The relationship between learning style and cognitive style

One of the principal debates in the field of individual differences in 'lea rning style' (often used to include cognitive style) has centred around the proliferation of constructs and measures. many of which have been develope d with little regard for extant theories and instruments. This study explor ed the construct validity of learning style as operationalised in the Learn ing Styles Inventory (LSI) and its relationship with cognitive style as mea sured using the Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA). In addition the relationsh ip between styles and learning preferences was examined. Correlational and principal components analyses suggested that: the Learning Style Inventory assesses two dimensions as theorised by Kolb (comprehension and transformat ion); learning style and cognitive style are independent and the relationsh ip between style and preference is mediated by gender. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd. All rights reserved.