Research Report: Correlates of learning styles and counsellor trainees' age and gender

Counselling relationships are important indices of therapeutic efficacy. In the Fall 2001, 71 counsellor trainees in a Counsellor Education programme at a Mid-western university participated in the current investigation. The purpose of the study was to examine relationships of learning styles in terms of counsellor trainees' age and gender (using a recently developed Preferred Learning Style Inventory, namely KPLSI). Results of the present study suggest that counsellor trainees' learning styles are varied, except that there are statistically strong groupings in analytic, global and particularistic learning styles domains among this particular body of students. Additionally, the age of trainees tend to relate to superficial and sensational learning styles, whereas gender is, participatory.     

Effects of college students' learning styles and gender on their test preparation strategies

This study investigated the effects of approach to studying, gender and type of examination on test preparation strategies. Educational psychology students completed the Approaches to Studying Inventory (Entwistle and Ramsden, 1983) regarding their general learning characteristics, and thus were assigned to four approach groups. Students also answered questions about how they might study for either an essay or a multiple-choice examination. Factor analysis of those items yielded several study strategy subscales. When scores on the time-effort, integration, selection and cognitive monitoring subscales were used as dependent variables in a 4×2×2 (cluster × gender × type of test) MANCOVA, a significant three-way interaction suggested that male and female students using different approaches react differently to multiple-choice or essay tests, and the patterns differ by strategy.     

Counselors and learning styles

Nearly everyone agrees that the counselor should be aware of individual differences. Many also agree that an important function of the counselor is to consult with teachers regarding individual differences in student learning performance. Although there has been much research about the relationship of learning performance and individual differences in learning style, there has been little written about how to diagnose the styles. The author presents a theoretical understanding of learning styles and suggests assessment questions that a counselor can use in observing students and consulting with teachers about different learning styles.     

The theory of learning styles applied to distance learning

Distance Education (DE) associated with the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) as interaction tools between the student and the educator has become a large research niche spread around the world. Techniques to improve learning effectiveness in VLEs seek to find relation-ships connections between pedagogical advances and educational technological resources available in VLEs. In this context, this work sought to associate the theory of Learning Styles with the behavior of the student of Distance Education, observing their interaction with the Virtual Learning Environment and trying to associate them with their learning style identified by the CHAEA questionnaire. For this purpose, the CHAEA questionnaire was applied to a group of distance learning students and the correlation between their interactions with VLE and their learning styles was verified. The results show that there is no correlation between these elements, which may show, in fact, the lack of coherence between these theories. Seeking a model for data, a linear regression was applied and the results were, then, confirmed.     

Alignment effect: primary-secondary learning and cognitive styles

The degree to which the way of learning spatial information (primary/secondary learning) and spatial cognitive style (landmark/route/survey) affect orientation specificity (alignment effect) is studied. We think that the most important factor explaining the absence of the alignment effect is the spatial cognitive style. We hypothesise that while landmark participants show an alignment effect after both primary and secondary learning, route participants show this effect only after secondary learning, and survey participants do not show it at all. Participants performed three tasks in order to distinguish their cognitive style; they were then randomly assigned to primary or secondary learning and submitted to directional judgment tasks to verify whether the alignment effect was present. The results confirm our hypothesis.     

Adolescents' communication styles and learning about birth control

Adolescents have different communication styles for acquiring information about birth control from a mass medium--interactant or noninteractant, depending on whether they involve communication with others in the process of media use. Three interactant styles are identified: a home-oriented style, where communication is primarily with immediate members and friends; a peer-oriented style, where communication is primarily with own-age peers and personal friends; and multi-source user, where communication is with more than one cluster of sources and the majority of one's communication is not with any particular source. The noninteractant style identified is a media-oriented style, where the adolescent relies exclusively on the mass media for information acquisition without communicating with anyone about the content or process of learning. Data suggest that the interactant style, especially for the multi-source user, is most beneficial for new learning. Gender and the presence of siblings at home are important moderators of the relationship between communication styles and knowledge of birth control. For example, females with a media-oriented style know more about birth control than females with a home-oriented style. Implications of the findings for the delivery of birth control information to adolescents are discussed.     

Effects of cooperative learning strategy on undergraduate kinesiology students' learning styles

A growing body of research supports cooperative learning as an effective teaching strategy. A specific cooperative learning strategy, Team-based Learning, was applied to a convenience sample of four undergraduate sophomore-level motor behavior courses over four semesters from Fall 2002 to Spring 2004 to examine whether this strategy would affect students' learning styles. The data from the Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Style Scales indicated that this teaching strategy was associated with a significant decrease in the negative Avoidant and Dependent learning styles and an improvement in the positive Participant learning style.     

Understanding humor styles and well-being: The importance of social relationships and gender

Individual differences in humor styles have been identified, and these humor styles appear to be differentially related to well-being. The present study sought to replicate and extend previous findings by (1) investigating whether the differential effects of humor styles on well-being may be explained by their associations with social support, and (2) whether the weak and inconsistent relationship between aggressive humor and well-being may be due to a moderating role of gender. A total of 826 undergraduate students completed a series of online standardized questionnaires, including the Humor Styles Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12). Mediation analyses revealed that the positive relationship between affiliative and self-enhancing humor and well-being was explained by a greater perceived availability of support. Meanwhile, the negative association between self-defeating humor and well-being was mediated by lower levels of perceived support. Moderation analyses provided preliminary support for the idea that an aggressive humor style may be related to higher levels of social support among men, and lower social support among women. Further research on the interpersonal context of humor and the role of gender in humor styles, social relationships, and well-being is warranted.     

Cognitive styles and mental rotation ability in map learning

In inspecting, learning and reproducing a map, a wide range of abilities is potentially involved. This study examined the role of mental rotation (MR) and verbal ability, together with that of cognitive styles in map learning. As regards cognitive styles, the traditional distinction between verbalizers and visualizers has been taken into account, together with a more recent distinction between two styles of visualization: spatial and object. One hundred and seven participants filled in two questionnaires on cognitive styles: the Verbalizer–Visualizer Questionnaire (Richardson in J Ment Imag 1:109–125, 1977) and the Object-Spatial Imagery Questionnaire (Blajenkova et al. in Appl Cogn Psych 20:239–263, 2006), performed MR and verbal tests, learned two maps, and were then tested for their recall. It was found that MR ability and cognitive styles played a role in predicting map learning, with some distinctions within cognitive styles: verbal style favoured learning of one of the two maps (the one rich in verbal labels), which in turn was disadvantaged by the adoption of spatial style. Conversely, spatial style predicted learning of the other map, rich in visual features. The discussion focuses on implications for cognitive psychology and everyday cognition.     

Psychological gender, hand preferences, and sex differences in book-carrying styles

Individuals with stronger sex-role identities may be expected to show greater conformity to sex-typed behaviors. Proceeding from this assumption, the sex-role status and sex of students using different styles of carrying books were compared. This study also examined whether over-all hand preference or age were related to carrying styles or sex-role status. Subjects completed a questionnaire comprised of the 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire of Spence and Helmreich, a 6-item scale of hand preference and a self-rating of sex-role identity. Afterwards, each subject's carrying style was covertly observed and recorded. Most subjects carried their materials in a sex-typical way or in book bags (for which no sex-typed carrying styles were discovered). As in previous studies, men in this study scored higher than women on masculinity and androgyny and lower on femininity. Hand preference was not related to sex-role status. Carrying style was not significantly correlated with any of the predictor variables for men, perhaps because almost no variance in carrying style was observed among them. Women who used masculine carrying styles tended to be older, have greater instrumentality, and a more masculine identity.     

Parental styles,gender and the development of hope and self‐esteem

We examined the developmental trajectory of trait hope and self‐esteem over 4 years and the impact of gender and perceived parental styles on these trajectories. Participants were 884 high school students. There was a general decline in hope and self‐esteem over time, with females declining more rapidly than males. Girls had higher hope than boys in Grade 7, but lower hope by Grade 10. Perceived parental authoritativeness at Time 1 was related to high hope across the 4 years, whilst perceived parental authoritarianism was related to low self‐esteem. We discuss the importance of perceived parental styles for adolescent well being, as well as possible explanations for changes in hope and self‐esteem. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing the effect of cognitive styles with different learning modes on learning outcome

In this study, similarities and differences in learning outcome associated with individual differences in cognitive styles are examined using the traditional (face-to-face) and web-based learning modes. 140 undergraduate students were categorized as having analytic or holistic cognitive styles by their scores on the Style of Learning and Thinking questionnaire. Four different conditions were studies; students with analytic cognitive style in a traditional learning mode, analytic cognitive style in a web-based learning mode, holistic cognitive style in a traditional learning mode, and holistic cognitive style in a web-based learning mode. Analysis of the data show that analytic style in traditional mode lead to significantly higher performance and perceived satisfaction than in other conditions. Satisfaction did not differ significantly between students with analytic style in web-based learning and those with holistic style in traditional learning. This suggest that integrating different learning modes into the learning environment may be insufficient to improve learners' satisfaction.     

Experience of group work in counsellor training and preferred learning styles

Not all those experiencing group work as part of counsellor training appear to like or benefit from it. Here an attempt is ma& to identity individuals, categorized by preferred learning style, that might not make effective use of this learning opportunity. Questionnaires measuring preferences for learning styles and experience of group work were received from 37 students on a postgraduate counselling course. Significant differences in perception of group work were found to be correlated with preferred learning style.     

The gender model revisited: Differences in the management styles of men and women

Qualitative data from 22 women and 18 men managers and their secretaries were analyzed to provide insights into gender differences in managerial styles. Traditional management style topologies, based largely on studies of men's behaviors, were called into question. Using an approach that allowed other topologies to emerge from the data, the respondents perceived that women were both task and people oriented, while men appeared image engrossed and autonomy invested. Respondents reported a strong preference for their gender-appropriate model and misunderstanding, even exasperation, with those using the alternative approach. The existence of such different models, especially if unrecognized, would place women at a disadvantage, since their success as managers is usually assessed by men who are likely to have a strong preference for the male-typed approach. The findings also suggest possible modifications to existing measures of managerial styles, particularly a consideration of image-engrossed approaches. Future research is suggested to further explore and confirm these findings.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Society for Women Sociologists in Washington, D.C., August 1985. A small portion of the research was supported by the Committee on Research and Creative Activity, University of Wisconsin—Parkside. Marian Swoboda provided helpful comments, as did several anonymous reviewers.     

Women's access to managerial positions: an experimental study of leadership styles and gender

This study attempts to test one of the explanations of the scarce representation of women in managerial positions, specifically the one advanced by "role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders" (Eagly & Karau, 2002), which appeals to the fact that women get unfavorable evaluations if they adopt male-stereotypical leadership styles. One-hundred and thirty-six undergraduate students participated in an experiment with a 2 (Male-stereotypical vs. Female-stereotypical leadership style) x 2 (Male vs. Female leader) design. Dependent variables were leader's competence, efficacy, and evaluation in a series of traits. It was found that, regardless of sex, the leaders were considered more competent and efficient, and were evaluated more favorably, when they adopted stereotypically feminine leadership styles. Implications of these findings for women's underrepresentation as leaders in management top positions worldwide are discussed.