Not All Great Minds Think Alike: Systematic and Intuitive Cognitive Styles

Abstract

Individuals process information and make decisions in different ways. Some plan carefully and analyze information systematically, whereas others follow their instincts and do what "feels right." We aimed to deepen our understanding of the meaning of the intuitive versus systematic cognitive styles. Study 1 (N = 130, 39% female, M(age) = 24) compared cognitive styles of arts, accounting, and mathematics students. Cognitive styles were associated with values (Study 2: N = 154, 123, 78; female = 59%, 49%, 85.9%; M(age) = 22, 23, 27) and traits (Study 3: N = 77, 140, 151; female = 59%, 66%, 46%; M(age) = 22, 25, 23), and they interacted with experience in predicting performance (Study 4: N = 63, 48% female, M(age) = 23; Study 5: N = 44, 39% female, M(age) = 23). All participants were Caucasian Israeli students. The systematic style was most frequent among accountants, and the intuitive style was most frequent among artists, validating the meaning of the styles. Systematic style was positively correlated with Conscientiousness and with security values and negatively correlated with stimulation values. The intuitive style had the opposite pattern and was also positively correlated with Extraversion. Experience improved rule-based performance among systematic individuals but had no effect on intuitive ones. Cognitive style is consistent with other personal attributes (traits and values), with implications for decision making and task performance.

Exploring the Interplay of Cognitive Style and Demographics in Consumers' Financial Knowledge

“…Professional environments have also been shown to vary in their information processing needs from their employees, as some call for systematic thinkers, whereas others call for associative global thinking. Individuals with the ability to analyze situations in a holistic manner typically choose careers in the arts (Sagiv et al 2014) or become entrepreneurs (Allinson, Chell, and Hayes 2000), whereas those who are more systematic thinkers are more inclined to choose careers in accountancy (Sagiv et al 2014) and the physical sciences (Billington, Baron-Cohen, and Wheelwright 2007).…”

Objective, Subjective Financial Literacy Influence on Cognitive Style and Financial Risk Perception

“…Especially in the first years of the studies, the intuitive and systematic features evaluated such as two opposite poles of one dimension, but exclusively in recent years, the studies emphasize that these two properties are two different dimensions. (Ancon, et al, 2009;Sagiv, Amit, Ein-Gar, & Arieli, 2014;Wang, Highhouse, Lake, Petersen, & Rada, 2017). Another similar approach is for intuitive and systematic concepts.…”

“…That gives them confidence. Therefore, they are more successful in rule-based decision-making problems and decisions related to events they experienced in the past (Sagiv et al, 2014). The Intuitive individuals look at the big picture and have no idea of the patterns of thought.…”

In the eye of the beholder: The role of cognitive style and similarity in the evaluation of brand extensions

“…To assess cognitive styles, we used the Thinking and Working Style (TWS) scale by Sagiv et al (), which provides a valid, general, and context‐free measurement of cognitive style (Lilach Sagiv, Amit, Ein‐Gar, & Arieli, ), including five items used to assess the intuitive cognitive style (Cronbach's α = 0.68) and five items used to assess the systematic cognitive style (Cronbach's α = 0.76). All items were rated on a five‐point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”…”