The 8 cognitive styles: how does each person tend to think?

Everyone has a characteristic way of doing something with the thoughts that cross their mind.

We see, hear, smell, touch... in short, we perceive the stimuli around us. We process this information and based on these perceptions we form an idea of what is going on around us and then act accordingly. It may be that for most people, what we perceive what we perceive is what is actually happening, but not everyone perceives what is happening around them.But not everyone perceives and processes the same thing in the same way.

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

Cognitive styles: the concept

The concept of cognitive styles makes reference to the set of different ways of perceiving, processing, storing and using the information available in the available in the environment. It is a set of mainly cognitive skills that are influenced by different aspects and that govern the way we grasp what surrounds us, which in turn influences the way we act.

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

Cognitive styles, as the term indicates, are determined by a set of predominantly cognitive parameters. However, they are also 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 are one of the main elements that allow the formation of personality and the existence of individual differences. In part they are acquired throughout life, but there are Biological influences that predispose to one style or another.

Main typologies of cognitive style

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

One is not necessarily one or the other, but our style may lie somewhere in between. The following are some of the main styles considered by various authors, the first three being the most relevant and analyzed.

1. Field 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 may be influenced by it, while the field independent analysis focused on the object to which they are paying attention but without assessing to which they pay attention but without the same assessment of the context in which it appears. While the former has an external frame of reference centered on the situation, the latter starts from a frame of reference centered on themselves.

On the other hand, the field dependent tends to have more interferences in memory although they tend to detect more salient elements when forming concepts, to be more suggestible and visual, to be more suggestive and visual, and to be more aware of the context in which they appear. more suggestible and visual, more sociable and affectively less and affectively less controlled. On the other hand, the independent tends to be more verbal, more aware of the boundaries between things and people, more organized and less impressionable.

Generally, field independence tends to independence in the field tends to increase until the age of 25, when it stabilizes.at which point it stabilizes. Independence makes it less likely to be influenced by contextual variables, but this can be counterproductive since it does not take into account the totality of variables that affect reality. Thus, both the dependent and the independent have advantages and disadvantages in different aspects.

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 person takes time to analyze and evaluate the situation, which, although it allows them greater precision and efficiency, makes them slower and more inactive.

It is not only about speed but also about the way of facing reality. The reflective person tends to evaluate more options and make more checks beforehand, while the impulsive is more global. The reflective tends to be calmer and more self-controlled but more indecisive, while the impulsive tends to be more anxious, sensitive and distrustful.

Sensory vs. Intuitive

Here the cognitive style used can vary between the use of data available through the senses and the use of imagination and intuition to grasp relationships beyond the perceptible. Sensory is based on already existing information.The intuitive tends to have a mindset that is a bit more focused on spontaneous elaboration and going beyond what the data provides.

4. Verbal vs Visual vs Haptic

This time the divergence is in the way in which the person captures the information better, whether by iconic or auditory means. There is also the haptic, which captures reality better through touch. The latter is is usually associated with 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 field dependence and independence, but this time focused on the object or situation itself rather than on the context. The global style focuses on identifying the object as a whole as a single unit and undertakes its analysis as such. Everything is processed en bloc. However, the analytical style subdivides the whole into different details from which starts to process the information without needing to know the totality of the data. of the data.

• Related article, "Are we rational or emotional beings?"

6. Convergent vs Divergent

Linked in part to creativity, while the convergent style focuses on finding a concrete solution from the convergence of the available information, the divergent one tries to propose various alternatives from which it may be difficult to choose. among which it may be difficult to choose.

7. Leveler vs. Sharper

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

8. Tolerant vs. Intolerant

This dimension refers to the capacity of each person to have flexibility and open-mindedness towards the possibility of the existence of elements diverging from what is expected and established by the norm or one's own observation. The tolerant person accepts the possibility of the existence of other alternatives and is capable of modifying his or her cognitive structures. is capable of modifying his or her cognitive structures to embrace them, while the intolerant does no such thing.

Importance of cognitive styles

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

For example, a child with primarily visual processing will find verbal information more complex to grasp and will remember knowledge better if graphics or visually focused stimuli are applied. This is the case for many children with different disorders, such as in many cases of autism spectrum disorder. in many cases of autism spectrum disorder or in many speech disorders, where the use of pictograms and more visual information facilitates 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 facilitates the interpretation of reality in a certain way. For example, it has been identified that field-dependent patients tend to be more prone to pathologies such as depression, while field-independent patients tend to be more prone to psychotic disorders. towards psychotic disorders. In the same way, the impulsive tends to stress, or the reflective may approach obsessive disorders.

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