Relationships among cognitive complexity, sex, and spatial task performance in college students
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5267337 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eileen G Thompson (Michigan State University), Irene T Mann (United States Government Accountability Office), Lane J Harris (0000-0002-6823-831X, Michigan State University), Lauren Julius Harris |
| Year | 1981 |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 249-256 |
| Publication date | 1981-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-1269 • E-ISSN: 2044-8295 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1981.tb02183.x |
| PMID | 7248672 |
| OpenAlex | W2057991577 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
This study examined the relationship between object differentiation (spatial ability) and social differentiation (cognitive complexity). Prior research has demonstrated a link between field independence and cognitive complexity, and between field independence and spatial ability. This raises the question whether some unitary cognitive style is involved in both spatial ability and cognitive complexity. The present study used a spatial task (a variation of Piaget & Inhelder's water level task) and several measures of cognitive complexity (the Barron Complexity scale, Intolerance of Ambiguity scale, and measures of self-differentiation and differentiation of other persons) to test the prediction that complexity will be positively related to performance on the water level task. On the basis of earlier findings, we also predicted that males would outperform females on the water level task. Thirty-eight male and 98 female undergraduates completed the water level task and the complexity measures. Results confirmed the predictions, except that the relationship between cognitive complexity and performance was different for males than for females. For males, the correlations between scores on the water level task and the several measures of complexity were considerably higher than for females. Such results suggest that for males spatial task performance can be related to a general construct such as cognitive style; for females, this does not appear to be the case
Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Spatial Ability · Task (project management) · Cognitive Science and Mapping · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Psychology · Spatial Cognition and Navigation
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,1 |
| Citation span | 1984 - 1995 (12) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |