2009/11 - Cognitive styles in an international perspective: cross-validation of the cognitive style indicator

Authors: Cools, E., De Pauw, A., Vanderheyden, K., 21 pp.

Abstract: This study aims to examine the cross-cultural validity of the Cognitive Style Indicator (CoSI). Measurement equivalence analyses were performed on data collected from a Belgian sample of students and employees (n = 300) and from an equivalent South-African sample (n = 246). Confirmatory factor analyses within each sample showed the best fit to the data for a three-factor model underlying the CoSI. Measurement invariance tests, using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, indicated that the relationships among the scale items were equivalent across cultures. Finally, in addition to traditional measurement equivalence tests, a nomological net has been investigated. A comparison of the correlations between cognitive styles and personality yielded partial measurement equivalence, with no significant differences between the two samples for 11 out of the 15 correlations. Overall, the study supports the cross-cultural validity of the CoSI, although further research in other international samples is particularly needed to strengthen these results.

Keywords: Cognitive styles, cross-cultural research, Cognitive Style Indicator, measurement equivalence