Effect of cognitive style on test type (visual or verbal) and color coding

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Field-independence and field-dependence are cognitive styles influencing learning.
• Previous research indicates differences in performance based on these styles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the academic performance of field-independent and field-dependent undergraduates.
• To investigate the impact of instructional variables (color-coding, test format) on performance.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-six field-independent and 43 field-dependent undergraduates participated.
• Performance was assessed on drawing, terminology, and comprehension tasks.
• Instructional variables included color-coding and verbal versus visual test formats.

Main Results:

• Field-independent students scored significantly higher than field-dependent students across all assessed tasks.
• Color-coding did not yield significant differences in performance.
• Students receiving verbal tests performed significantly better than those receiving visual tests.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive style significantly impacts academic performance in specific tasks.
• Verbal test formats may be more effective than visual formats for this student population.
• Further research is needed to explore the role of instructional design in relation to cognitive styles.