke var i ousp r e f e r e n c e s . W e s u s p e c t t h a t n o n e o f t h e p a s t t h e o r i s t sh a v e e v e r v i e w e d s t y l e s a s p u r e l y i d i o g r a p h i c a n d d i s -c r e t e . I n o t her words , t he t heo r i s t s do no t a rgue t ha te v e r y o n e h a s w h o l l y d i f f e r e n t s t y le s a n d t h a t e i t h e r p e o p l eh a v e a g i v e n s t y l e o r t h e y d o n ' t . E v e n s t u d i e s l a b e l i n gch i l d ren as , s ay , impulsive o r reflective h a v e a s s i g n e dl a b e l s o n t h e b a s e s o f d i s c r e t e c u t o f f s a s s i g n e d t o v a l u e so n c o n t i n u o u s n u m e r i c a l s c a l e s . A n d w e d o u b t a n y o n ew o u l d h a v e a r g u e d t h a t r e f l e c t i v e i n d i v i d u a l s n e v e r a c ti mpu l s i ve l y , o r v i ce ver sa . R a t her , t he d i sc r e t e ca t ego r i esw e r e s i m p l i f ic a t i o n s f o r p u r p o s e s o f r e s e a r c h .Functions of men tal sel f-governme nt. Jus t asg o v e r n m e n t s c a r r y o u t l e g i s la t iv e , e x e c u t i v e , a n d j u d i c i a lf u n c t i o n s , s o d o e s t h e m i n d . T h e legislative s t y l e charac-t e r i z e s p e o p l e w h o e n j o y c r e a t i n g a n d f o r m u l a t i n g . S u c hi nd i v i dua l s l i ke t o c r ea t e t he i r own ru l es , do t h i ngs i nt h e i r o w n w a y , a n d b u i l d t h e ir o w n s t r u c tu r e s w h e n d e c i d -i n g h o w t o a p p r o a c h a p r o b l e m . T h e y p r e f e r ta s k s t h a ta r e n o t p r e s t r u c t u r e d o r p r e f a b r i c a t e d . T h e execut ive s ty lec h a r a c t e r i z e s p e o p l e w h o a r e i m p l e m e n t e r s . T h e y p r e f e rt o f o l l o w r u l e s , a n d t h e y o f t e n r e l y o n e x i s t in g m e t h o d st o mas t e r a s i t ua t i on . Th ey p re fe r t ha t ac t iv i t i es be de f i neda n d s t r u c t u r e d f o r t h e m . T h e jud ic ia l s t y le c h a r a c t e r i z e sp e o p l e w h o l i k e t o e v a l u a t e r u l e s a n d p r o c e d u r e s ; w h ol ik e t o j u d g e t h i n gs ; a n d w h o l i k e t a s k s i n w h i c h t h e ya n a l y z e a n d e v a l u a t e e x i s ti n g r u l e s , w a y s , a n d i d e a s .Forms of menta l se l f -government . There aref o u r m a i n f o r m s o f m e n t a l s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . T h e monar-chic s t y l e c h a r a c t e r iz e s i n d i v i d ua l s w h o l i k e t o f o c u s o no n e t a s k o r a s p e c t o f t h a t ta s k u n t i l i t is c o m p l e t e d . P e o p l e

w i t h a p r i m a r i l y m o n a r c h i c s t y l e t e n d t o f o c u s s i n g l e -m i n d e d l y o n o n e g o a l o r n e e d a t a t i m e . T h e hierarchics t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o a l l o w f o r m u l t i p l eg o a l s, e a c h o f w h i c h m a y b e g i v e n a d i f f e r e n t p r i o ri ty .P e o p l e w i t h a p r i m a r i l y h i e r a r c h i c s t y l e e n j o y d e a l i n gw i t h m a n y g o a l s , a l t h o u g h th e y r e c o g n i z e t h a t s o m e g o a l sa r e m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n o t h e rs ; t h e y t e n d t o s e t p r i o r i ti e sa n d t o b e s y s t e m a t i c i n t h e i r a p p r o a c h t o s o l v i n g p r o b -l e m s . T h e oligarchic s t y le c h a r a c t e r i z e s p e o p l e w h o a l l o wf o r m u l t i p l e g o a l s , a l l o f w h i c h a r e r o u g h l y e q u a l i ni m p o r t a n c e . P e o p l e w i t h a p r i m a r i l y o l i g a r c h i c s t y l e li k et o d o m u l t i p l e t h i n g s w i t h i n t h e s a m e t i m e f r a m e b u thave d i f f i cu l t y se t t i ng p r i o r i t i es fo r ge t t i ng t he t h i ngsd o n e . T h e anarchic s t y le c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d iv i d u a ls w h od o n o t l ik e t o b e t i e d d o w n t o s y s t e m s , r u l e s , o r p a r t ic u l a ra p p r o a c h e s t o p r o b l e m s . O f t e n , t h e y o p p o s e e x i s t in g s y s -t e m s , a l t h o u g h n o t n e c e s s a r i l y in f a v o r o f a n y c l e a r l ys p e c i f i e d a l t e r n a t i v e . T h e y t e n d t o t a k e a r a n d o m a p -p r o a c h t o p r o b l e m s , t h e r e b y s o m e t i m e s d r a w i n g c o n n e c -t i o n s t h a t o t h e r p e o p l e w o u l d n o t m a k e .Levels of mental selFgovernment. T h e r e a r et w o l e v e l s o f m e n t a l s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . T h e local s t y l ec h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o p r e f e r t a s k s t h a t r e q u i r ee n g a g e m e n t w i t h s p e c i f ic , c o n c r e t e d e t a i l s a n d t h a t o f t e nr e q u i r e c o n s i d e r a b l e p r e c i s i o n i n e x e c u t i o n . T h e globals t y l e c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i vi d u a ls w h o p r e f e r p r o b l e m s t h a ta r e m o r e g e n e r a l i n n a t u r e a n d t h a t r e q u i r e a b s t r a c t th i n k -i n g . T h e g l o b a l p e r s o n l i k e s t o c o n c e p t u a l i z e a n d w o r ki n t h e w o r l d o f i d e a s .Scope of mental sel f-government. T h e r e a r et w o s c o p e s o f m e n t a l s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . T h e internal s t y l ec h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v id u a l s w h o p r e f e r t a s k s t h a t a l l o w t h e mt o w o r k a l o n e , i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f o th e r s . T h e i r p r e f e r e n c ei s g e n e r a l ly t o b e o n t h e i r o w n . T h e external s t y l e charac-t e r i z e s i n d i v i d u a l s w h o p r e f e r t a s k s t h a t a l l o w t h e m t ow o r k w i t h o t h e r p e o p l e t h r o u g h i n t e ra c t i o n . T h e i r p r e f e r -ence i s t o be w i t h o t her s .Leanings of mental sel f-government. T h e r ea r e t w o m a j o r l e a n i n g s o f m e n t a l s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . T h el iberal s t y le c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d i v id u a l s w h o l i ke t o g o b e -y o n d e x i s t i n g r u l e s a n d p r o c e d u r e s a n d w h o a l l o w s u b -s t a n t i a l c h a n g e f r o m t h e w a y t h i n g s a r e c u r r e n t l y d o n e .Un l i ke i n t he l eg i s l a t i ve s t y l e , however , t he new i deas don o t h a v e t o b e t h e i n d i v i d u a l s ' o w n . T h e conservat ives t y le c h a r a c t e r i z e s i n d iv i d u a ls w h o p r e f e r f a m i l i a ri t y i nl i f e and t o fo l l ow t r ad i t i ons . Un l i ke i n t he ex ecu t i ve s t y l e ,t h e y m a y l i k e to c o m e u p w i t h t h e ir o w n i d e a s, b u t t h e s ei d e a s a r e g r o u n d e d i n e x i s t i n g a n d a c c e p t e d c u s t o m s .

Some general properl ies of thinking s~des.W h e n e v e r p o s s i b l e , p e o p l e c h o o s e s t y l e s o f m a n a g i n gt h e m s e l v e s w i t h w h i c h t h e y a r e c o m f o r t a b l e . T h u s , p e o -p l e h a v e s e t s o f m o r e a n d l e s s p r e f e r r e d t h i n k i n g s t y l es .S t i l l , p eop l e a r e a t l eas t somewhat f l ex i b l e i n t he i r u seo f s t y l es and t ry , w i t h vary i ng deg rees o f success , t oadap t t hem se l ves t o t he s t y l i s ti c dem ands o f a g i ven s it ua-t io n . T h e f l e x i b le u s e o f t h e m i n d f o r m e n t a l s e l f - g o v e r n -m e n t a c c o u n t s f o r t h e v a r i e t y o f t h i n k in g s t y le s , a n d f l e x -i b i li t y m a y i t s e l f b e v i e w e d a s a s o r t o f m e t a s t y le t h a tac t i va t es , mon i t o r s , and eva l ua t es par t i cu l a r s t y l es , muchJ u l y 1 9 9 7 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s t 7 0 7


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a s m e t a c o m p o n e n t s ( h i g h e r o r d e r e x e c u t i v e p r o c e s s e s )c o n t r o l t h e u s e o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n - p r o c e s s in g c o m p o n e n t so f i n t e l l i g e n c e ( S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 8 5 ) .S ty les , l ike ab i l i t i e s , a r e no t e tched in s tone a t b i r th .T h e y a p p e a r t o b e l a r g e l y a f u n c t i o n o f a p e r s o n ' s i n t e r a c -t i o n s w i t h t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , a n d t h e y c a n b e d e v e l o p e da n d s o c i a l i z e d . A n i n d i v i d u a l w i t h o n e s t y l e i n o n e t a s ko r s i t u a t i o n m a y h a v e a d i f f e r e n t s ty l e in a d i f f e r e n t t a s ko r s i t u a t i o n . M o r e o v e r , s o m e i n d i v i d u a l s m a y h a v e o n ep r e f e r r e d s t y l i s t ic p r o f i l e a t o n e s t a g e o f l i f e a n d a n o t h e rp r e f e r r e d s t y l is t i c p r o f il e a t a n o t h e r s t ag e . S t y l e s a r e n o tf ixed , the r e f or e , bu t f lu id .T h i n k i n g s t y l e s s e e m t o b e l a r g e l y a f u n c t i o n o f p e o -p l e ' s i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h t a sk s a n d s i t u at i o n s . C e r t a i n t a s k sa r e m o r e o p t i m a l l y p e r f o r m e d w i t h c e r t a i n s t y l e s . F o re x a m p l e , c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g o r c o m p o s i n g m u s i c m i g h td r a w m o r e o n t h e l e g i s l a t i v e s t y l e , w h e r e a s m a n a g i n g ap l a n t m i g h t c a p i t a l i z e o n t h e e x e c u t i v e s t y l e . R e w a r d i n gs t u d e n t s f o r u s i n g p r e f e r r e d s t y l e s o n t h e s e t a s k s i s l i k e l yt o l e a d t o g r e a t e r d i s p l a y o f t h e r e w a r d e d s t y le s . M o r eg e n e r a ll y , a c h i l d ' s s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n t o a v a l u e s y s t e m w i l lp r o b a b l y r e w a r d s o m e s t y l e s m o r e t h a n o t h e r s , l e a d i n gt o p r e f e r e n c e s f o r t h e s e s t y l e s . B u t t h e f a c t t h a t s o m ep e o p l e r e t a i n l e s s r e w a r d e d s t y l e s d e s p i t e e n v i r o n m e n t a lp r e s s u r e s s u g g e s t s t h a t s o c i a l i z a t i o n d o e s n o t f u l l y a c -c o u n t f o r t h e o r i g i n s o f s t y l e s a n d t h a t t h e r e m a y b ep r e p r o g r a m m e d d i s p o s i t i o n s t h a t a r e d i f f i c u l t t o c h a n g e .Assessm ent o f Thinking StytesW e h a v e d e v e l o p e d a n u m b e r o f c o n v e r g i n g o p e r a t io n sf o r m e a s u r i n g s t y le s , b o t h i n a d o l e s c e n t s a n d a d u l t s ( s e eS t e r n b e rg & G r i g o r e n k o , 1 9 9 5 ). F o u r o f t h e m a i n o n e sa r e b r i e f l y d e s c r i b e d b e l o w .F i r s t , t h e T h i n k i n g S t y l e s I n v e n t o r y ( S t e r n b e r g &W a g n e r , 1 9 9 1 ) i s a s e l f -r e p o r t m e a s u r e i n w h i c h s t u d e n t s( o r o t h e r e x a m i n e e s ) r a t e t h e m s e l v e s o n a 9 - p o i n t s c a l er a n g i n g f r o m 1 ( low) to 9 (high) o n a n u m b e r o f p re f e r -e n c e s. E x a m p l e s o f i t e m s o n t h e i n v e n t o r y a re " I l ik et a sk s t h a t a ll o w m e t o d o t h i n g s m y o w n w a y " ( le g i sl a -t i v e ) , " I l i k e s i t u a t i o n s i n w h i c h i t i s c l e a r w h a t r o l e Im u s t p l a y o r i n w h a t w a y I s h o u l d p a r t i c i p a t e " ( e x e c u -t i ve ) , a n d " I l i k e to e v a l u a t e a n d c o m p a r e d i f f e r e n t p o i n t so f v i e w o n i s s u e s t h a t i n t e r e s t m e " ( j u d i c ia l ) .S e c o n d , t h e T h i n k i n g S t y l e s Q u e s t i o n n a i r e f o r T e a c h -e r s ( G r i g o r e n k o & S t e i n b e r g , 1 9 9 3 c ) m e a s u r e s t e a c h e r s 'p r e f e r e n c e s f o r t h i n k i n g s t y l e s i n s t u d e n t s ( f o r s e v e no f t h e s t y le s ). T h e s e p r e f e r e n c e s m a y o r m a y n o t c o r r e -s p o n d t o t h e i r p r e f e re n c e s f o r t h e m s e lv e s . E x a m p l e s o fi t e m s , r a t e d o n a 1 - 9 s c a l e , a r e " I w a n t m y s t u d e n t st o d e v e l o p th e i r o w n w a y s o f s o l v in g p r o b l e m s " ( le g i sl a -t iv e ) a n d " I a g r e e w i t h p e o p l e w h o c a l l f o r m o r e , h a r s h e rd i s c i p l in e , a n d a r e t u r n t o t h e ' g o o d o l d w a y s ' "( c o n s e r v a t i v e ) .T h i r d , t h e S e t o f T h i n k i n g S t y l e s T a s k s f o r S t u d e n t s( G r i g o r e n k o & S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 9 3 a ) m e a s u r e s s t u d e n t s 'p r e f e r e n c e s f o r s t y l e s i n a c t u a l t a s k s . A n e x a m p l e o f a ni t e m i s " w h e n I a m s t u d y i n g l i t e r a t u r e , I p r e f e r to ( a )f o l l o w t h e t e a c h e r ' s a d v i c e a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f a u t h o r s 'p o s i t i o n s , a n d t o u s e t h e t e a c h e r ' s w a y o f a n a l y z i n g l i t e ra -

t u r e " ( e x e c u t i v e ) , " ( b ) t o m a k e u p m y o w n s t o r y w i t hm y o w n c h a r a c t e rs a n d m y o w n p l o t " ( le g is l at iv e ), " ( c )t o e v a l u a t e t h e a u t h o r ' s s t y l e , t o c r i t i c i z e t h e a u t h o r ' si d e a s , a n d t o e v a l u a t e c h a r a c t e r s ' a c t i o n s " ( j u d i c i a l ) , o r" ( d ) t o d o s o m e t h i n g e l s e ( p l e a s e i n d i c a t e i n t h e s p a c eb e l o w ) . "F o u r t h , t h e S t u d e n t s ' T h i n k i n g S t y l e s E v a l u a t e d b yT e a c h e r s ( G r i g o r e n k o & S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 9 3 b ) m e a s u r e h a st e a c h e r s e v a l u a t e t h e s t y l e s o f i n d i v i d u a l s t u d e n t s . E x a m -p l e s o f i t e m s a r e " s / h e p r e f e r s t o s o l v e p r o b l e m s i n h e ro r h i s o w n w a y " ( l e g is l a t iv e ) a n d " s / h e l i k e s t o e v a l u a t eh e r o r h i s o w n o p i n i o n s a n d t h o s e o f o t h e r s " ( j u d i c i a l ) .D a t a G e n e r a te d b y t h e T h e o r y

Internal va l i d i t y . A n i n i t i a l s t u d y w i t h M a r i eM a r t i n ( s e e re p o r t i n S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 9 4 b ) a s s e s s e d a s p e c t so f t h e i n t e r n a l v a l i d i t y o f t h e T h i n k i n g S t y l e s I n v e n t o r y .S c a l e r e l i a b i l i t i e s r a n g e d f r o m . 5 6 ( e x e c u t i v e ) t o . 8 8( g l o b a l ), w i t h a m e d i a n o f . 78 . M o s t o f t h e s c a l e i n t e r c o r -r e l a t i o n s w e r e l o w . T h e e x c e p t i o n s w e r e o n e s t h a t w e r ea n t i c i p a t e d . C o r r e l a t i o n s g r e a t e r t h a n . 5 0 i n a b s o l u t ev a l u e w e r e g l o b a l w i t h l o c a l ( - . 6 1 ) , l i b e r a l w i t h l e g i s l a -t i v e ( . 6 6 ), c o n s e r v a t i v e w i t h l e g i sl a t i v e ( - . 5 0 ) , c o n s e r v a -t i v e w i t h e x e c u t i v e ( . 5 9 ) , a n d l i b e r a l w i t h c o n s e r v a t i v e( - . 6 0 ) . T h u s , t h e l e g i s l a t iv e a n d l i b e r a l s t y l e s t e n d t o b ea s s o c i a t e d , a s d o t h e e x e c u t i v e a n d c o n s e r v a t i v e o n e s .G l o b a l a n d l o c a l s t y l e s t e n d t o b e n e g a t i v e l y a s s o c i a t e d .A f a c t o r a n a l y s i s w a s g e n e r a l l y , a l t h o u g h n o t t o t a l l y ,s u p p o r t i v e o f t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e t h e o r y . F i v e f a c t o r sa c c o u n t e d f o r 7 7 % o f t h e v a r i a n c e i n t h e d a t a. A f i rs tf a c t o r s h o w e d h i g h l o a d i n g s ( g r e a t e r t h a n . 7 0 i n a b s o l u t ev a l u e ) f o r t h e c o n s e r v a t i v e ( . 8 7 ) , e x e c u t i v e ( . 5 8 ) , l i b e r a l( - . 8 1 ) , a n d l e g i s l a t i v e ( - . 7 8 ) s t y l e s . T h u s , t h i s f a c t o rc o m b i n e d t h e l e g i s l a t i v e - e x e c u t i v e d i s ti n c t io n w i t h t h el i b e r a l - c o n s e r v a t i v e o n e . A s e c o n d f a c t o r l o a d e d s e p a -r a t e l y f o r j u d i c i a l ( . 7 0 ) , w i t h a h i g h l o a d i n g a s w e l l f o ro l i g a r c h i c ( . 7 0 ) . W h e r e a s t h e l e g i s l a t i v e a n d e x e c u t i v es t y l e s a r e a l m o s t d i a m e t r i c a l l y o p p o s e d , t h e j u d i c i a l s t y l ei s n o t d i a m e t r i c a l l y o p p o s e d t o e i t h e r , s o i t s l o a d i n g o na s e p a r a t e f a c t o r m a k e s r e a s o n a b l e s e n s e. A t h i r d f a c t o rc o n t r a s t e d e x t e r n a l ( .7 2 ) w i t h in t e r n a l ( - . 8 0 ) . T h e f o u r t hf a c t o r c o n t r a s t e d t h e l o c a l s t y l e ( . 9 2 ) w i t h t h e g l o b a l o n e( - . 8 2 ) . A n d t h e f i f th f a c t o r s h o w e d a h i g h l o a d in g f o rthe h ie r a r ch ic s ty le ( . 86) ,E x t e r n a l v a l i d a ti o n , I n t h e a b o v e s t u d y , w e a l s ol o o k e d a t s o m e c o r r e l a t e s w i t h o t h e r te s t s , b o t h o f s t y l e sa n d a b i li ti e s. C o r r e l a t io n s w e r e c o m p u t e d w i t h t h e M B T Ia n d G r e g o r c ' s ( 1 9 8 2 ) m e a s u r e o f m i n d s t y le s . F o r th eM B T I , 3 0 o f 1 2 8 c o r r e l a t i o n s w e r e s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i -c a n t , w h e re a s f o r G r e g o r c ' s m e a s u r e , 2 2 o f 5 2 w e r e s i g -n i f i ca n t . T h e s e c o r r e l a t i o n s a r e w e l l a b o v e t h e l e v e l s t h a tw o u l d b e e x p e c t e d b y c h a n c e a n d s u g g e s t t h a t th e v a r i o u ss t y l e m e a s u r e s p a r t i t i o n a s i m i l a r s p a c e o f th e i n t e l l i-g e n c e - p e r s o n a l i t y i n t e r f a c e , b u t i n d i f f e r e n t w a y s . I nc o n t r a s t , t h e c o r r e l a t i o n o f t h e m e a s u r e o f m e n t a l s e l f -g o v e r n m e n t w i t h I Q w a s n o t s i g n i f i c a n t , n o r w a s t h ec o r r e l a t i o n w i t h g r a d e p o i n t a v e r a g e ( G P A ) . T h r e e s t y l e s( j u d i c i a l , g l o b a l , a n d l i b e r a l ) c o r r e l a t e d s i g n i f i c a n t ly a n dp o s i t i v e l y w i t h S c h o l a s t i c A s s e s s m e n t T e s t ( S A T ) M a t h

7 0 8 J u l y 1 9 9 7 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s t


10/13

s c o r e s b u t n o n e w i t h S A T V e r b a l s c o r e s . T h u s , s t y l e s d oi n d e e d a p p e a r t o b e l a r g e ly d i s t i n c t f r o m i n t e l l ig e n c e o ra p t i t u d e s .U t i l i t y o f l h e theory in educat iona l se i~ngs .W e h a v e a s s e s se d t h e u s e f u l n e s s o f o u r m e a s u r e s i n e d u -c a t i o n a l s e t t i n g s a n d h a v e o b t a i n e d s o m e i n t e r e s ti n g f i n d -i n g s ( G r i g o r e n k o & S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 9 7 ; S t e r n b e r g & G r i -g o r e n k o , 1 9 9 3 , 1 9 9 5 ) . I n a f i r s t s t u d y ( S t e r n b e r g & G r i -g o r e n k o , 1 9 9 5 ) , w e e x a m i n e d w h e t h e r t e a c h e r s ' s t y l e sd i f f e r e d a s a f u n c t i o n o f s c h o o l . P a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e 8 5t e a c h e r s ( 5 7 w o m e n a n d 2 8 m e n ) . T h e y w e r e i n f o u rs c h o o l s o f w i d e l y d i f f e r i n g t y p e s : u r b a n , p u b l i c ; p r e s t i -g i o u s , t r a d i t i o n a l , p r i v a t e ; C a t h o l i c p a r o c h i a l ; a n d p r o -g r e s s i v e , a v a n t - g a r d e , p r i v a t e . W e f o u n d s e v e r a l in t e r e s t -i n g e f f e c t s .F i r s t, t e a c h e r s a t l o w e r g r a d e l e v e l s w e r e m o r e l e g i s l a -t i v e a n d l e s s e x e c u t i v e t h a n w e r e t e a c h e r s a t h i g h e r g r a d el e v e l s . I n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e t e a c h e r s a t t h e l o w e r g r a d el e v e l s w e r e m o r e e n c o u r a g i n g o f a st y l e li n k e d t o c r e a t i v -i t y i n t h e i r w o r k w i t h t h e s t u d e n t s ( S t e r n b e r g & L u b a r t ,1995 , 1996) .S e c o n d , o l d e r t e a c h e r s w e r e m o r e e x e c u t i v e , lo c a l , a n dc o n s e r v a ti v e t h a n w e r e y o u n g e r t e ac h e rs . O f c o u r s e , w ed o n o t k n o w w h e t h e r t h is r e s u l t w a s a c o h o r t e f f e c t o rw h e t h e r i t r e p r e s e n t e d a n a g i n g p r o c e s s . B u t t h e s t u d yi n d i c a t e d t h a t , o n a v e r a g e , t h e y o u n g e r t e a c h e r s h a d as t y le m o r e e n c o u r a g i n g o f c r e a t iv i t y t h an d i d t h e o l d e ro n e s .T h i r d , t e a c h e r s s h o w e d s o m e d i f f e r e n c e s i n s t y le sa c r o s s s u b j e c t - m a t t e r a r e a s . S c i e n c e t e a c h e r s t e n d e d t ob e m o r e l o c a l , w h e r e a s h u m a n i t i e s t e a c h e r s t e n d e d t o b em o r e l i b e r a l .F o u r t h , w e n o t e d l a r g e d i f f e r e n c e s i n s t y l i s ti c p a t t e rn so f t e a c h e r s a c r o s s s c h o o l s , d i f f e r e n c e s th a t s e e m e d t om a k e s e n s e i n t er m s o f th e k i n d s o f e d u c a t i o n t h e s c h o o l sw e r e p r o v i d i n g . T h e r e f o r e , w e d e c i d e d t o h a v e a n i n d e -p e n d e n t r a t e r ra t e t h e i d e o l o g y o f e a c h s c h o o l f o r e a c ho f t h e s t y l e d i m e n s i o n s . T h e i d e a h e r e w a s f o r t h e ra t er ,w h o w a s u n a w a r e o f o u r h y p o t h e s e s , t o r a te t h e i d e o l o g yo f t h e s c h o o l , u s i n g c a t a l o g s , f a c u l t y a n d s t u d e n t h a n d -b o o k s , s t a t e m e n t s o f g o a l s a n d p u r p o s e s , c u r r i c u l a , a n dr e l a t e d i n f o r m a t i o n . S o m e s c h o o l s , f o r e x a m p l e , w e r er a t e d a s i d e o l o g i c a l l y m o r e l e g i s l a t i v e o r l ib e r a l t h a n w e r eo t h e r s . W e f o u n d t h a t s i x o f s e v e n p l a n n e d c o n t r a s t s r e l a t -i n g t e a c h e r t o s c h o o l s t y l e s a c r o s s f o u r s c h o o l s w e r es t a t is t i c a ll y s i g n i f i c a n t w h e n t h e a c t u a l s t y l e s o f t h e t e a c h -e r s i n t h e s c h o o l s w e r e c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e r a t e d s c h o o li d e o l o g y . I n p a r t i cu l a r , s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t s w e r e o b t a i n e df o r t h e l e g i s la t i v e , e x e c u t i v e , j u d i c i a l , l o c a l , g l o b a l , a n dc o n s e r v a t i v e s t y l e s b u t n o t t h e l i b e r a l s t y le . I n s u m , t e a c h -e r s ' s t y l e s t e n d e d t o m a t c h t h e i d e o l o g y o f t h e t e a c h e r s 's c h o o l s .I n a s e c o n d s t u d y ( S t e r n b e r g & G r i g o r e n k o , 1 9 9 5 ) , w es t u d i e d s o m e s t y l e d e m o g r a p h i c s f o r 1 2 4 s t u d e n t s. W ef o u n d t h a t b o t h f a t h e rs ' e d u c a t i o n a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l l e v e lw e r e n e g a t i v e l y r e l a t e d t o j u d i c i a l , l o c a l , c o n s e r v a t i v e ,a n d o l i g a r c h i c s t y l e s . C o n s i s t e n t w i t h c o m m o n b e l i e f s ,l a t e r -b o r n s i b l in g s w e r e f o u n d t o b e m o r e l e g i s l a t i v e t h a nw e r e e a r l i e r - b o r n o n e s . M o r e o v e r , w e f o u n d t h a t s t u d e n t s

t e n d e d t o m a t c h t h e i r t e a c h e r s i n s ty l e . A s s t u d e n t s c o u l dn o t p o s s i b l y h a v e b e e n p l a c e d i n c l a s s e s s o a s t o a c h i e v es u c h a m a t c h , t h e r e s u l t s a r e c o n s i s t e n t w i t h o u r n o t i o nt h a t s ty l e s a re p a r t ia l l y s o c i a l i z e d - - t h e y d e v e l o p b y i n -t e r n a l i z a t i o n o f s t y l e s o b s e r v e d i n r o l e m o d e l s .I n a t h i r d s t u d y ( S t e i n b e r g & G r i g o r e n k o , 1 9 9 5 ) , w eq u e r i e d w h e t h e r s t u d e n t s b e n e f i t e d i f th e i r s t y l e s m a t c h e dt h o s e o f t h e i r t e a c h e r s . I n o t h e r w o r d s , w e k n e w f r o mt h e s e c o n d s t u d y t h a t t h e r e w a s a t e n d e n c y t o m a t c h . B u td i d s t u d e n t s w h o m a t c h e d a c t u a l l y d o b e t t e r t h a n s t u d e n t sw h o d i d n o t , i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f th e s t u d e n t s ' a b i l i t ie s ? W ef o u n d t h a t s t u d e n t s w e r e m o r e p o s i t i v e l y e v a l u a t e d b ya n d r e c e i v e d b e t t e r g r a d e s f r o m t e a c h e r s w h o m a t c h e dt h e i r s ty l e s t h a n f r o m t h o s e w h o d i d n o t . M o r e o v e r , t e a c h -e r s t e n d e d t o o v e r e s t i m a t e t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e i r s t u -d e n t s m a t c h e d t h e m i n s t y l e s . I n o t h e r w o r d s , t e a c h e r st h i n k t h e i r s t u d e n t s a r e m o r e l i k e t h e m t h a n t h e y r e a l l ya r e .T h i s s t u d y p e r h a p s h e l p s u s u n d e r s t a n d w h y , i n t h ei n i t i a l w o r k w i t h M a d e M a r t i n , t h e r e w a s n o s i g n i f i c a n to v e r a ll c o r r e la t i o n w i t h G P A . W h a t w e f o u n d w e r e p a t -t e rn s o f c o r r e la t i o n b e t w e e n s t y le s a n d a c a d e m i c a c h i e v e -m e n t t h a t d i f f e r e d w i d e l y a c r o s s s c h o o l s , w i t h d i f f e r e n c e si n s i g n ra n g i n g u p t o a b o u t 1 . 0 0 p o i n t o f c o r r e l a t i o na c r o s s s c h o o l s e tt i n g s. F o r e x a m p l e , c o r r e l a t i o n s a c r o s st h e f o u r s c h o o l s f o r t h e l i b e r a l st y l e r a n g e d f r o m - . 4 2t o . 5 8 ; f o r t h e c o n s e r v a t i v e s t y le , c o r r e l a t i o n s r a n g e d f r o m- . 3 9 t o . 4 9 . O t h e r s t y l e s a l s o s h o w e d w i d e s p r e a d d i f f e r -e n c e s , a l t h o u g h n o t q u i t e s o l a r g e a s t h e s e . C l e a r ly , w h a ti s v a l u e d i n o n e e n v i r o n m e n t m a y a c t u a l l y b e d e v a l u e din another .I n a f o u r t h s t u d y o f 1 9 9 h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s ( 1 4 6f e m a l e a d o l e s c e n t s a n d 5 3 m a l e a d o l e s c e n t s ) f r o m a r o u n dt h e U n i t e d S t a t e s w h o a t t e n d ed t h e Y a le S u m m e r P s y c h o l -o g y P r o g r a m , w e i n v e s t i g a te d c o r r e l a t io n s b e t w e e n s t y le so f t h i n k in g a n d a c h i e v e m e n t i n a n a d v a n c e d - p l a c e m e n t ,c o l l e g e - l e v e l i n t r o d u c t o r y p s y c h o l o g y c o u r s e ( G r i g o -r e n k o & S t e r n b e r g , 1 9 9 7 ) . W e f o u n d c o n s i s t e n t p o s i t i v er e l a ti o n s b e t w e e n j u d i c i a l s t y le a n d p e r f o r m a n c e . M o s tin te r es t ing ly , w hen ab i l i t i e s ( ana ly t ica l , c r ea t ive , andp r a c t i c a l ) w e r e u s e d t o p r e d i c t s c h o o l a c h i e v e m e n t , a n dt h e n s t y l e s w e r e a d d e d i n t h r o u g h a h i e r a r c h i c a l r e g r e s -s i o n , s t y l e s m a d e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t i n c r e m e n t a lc o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e p r e d i c t i o n e q u a t i o n .ConclusionT o c o n c l u d e , s t y l es h a v e a f a i r l y l o n g b u t v a r i e d h i s t o r yi n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e o r y a n d r e s e a r c h i n p s y c h o l o g y . L i k ew i d e n e c k t i e s , r e s e a r c h o n s t y l e s t e n d s t o c o m e a n d g o .I n r e c e n t y e a r s , r e s e a r c h o n s t y l e s h a s b e e n r e l a t i v e l y" o u t " w i t h re g a r d t o m a i n s t re a m p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e s e a rc h .T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l r e a s o n s f o r t h i s t re n d , i n c l u d i n g i s s u e so f t h e o r e t i c a l s t r u c t u r e , a s w e l l a s o n e s o f in t e r n a l v a l i d -i ty , c o n v e r g e n t e x t e r n a l v a l id i t y , d i s c r i m i n a n t e x t e r n a l v a -l i di t y , a n d h e u r i s t i c u s e f u l n e s s . B u t t h e u n d e r l y i n g q u e s -t i o n r e g a r d i n g p e r s o n a l p r e f e r e n c e s i n t h e u s e o f c o g n i t i v ea b i l i t i e s n e v e r w e n t a w a y . T h e t h e o r y o f m e n t a l s e l f -g o v e r n m e n t w a s p r o p o s e d a s a p o s s i b le a n s w e r t o s o m eo f t h e o b j e c t i o n s t h a t h a v e b e e n r a i s e d i n t h e p a s t a g a i n s t



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