Cognitive style as indicated by self-report, physiological, and performance representations of hemisphericity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of self-reported cognitive mode, as an indicator of brain hemisphericity, with physiological indicators of brain hemisphericity and task performance on seven instruments. It was hypothesized that four self-reported cognitive modes would not significantly correlate with any of the physiological and performance measures nor support the causal relationships established in a path analysis model. Subjects were 125 high school seniors in college-bound and gifted classes. The major variables were sex, familial and individual handedness as measured by the Briggs and Nebes (1975) modification of the Annett Handedness Inventory, eye dominance as assessed by the Crovitz and Zener (1961) Eye Dominance Test, cognitive mode as self-reported in the Style of Learning and Thinking Test Form B (SOLAT; Torrance, Reynolds, Ball, & Reigel, 1978), self-direction in learning as measured by the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (Guglielmino, 1977), spatial and abstract reasoning ability as measured by the Space Relations and Abstract Reasoning subtests of the Differential Aptitude Test Form T (Bennett, Seashore, and Wesman, 1972), and the four cognitive skills measured by the Vocabulary, Mathematics, Language Arts, and Spelling subtests of the Iowa Tests of Educational Development Form X5 (Lindquist and Feldt, 1970).The only discriminating power of the cognitive mode classifications was shown in discriminant function analysis to be for Left and Right cognitive modes on the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (Guglielmino, 1977). Overall, the four cognitive mode classifications failed to discriminate among physiological and performance variables. Path analysis was the statistical tool utilized to examine the three cognitive modes, Left, Right, and Integrated, for which there existed an interval scale score measure. Left cognitive mode correlated negatively and significantly with vocabulary, space relations, abstract reasoning performance, and self-directed learning...