No abstract

During the seventies, increased attention was given to the study of factors that contribute to individual differences in academic performance. Areas that generated particular concern and increased consideration were sex roles, social class, developmental changes, and race. Until recently the last variable was interpreted to mean variation as determined by the color of the child’s skin. Current orientation, however, redefines the concept as ethnicity with a culturally induced lifestyle and perspective. Proponents of this approach suggest that the diversity found in task and academic competence is precipitated by differences in culturally induced psychological, cognitive, and behavioral strategies rather than ability differences. This theoretical review examines this idea as it relates to Afro-Americans.

This study examined the possibility of a unique Afro- American cognitive style. One hundred seventy-eight ninth grade students stratified by race, sex, and achievement level were administered three cognitive style tasks. Results re vealed a significant difference between Afro-and Euro- American students in their perceptual orientation to the environment. It is suggested that this difference may influ ence the performance patterns reported on nonverbal mea sures.

This study was designed to test Cohen's hypothesis that students who develop the school-preferred information-processing approach will perform better than other students. Using six instruments designed to identify preferred cognitive strategies, 135 students stratified by achievement were tested. Results suggest that achievement is significantly related to the acquisition of a particular cognitive style.

No abstract