Scores from riding's cognitive styles analysis have poor test-retest reliability

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Assessment

Background:

• The Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA) is designed to measure wholist-analytic (WA) and verbalizer-imager (VI) cognitive dimensions.
• Previous research has not established the reliability of CSA scores within medical education settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the test-retest reliability of the Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA).
• To assess the accuracy of CSA classifications as perceived by learners.

Main Methods:

• CSA scores were administered twice to 89 medical trainees (family medicine residents, internal medicine residents, medical students).
• Learner perceptions of classification accuracy were collected.
• Test-retest intervals averaged 564 days.

Main Results:

• Low test-retest correlations were found for both WA (0.30) and VI (0.12) scores.
• A significant proportion of learners (49% WA, 63% VI) were reclassified into different cognitive styles upon retesting.
• While a majority agreed with their WA (79%) and VI (67%) classifications, the reclassification rates indicate instability.

Conclusions:

• The Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA) demonstrates inadequate test-retest reliability for use in medical education.
• Educators are advised to exercise caution when interpreting CSA scores and consider alternative assessment tools.