Abstract
This study provides further evidence on the influence of cognitive style on students’ problem-solving skills in the presence of ambiguous information. To do this, the performances of 47 accounting students on ten ambiguous multiple-choice questions were evaluated in terms of their field-dependence/independence dimension of cognitive style. Results showed that field-independent students significantly out-performed field-dependent students when their general abilities were controlled for. These results which corroborate previous findings have significant implications for educators in using multiple-choice questions as a form of formal evaluation of student performance. Care should be taken to avoid highly ambiguous wording in multiple-choice questions in order not to disadvantage field-dependent students.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 351-357 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Accounting Education |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 1995 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- accounting
- ambiguity
- cognitive style
- field dependence
- multiple regression
- multiple-choice examination
- performance