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The 8 cognitive styles: how does each person usually think?

The 8 cognitive styles: how does each person usually think?

March 9, 2024

We see, we hear, we smell, we touch ... in short, we perceive the stimuli that surround us. We process this information and based on these perceptions we form an idea of ​​what happens around us and then act accordingly. Maybe for most people what we perceive is what actually happens , but not everyone perceives or processes the same and in the same way.

Everyone has a specific cognitive style that makes us see reality in a particular way and look more or less in certain aspects.

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Cognitive styles: the concept

The concept of cognitive styles refers to the set of different ways of perceiving, processing, storing and using information available in the middle. It is a set of mainly cognitive skills that are influenced by different aspects and that govern the way we capture what surrounds us, which in turn influences our way of acting.


Strictly speaking, the cognitive style is the way in which our mind acts independently of the content this. The style in question will depend on the personality of the individual, the abilities in which he has focused and the learning he has done throughout his life.

Cognitive styles, as the term indicates, are determined by a set of predominantly cognitive parameters. However, also are influenced by the emotional sphere and the integration of values ​​and motivations . In fact, they are conceptualized as the reflection of the relationship between cognition and affect and they constitute one of the main elements that allow the formation of the personality and the existence of individual differences. In part they are acquired throughout life, but there are biological influences that predispose towards one style or another.


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Main typologies of cognitive style

In general, the main types of cognitive style have been classified into continuous bipolar that account for a concrete way of observing reality .

It is not necessarily one thing or another, but our style can be located somewhere in between. Below are some of the main styles considered by various authors, the most relevant and analyzed being the first three.

1. Dependence vs. field independence

This factor refers to the ability to abstract what is being analyzed or captured from the context in which it appears.

The field dependent usually has a global view of the situation and can be influenced by it, while the field independent usually perform a more independent analysis focused on the object to which they pay attention but without assessing in the same way the context in which it appears. While the first has an external frame of reference focused on the situation the second part of a frame of reference focused on themselves.


On the other hand, the field dependent tends to have more interferences in the memory, although it usually detects more the outstanding elements at the time of forming concepts, being more suggestible and visual, more sociable and affectively less controlled. By contrast, the independent is usually more verbal, more grasp the boundaries between things and people, more organized and less influenced.

Generally, it tends to that field independence is increasing up to 25 years , when it stabilizes. Independence makes it less likely to be influenced by contextual variables, but this can be counterproductive since the totality of variables that affect reality is not taken into account. In this way, both the dependent and the independent have advantages and disadvantages in different aspects.

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2. Reflexivity vs Impulsivity

On this occasion, mention is being made of the speed of reaction to stimuli . The impulsive will respond quickly and actively, although with a greater possibility of making mistakes. On the other hand the reflective takes his time to analyze and evaluate the situation, which although allows them a greater precision and efficiency makes them slower and inactive.

It is not only about speed but also about how to face reality. The reflective usually assesses more options and perform more checks previously, while the impulsive is more global. The reflective is usually more calm and self-controlled but more indecisive while the impulsive is usually more anxious, sensitive and distrustful.

3. Sensory vs Intuitive

On this occasion, the cognitive style used can vary between the use of available data through the senses and the use of imagination and intuition to capture relationships beyond the perceptible. The sensorial is based on existing information , while the intuitive tends to have a mentality a little more focused on spontaneous elaboration and go beyond what the data have.

4. Verbal vs. Visual vs. Haptic

On this occasion, the divergence is in the way in which the person captures the information better, whether through an iconic or auditory way. There is also the haptic, which captures reality better through touch. The latter usually linked to infants and the elderly while the first two are more typical of young people and adults.

5. Global vs. Analytical / Holistic vs Serial

Similar to dependence and field independence, but this time focused on the object or situation instead of the context. The global style focuses on identifying the object in its entirety as a single unit and undertakes its analysis as such. Everything is processed in block. However, the analytical style subdivides the whole into different details from which begins to process the information without needing to know the whole of the data.

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6. Convergent vs. Divergent

Linked in part to creativity, while the convergent style focuses on finding a concrete solution based on the convergence of available information, the divergent try to propose different alternatives among which it can be difficult to choose.

7. Leveler vs. sharper

The cognitive styles of this dimension refer to the capacity or the degree to which subjects are able to see similarities and differences between stimuli. While the leveler tends to ignore or underestimate the differences between elements to simplify and this allows them to generalize more easily, the aggressors tend to retain differences and highlight them, distinguishing different elements more clearly.

8. Tolerant vs. Intolerant

This dimension refers to the ability of each person to have flexibility and openness to the possibility of the existence of divergent elements with what is expected and established by the norm or the observation itself. The tolerant accepts the possibility that there are other alternatives and is able to modify their cognitive structures to cover them, while the intolerant does no such thing.

Importance of cognitive styles

Cognitive styles are an important element of our person that can help to better understand how each person processes information from the environment or from within. Beyond the descriptive this may have implications in various areas such as education or clinical practice .

For example, a child with mainly visual processing will find it more complex to grasp verbal information and will remember knowledge better if graphs or sight-focused stimuli are applied. This is what happens with many children with different disorders, such as in many cases of autism spectrum disorder or in many speech disorders, in which the use of pictograms and more visual information facilitate the understanding and acquisition of skills and knowledge.

At the clinical level, it also has great relevance if we take into account that the cognitive style makes it easier to interpret reality in a certain way. For example, it has been identified that field-dependent patients tend to tend more to pathologies such as depression, while field-independent patients tend to they do it towards psychotic disorders . Similarly, the impulsive tends to stress, or the reflective can approach obsessive disorders.

Taking into account cognitive styles can be of great help in establishing individualized plans in a variety of areas, allowing a substantial improvement in the abilities and well-being of each person based on the adjustment of expectations and the help offered to them to move forward.

Bibliographic references:

  • Hernangómez, L. and Fernández, C. (2012). Psychology of personality and differential. CEDE Preparation Manual PIR, 07. CEDE: Madrid.
  • Quiroga, Mª. A. (1999). Individual differences in cognition-emotion interrelationships: cognitive styles. In Sánchez, J. & Sánchez, M. P. (Eds.). Differential psychology: human diversity and individuality. 2nd edition. Madrid. Ramón Areces Foundation.
  • Padilla, V.M .; Rodríguez, M.C. and López, E.O. (2007). Cognitive styles and learning. In: The voice of researchers in Educational Psychology. Ed. Culture of Veracruz.

How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky (March 2024).


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