The Effect of Response Style on Cognitive Complexity and Course Evaluation

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between response style in college course evaluation and cognitive complexity. One hundred and two undergraduate students were administered the Role Construct Repertory Test of cognitive complexity during the first half of the Spring Term of 1974. At the end of that college semester they were asked to respond to a standard thirty-five-item course evaluation questionnaire. A significant relationship between cognitive complexity and within subject variance across the thirty-five Likert-type scale items of the course evaluation instrument was hypothesized. A multiple correlation between the ten sub-scales on the cognitive complexity instrument, and the criterion, within subject variance in course evaluation, supported this hypothesis. The possibility that the construct, cognitive complexity, and the within subject range of responses in course evaluation, are both influenced by personal response bias, was discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bieri, J. Cognitive complexity-simplicity and predictive behavior. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology , 1955, 51, 263-268.

Bieri, J. Complexity-simplicity as a personality variable in cognitive and preferential behavior. In D. W. Fiske and S. R. Maddi (Eds.) Functions of varied experience, Homewood, Ill.: Dorsey, 1961.

Bieri, J. Cognitive complexity and judgment of inconsistent information. In R. P. Adelson , E. Aronson , W. J. McGuire , T. M. New-comb , M. J. Rosenberg , P. H. Tannenbaum (Eds.), Theories of cognitive consistence: A sourcebook . Chicago: Rand McNally, 1968.

Bieri, J. , Atkins, A. L. , Briar, S. , Leaman, R. L. , Miller, H. , and Tripodi, T. Clinical and social judgment: The discrimination of behavioral information . New York: Wiley, 1966 .

Block, J. The challenge of response sets. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1964.

Couch, A. and Keniston, K. Yeasayers and naysayers: Agreeing response set as a personality variable. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology , 1960, 60, 151-174.

Crockett, W. H. Cognitive complexity and impression formation. In B. A. Maher (Ed.), Progress in experimental personality research, Vol. 2. New York: Academic Press, 1965.

Cronbach, L. J.

Processes affecting scores on "understanding of others" and "assumed similarity."

Psychological Bulletin, 1955, 52, 177-193.

Cronbach, L. J. Proposals leading to analytic treatment of social perception scores. In R. Tagiuri and L. Petrullo (Eds.), Person perception and interpersonal behavior. Stanford University Press, 1958.

10.

Hogan, T. and Hartley, E. Some additional factors in student evaluation of courses . American Educational Research Journal, 1972 , 9, 241-250.

11.

Irwin, M. , Tripodi, T. , and Bieri, J. Affective stimulus value and cognitive complexity. Jouranl of Personality and Social Psychology, 1967, 5, 444-448.

12.

Kelly, G. A. The psychology of personal constructs . New York: Nor-ton, 1955.

13.

Miller, H. and Bieri, J. Cognitive complexity as a function of the stimulus objects being judged. Psychological Reports, 1965, 16, 1203-1204.

14.

Soucar, E. Vigilance and the perception of teachers and students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1971, 32-83-86.

15.

Soucar, E. and DuCette, J. An examination of the vigilance hypothesis in person perception . Jouranl of Social Psychology, 1972, 88, 31-36.