Cognitive style as a factor influencing performance of business students across various assessment techniques : A preliminary study

Using a sample of 103 first year business students at the Waikato Polytechnic in New Zealand, examines hypotheses that students’ performance is related to personality style; and that scores achieved in multiple choice assessments are a useful predictor of the likely outcomes for other types of assessments. Cognitive style of students in this research was assessed according to their field dependence‐independence personality construct. Shows how two psychological tests, namely, ambiguity tolerance test, and group embedded figures test, were used to determine the personality construct of students. Regression analyses revealed that both psychological tests appeared to be good indicators of students across various assessment techniques. States that, in addition, there was a high correlation between the performance of students among various assessment techniques. These results raise several important questions to business educators, including the fairness of traditional assessment methods, when students with a particular psychological predisposition tend to outperform their peers.