Students’ approaches to mathematical problem solving vary greatly. In
particular, variations appear for those approaches which require
conceptual understanding and visual ways of solutions. The main
objective of the current study is to compare students’ performance with
different cognitive styles (Convergent vs. Divergent) upon mathematical
pictorial problem solving. A sample of 93 third year undergraduate
mathematics students were tested according to Hudson’s test together
with one mathematics examination done. Results obtained support the
hypothesis that students with divergent cognitive styles show higher
performance than convergent ones in pictorial problems. The
implications of these results on teaching and setting problems emphasize
that pictorial problems and the cognitive predictor variable (Convergent/
Divergent) could be challenging and a rather distinctive factor for
students.