Reflections on reflections … on the nature of intuition,analysis and the construct validity of the Cognitive Style Index

Hayes, Allinson, Hudson, and Keasey (2003) maintain that the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence presented by Hodgkinson and Sadler‐Smith (2003) in support of an alternative two‐dimensional conception of the Allinson‐Hayes Cognitive Style Index (CSI) are insufficiently robust to challenge the original unidimensional formulation and that, accordingly, users of the CSI should continue to score the instrument as a single bipolar scale. In reply, we show that their reasoning is flawed, being based on a series of misinterpretations of the nature and purpose both of the item parcelling procedure and the exploratory factor analysis technique we employed. Furthermore, their defence fails to take account of the extensive confirmatory factor analytic evidence we presented in support of our conclusions.     

Complex or unitary? A critique and empirical re‐assessment of the Allinson‐Hayes Cognitive Style Index

Recently researchers have debated the nature and significance of the cognitive style construct as a basis for understanding individual differences in behaviour in organizations. Two rival theoretical traditions prevail, one group of scholars arguing that cognitive style is best conceived within complex, multidimensional frameworks, others contending that the various facets of style can be meaningfully subsumed under a single, overarching dimension. The Allinson‐Hayes Cognitive Style Index (CSI) is a 38‐item instrument, predicated on the unitarist conception of the construct. This paper presents theoretical and methodological arguments as to why the previously hypothesized unifactoral structure of the CSI is potentially found wanting. Two variants (oblique versus orthogonal factors) of an alternative twofactor model, comprising separate analytic and intuitive dimensions, are developed and the results are reported of a series of principal components and confirmatory factor analyses (N =939) designed to overcome the limitations of previous research into the factor structure of the CSI. The results strongly indicate that the twofactor model with correlated factors provides a better approximation of responses to the CSI than previously reported unifactoral solutions. In the light of these findings we propose a revised scoring procedure, in which the analysis and intuition items are treated as separate scales, and consider the implications for future theory‐building, research and practice.     

心理健康素质测评系统·中国成年人认知风格问卷的编制

通过对认知风格既往文献的回顾和分析,从临床心理学的角度将认知风格定义为个体在解释生活事件时所偏爱的和习惯化的特征性认知方式,并确定了4个维度：过度概括化、选择性提取、个体化和灾难化。通过开放式问卷调查、参考国内外已有量表、自编项目及专家评定,形成27个项目的认知风格问卷初测版,并分别在大学生样本和非学生样本中进行测试,筛选出在两个样本中都符合心理测量学要求的16个项目,最终形成认知风格问卷正式版。对认知风格问卷正式版进行心理测量学指标考察,结果发现问卷的内部一致性信度、重测信度、结构效度、内容效度、聚合效     

Assessing negative cognitive style: Development and validation of a Short-Form version of the Cognitive Style Questionnaire

The Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ) is a frequently employed measure of negative cognitive style, associated with vulnerability to anxiety and depression. However, the CSQ's length can limit its utility in research. We describe the development of a Short-Form version of the CSQ. After evaluation and modification of two pilot versions, the 8-item CSQ Short Form (CSQ-SF) was administered to a convenience sample of adults (N = 278). The CSQ-SF was found to have satisfactory internal reliability and test-retest reliability. It also exhibited construct validity by demonstrating predicted correlations with measures of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that the CSQ-SF is suitable for administration via the Internet.     

Comparison of the Cognitive Styles Analysis and the Style of Processing Scale

The Cognitive Styles Analysis and the Style of Processing Scale are two tests designed to assess verbal-visual cognitive style. These scales represent two of the main approaches to assessing verbal-visual cognitive style, namely, computer-based testing and paper-and-pencil testing. A student sample (N=75; sex: 23 men, 52 women; age: M= 18.1 yr., SD= 1.7 yr.) yielded low correlations between the verbal-visual components of the tests (largest r = .08), indicating that they are unlikely to be related. The Cognitive Styles Analysis has some support for validity but its reliability has recently been criticised. The Style of Processing Scale has demonstrated reliability but has little support for validity. Currently, neither test could be considered a dearly dependable scale for assessing verbal-visual cognitive style.     

认知风格分析测验(CSA)修订及大学生样本的划界尝试

以大学生为对象,对“认知风格分析测验”(Cognitive Style Analysis,CSA)进行了项目分析、信度、效度检验等一系列研究,并通过大学生样本划界尝试。项目的区分度检验表明测验中所有项目都具有较好的区分度,两个维度间的相关分析进一步确证了CSA的结构效度。进一步的信度分析表明CSA具备可接受的内部一致性信度和重测信度。跨文化比较结果表明,我国大学生认知风格的划界与英国常模具有显著差异。     

Linear and Nonlinear Thinking: A Multidimensional Model and Measure

Building upon previously developed and more general dual‐process models, this paper provides empirical support for a multidimensional thinking style construct comprised of linear thinking and multiple dimensions of nonlinear thinking. A self‐report assessment instrument (Linear/Nonlinear Thinking Style Profile; LNTSP) is presented and preliminarily tested across three studies with an overall sample of 778 respondents comprised of business students and managers. The results indicate that nonlinear thinking style consists of seven distinct, yet interrelated dimensions: intuition, creativity, values, imagination, flexibility, insights, and emotions. Convergent and discriminant validity estimates vis‐à‐vis a multidimensional creative thinking index and an emotional intelligence measure provide support for further development of the instrument. The implications of these results for future managerial cognition research are discussed, as well as potential practical applications of the LNTSP for management education and business practice.     

Psychometric evaluation of the Beck Depression Inventory-II with primary care medical patients.

This study evaluated the psychometric characteristics of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996) in a primary care medical setting. A principal-components analysis with Promax rotation indicated the presence of 2 correlated factors, Somatic-Affective and Cognitive, which explained 53.5% of the variance. A hierarchical, second-order analysis indicated that all items tap into a second-order construct of depression. Evidence for convergent validity was provided by predicted relationships with subscales from the Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-20; A. L. Stewart, R. D. Hayes, & J. E. Ware, 1988). A receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated criterion-related validity: BDI-II scores predicted a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD), as determined by the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). This study demonstrated that the BDI-II yields reliable, internally consistent, and valid scores in a primary care medical setting, suggesting that use of the BDI-II in this setting may improve detection and treatment of depression in these medical patients.     

SINDSCAL source weight transformations are not always necessary or desirable: reply to Hodgkinson

Hodgkinson (1998) argues that we should have transformed the SINDSCAL source weights we used for an analysis presented on page 15 of our paper on the judgement of HIV cases (Irwin, Jones, and Mundo, 1996). In this reply we present theoretical and empirical arguments for why we did not transform the weights. Our statements are presented in the context of a more general discussion of how source weights should be interpreted and used. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning style and personality type.

To investigate the relations between the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Gregorc Style Delineator and to examine the construct validity of the Style Delineator, 41 undergraduate students preparing to be teachers were given both tests. Observed differences in learning styles by personality type partially support the construct validity of the Style Delineator. Judging individuals (n = 25) tended to perceive themselves as concrete sequential thinkers as opposed to perceptive individuals (n = 16) who thought of themselves as concrete random thinkers. Feeling types (n = 29) tended to prefer random modes of thinking.     

Cognitive style and sex: a study of stereotypical thinking

Differences between Cognitive Style Index mean scores of female and male undergraduate business students were tested using a general linear model. Among 286 undergraduate business students, women scored higher (more analytical) than men. The comparison of undergraduate business students with and without work experience related to their major shows that students with such related work experience were more intuitive than peers with no work experience related to their major.     

The impact of supervisors' cognitive styles on the quality of research supervision in management education

Background: An aspect of teaching and learning that has been seriously overlooked in higher education is the process of research supervision. High failure rates for research dissertations in the social sciences have been partly attributed to student dissatisfaction with supervision and poor student‐supervisor relationships. One personality variable that has been shown to be partly responsible for shaping the effectiveness of supervisory relationships is cognitive style. Aims: The study examined the effects of supervisor cognitive style on the quality of supervision for students undertaking a research project in the field of management education. Sample: Both parties in each of 118 supervisor‐student dyads within a university business school in the UK participated in the study. Method: Data were collected using the Cognitive Style Index to measure subjects on the analytic‐intuitive dimension of cognitive style. A self‐developed Thurstone attitude scale was used to measure students' perceptions of the quality of supervision. The scale's validity was assured by making extensive use of subjects' (N = 100) judgments from the population of interest in the scale's development. A second parallel scale was developed to test the instrument's reliability characteristics. Results: Findings revealed that students perceived the quality of supervision to increase significantly with the degree to which supervisors were analytic in their cognitive style. Students whose supervisors were more analytic also achieved significantly higher grades for their dissertations. Conclusions: Whilst there may be many factors influencing interpersonal relationships of this nature, this study demonstrated the potential relevance of cognitive style, which may prove to be a fertile area for further investigation.     

A Norwegian translation of the Plutchik questionnaire for psychological defense

The reliability and validity of the Norwegian translation of Plutchik's Life Style Index (LSI) have been tested in a material of 704 individuals, 471 men and 233 women. The results showed low internal consistency for most of the subscales (Alpha ranging from 0.43 to 0.68). Several of the scales were also significantly correlated. Factor analyses showed that some of them loaded on common factors, indicating low specificity of the scales. Further, the validity of the test was not confirmed.     

Assessing ego defense mechanisms by questionnaire: psychometric properties and psychopathological correlates of the Greek version of the Plutchik's Life Style Index

The Life Style Index (LSI; Plutchik, Kellerman, & Conte, 1979 ) was designed to assess defense mechanisms, assuming that their use is related to specific affective states and diagnostic concepts. We aimed to assess the psychometric properties of its Greek version and its relation to psychopathological symptoms. The LSI was back-translated into Greek and was administered to 1,261 participants. Six factors were identified, 5 of them largely corresponding to the original version's defenses (compensation, denial, projection, reaction formation, and repression). The sixth factor, named regressive emotionality, included mainly the original scale's regression and displacement factors. Test-retest reliabilities, internal consistencies, and construct validity were quite satisfactory. Most defenses were able to discriminate psychiatric patients from healthy participants and were associated with specific psychopathological symptoms in a theoretically expected mode, further supporting the validity of the Greek version. Our findings suggest that the LSI, based on both psychoevolutionary and psychoanalytic theory, can provide a solid ground for assessing ego defense mechanisms.     

Validation of the holyoake codependency index

Some clinicians working with families with alcohol or other drug problems continue to use the codependency model to guide their practice despite the limited empirical support for this approach. Research into codependency has been hampered by the lack of psychometrically sound instruments. The Holyoake Codependency Index (HCI; G. E. Dear & C. M. Roberts, 2000) is a 13-item self-report measure of codependent traits that has previously shown adequate to high reliability, initial evidence of construct validity, and an internal structure that is consistent across samples. In the 4 studies reported here, the internal structure of the HCI was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis, and further evidence of construct validity was found in that the HCI subscales showed meaningful associations with other psychological and demographic variables.     

The Initiator Style Questionnaire: A scale to assess initiator tendency in couples

The tendency of partners in a dyad to initiate or avoid relationship problem discussions has proven to have both theoretical and clinical significance. This tendency is conceptualized here as initiator tendency, which is defined as the propensity to initiate relationship‐focused discussions with one’s partner or avoid such discussions. The current paper reports 3 studies summarizing the development of a measure to assess initiator tendency: the Initiator Style Questionnaire (ISQ). The ISQ provides self‐report assessments of self and partner’s perceived initiator tendencies. The studies indicate that the 2 parallel 10‐item measures exhibit strong unidimensionality, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability, as well as appropriate discriminant validity and good convergent and construct validity. Limitations and applications are discussed.     

Cognitive styles in an international perspective: cross-validation of the Cognitive Style Indicator (CoSI)

This study examines the cross-cultural validity of the Cognitive Style Indicator (CoSI). Measurement equivalence tests were performed on data collected from a Belgian (n = 300) and a South African (n = 246) sample of students and employees. Confirmatory factor analyses within each sample showed the best fit to the data for a three-factor model underlying the CoSI. Measurement invariance tests, using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, indicated that the relationships among the scales showed equivalence across cultures. Although the study is an important first step toward the cross-validation of the CoSI, further research in other international samples is particularly needed to strengthen these results.     

Factor analysis of the McCarthy scales of children's abilities on preschool children

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) was administered to 200 children, 100 males and 100 females, with a mean chronological age of 3–9. The results were subjected to factor analysis to determine the validity of MSCA alignment into six distinct indexes, or factors, and to determine if there were sex differences in factors produced by the MSCA. A general (“g”) factor was derived for both females and males. Specific factors (Abstract Verbal Reasoning and Remote Verbal Memory) were derived for the female sample. Two specific factors (Sequential Memory and Nonverbal Cognition) were derived for the male sample. Only the “g” factors derived for male, female, and total samples corresponded to the General Cognitive Index (GCI) used in the MSCA. The results suggested that clinical interpretation of the MSCA should be made cautiously for both normal and exceptional children until further exploration of the construct validity and sex differences in the MSCA can be conducted.     

中学生自我隐瞒倾向:因素结构与发展特点

本研究旨在探讨自我隐瞒量表在中学生样本中的适用性 ,以及中学生自我隐瞒倾向的特点。一个由 51 3名中学生组成的样本接受了自我隐瞒量表和中学生应付方式量表的测试。结果发现中文版自我隐瞒量表具有较好结构效度和较好的效标效度以及较好的信度 ,因此中文版自我隐瞒量表可在今后的有关研究中使用。研究还发现男生的自我隐瞒倾向同女生相比相对较高 ,而且无论男生和女生 ,中学生的自我隐瞒倾向显著地高于大学生。这些结果可能表明 ,处于心理“断乳期”的中学生的心理具有一定闭锁性 ,而男生的自我隐瞒倾向高于女生 ,则可能表明自我隐瞒跟男生的独立性较强有关