搜索
CognitiveStyleChristinaS200918004◆ThedefinitionofStyle◆ThedefinitionofCognitiveStyle◆SeveralCognitiveStyle※FieldIndependence&Dependence※CategoryWidth※Reflectivity&Impulsivity※AmbiguityTolerance※Visual&AuditoryStyles※Analytic&Gestalt◆ReferencesContentsStyleisatermthatreferstoconsistentandratherenduringtendenciesorpreferencewithinanindividual.Stylesarethosegeneralcharacteristicsofintellectualfunctioning(andpersonalitytype,aswell)thatespeciallypertaintoyouasanindividual,thatdifferentiateyoufromsomeoneelse.(Taroneetal.1976)StyleThewaywelearnthingsingeneralandtheParticularattackwemakeonaproblemseemtohingeonaratheramorphouslinkbetweenpersonalityandcognition,thislinkisreferredtoascognitivestyle;Whencognitivestylesarespeciallyrelatedtoaneducationalcontext,whereaffectiveandphysiologicalfactorsareintermingled,theyareusuallymoregenerallyreferredtoaslearningstyle.CognitiveStyleField-independencestyle:theabilitytoperceiveaparticular,relevantitemorfactorina“field”ofdistractingterms.Field-dependencestyle:conversely,thetendencytobe“dependent”onthetotalfieldsothatthepartsembeddedwithinthefieldarenoteasilyperceived,thoughthattotalfieldisperceivedmoreclearlyasaunifiedwhole.FieldIndependence&DependenceAdvantagesoffield-independence:distinguishpartsfromawholeconcentrateonsomething(readingabookinanoisytrainstation)analyzeseparatevariableswithoutthecontaminationofneighboringvariablesDisadvantagesoffield-independence:onlyseetheparts,failstoseetheirrelationshiptoawhole.(Youcan’tseetheforestforthetrees)AdvantagesandDisadvantagesAdvantagesoffield-dependence:perceivethewholepicture,thelargerview,thegeneralconfigurationofaproblemorevent.Affectively,peoplewhoarefield-independencearegenerallymoreindependent,competitiveandself-confident.Field-dependentpeopletendtoderivetheirself-identityfrompersonsaroundthem,andareusuallymoreempathicandperceptiveofthethoughtsandfeelingsoftheothers.Field-independenceiscloselyrelatedtoclassroomlearningthatinvolvesanalysis,attentiontodetails,andotherfocusedactivities.ImportantFiguresthatsupportthiskindofviewNaimanetal1978HansenandStansfield1981&1983L.Hansen1984Abraham1985ChapelleandRoberts1986RelationtoSLLField-dependentpersonswill,byvirtueoftheirempathy,socialoutreach,andperceptionofotherpeople,besuccessfullyinlearningthecommunicativeaspectsofasecondlanguage.Nooneseemstodenytheplausibilityofthissecondhypothesis,littleevidencehasbeengatheredtosupportit.Theprincipalreasonforthedearthofsuchevidenceistheabsenceofatruetestoffielddependence.RelationtoSLLCategoryWidthreferstocertainpeople’stendencytoincludemanyitemsinonecategory,evensomethatmaynotbeappropriate(broadcategorizers),ortootherpeople’stendencytoexcludeitemsevenwhentheymaybelong(narrowcategorizers)CategoryWidthMultipleChoice(20),eg.Ornithologiststellusthatthebestguessoftheaveragespeedofbirdsinflightwouldbeabout17milesperhour.Whatdoyouthinkisthespeedinflightofthefastestbird?A25B105C73D34Thosesubjectswhoconsistentlychoosethealternativesfarthestfromthegivenmeanareconsideredbroadcategorizers.Pettigrew’sWidthScaleBroadCategorizerswouldlikelycommitmanyerrorsofovergeneralizationNarrowCategorizersmayformulatemorerulesthanarenecessarytoaccountforTLphenomena.(H.D.Brown1973&Schumann1978)RelationtoSLLIndividualswhohaveareflectivecognitivestyletendtomullthingsoverwhenmakingadecision.Animpulsivepersontendstomakeaquickguesswhentheyfacedwithuncertainty.TheyarealsocalledSystematicandIntuitivestyle.(DavidEwing1977)Reflectivity&ImpulsivityReflectivestudentswereslowerbutmoreaccuratethanimpulsivestudentsinreading(Doron1973)Impulsivechildrenmakemoreerrorsinreadingtheirmothertonguethanchildrenwhosecognitivestyleisreflective,whichwasfoundamongthesampleofadultlearnersofESLintheUSA(Messer1976)RelationtoSLLAmbiguityToleranceisastylethatconcernsthedegreetowhichyouarecognitivelywillingtotolerateideasandpropositionsthatruncountertoyourownbeliefsystemorstructureofknowledge.Relatedto“open-mindedandclosed-minded”AmbiguityToleranceThepersonwhoistolerantofambiguityisfreetoentertainanumberofinnovativeandcreativepossibilitiesandnotbecognitivelyoraffectivelydistributedbyambiguityanduncertainty.Toomuchtolerantofambiguitymakespeoplebecome“wishy-washy”acceptingvirtuallyeverypropositionbeforethem,notefficientlysubsumingnecessaryfactsintotheircognitiveorganizationalstructure.AdvantagesandDisadvantagesAcertainintoleranceatanoptimallevelenablesonetoguardagainstthewishy-washinessreferredabove,tocloseoffavenuesofhopelesspossibilities,torejectentirelycontradictorymaterial,andtodealwiththerealityofthesystemthatonehasbuilt.AdvantagesandDisadvantagesClearlyintolerancecanclosethemindtoosoon,speciallyifambiguityisperceivedasathreat;theresultisrigid,dogmatic,brittlemindthatistoonarrowtobecreative.ThismaybeparticularlyharmfulinsecondLanguageLearning.AdvantagesandDisadvantagesAmbiguityTolerancewasoneofonlytwosignificantfactorsinpredictingthesuccessoftheirhighschoollearnersofFrenchinToronto.(Nailmanetal.1978)Learnerswithahightoleranceofambiguitywereslightlymoresuccessfulincertainlanguagetasks.(Chapelle&Roberts