Its’ only a decade ago that psychological research linked
personality constructs with cognitive processes. This has created the
concept of cognitive style. Although there is no concrete definition of
learning style, Messick (1976) try to give us a definition. According to
Messick an individual’s cognitive style reflects “stable attitudes,
preferences, or habitual strategies determining a person’s typical
modes of perceiving, remembering, thinking, and problem solving.”
(p5). In other words cognitive styles reflect individual differences in
how information and experiences is organized and processed.
According to cognitive style theory, these characteristics modes of
processing information are manifestations of deeper personality
characteristics that develop slowly and are not easily modified by
training. Cognitive styles transcend specific abilities like those
determined by psychometric factor analyses, and have broad
applications beyond school settings