The Nature of Learning Styles and their Relationship to Cognitive Performance in Children

Abstract

150 11‐year‐old children were given the following tests of learning style and personality: (a) the Group Embedded Figures Test, (b) a test of Levelling‐Sharpening, (c) the Verbal‐Imagery Code Test, (d) the Betts Test on Mental Imagery, (e) the Matching Familiar Figures Test and (f) the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory. A factor analysis of the scores on the tests indicated four factors which were labelled: Differentiation, Representation, Response Efficiency and Neuroticism. Tests (a) and (b) loaded on Factor I, tests (c) and the extroversion of (J) on Factor II. One of the scores from (e) loaded on Factor III, and the neuroticism of (f) on Factor IV. In order to compare learning with cognitive performance, one measure which loaded highly on the factor was taken for each of the first three factors and used together with sex as a predictor of performance on the immediate recall of concrete and abstract prose passages. An analysis of variance indicated two significant interactions: (1) extroverts did better on the abstract than the concrete prose passage recall, while for the introverts the opposite was found, (2) all three style measures and sex interacted in their effect on prose recall.