Effects of cognitive style on perceived satisfaction and performance among students and teachers.

The influence of matched or mismatched cognitive styles on perceived satisfaction and performance among students and teachers was examined in eight secondary school classrooms comprising 192 students. Field-dependence/independence was assessed using the Group Embedded Figures Test; both satisfaction and performance were assessed with Likert-type questionnaire items. Analyses of variance revealed the predicted interaction effect (favoring matched styles) on student perceptions of satisfaction and a similar trend on perceptions of teacher effectiveness. Additionally, although field-independent students scored higher on standardized measures of academic ability, classroom grades were unrelated to student cognitive style. Field-dependent students, however, were perceived as exerting greater effort in class, thus indicating that teachers award grades according to a combination of student ability and perceived effort.