Cognitive Style Assessment: One Test or Several?

The purpose of this study was to improve the reliability of the Sigel Cognitive Style Test. Post hoc analysis of ninety test protocols had indicated that the original thirty-five card test could be shortened to improve the test's reliability. This analysis also showed that males were responding to certain cards differently from females. Consequently, two versions of the test were made for field testing. The one for males consisted of twenty cards, for females sixteen cards. There was an overlap of twelve cards common to both versions. One hundred students in two urban, middle-class high schools were tested with the modified versions. Reliability coefficients were .74 for males and .81 for females, compared to coefficients varying from .51 to .70 for the original test. The implications of the study are that several versions of the test should be constructed for other population segments, providing a more reliable diagnostic educational instrument. (Author)