Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum

Abstract Background Although theoretical efforts have been made to address the cognitive learning styles of individuals on the autism spectrum, no instrument to measure such learning styles is currently available. The current study aimed to develop such a scale based on the learning style theory of...

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Main Authors: Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi, Craig Leth-Steensen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2022-11-01
Series:BMC Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-04334-y
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author Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi
Craig Leth-Steensen
author_facet Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi
Craig Leth-Steensen
author_sort Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Although theoretical efforts have been made to address the cognitive learning styles of individuals on the autism spectrum, no instrument to measure such learning styles is currently available. The current study aimed to develop such a scale based on the learning style theory of Qian and Lipkin (Front Hum Neurosci 5:77, 2011). Methods Response data from total of 768 undergraduate students was used for this study. This sample was split into two subsamples of N = 460 and N = 308 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. The correlations between the resulting new subscales and some other potentially related measures were examined. Results A three-factor structure with 19 items was obtained measuring need for task clarity/familiarity, susceptibility to cognitive load, and the grasping of conceptual relations. Conclusions This newly developed measure can be used to help understand the nature of the individual differences in cognitive processing that are evident across both the autism spectrum as well as the overall population more generally.
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spelling doaj.art-9350415555e04a2286f6da84e5533f412022-12-22T04:35:36ZengBMCBMC Psychiatry1471-244X2022-11-0122111210.1186/s12888-022-04334-yDevelopment of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrumSeyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi0Craig Leth-Steensen1Department of Psychology, Carleton UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Carleton UniversityAbstract Background Although theoretical efforts have been made to address the cognitive learning styles of individuals on the autism spectrum, no instrument to measure such learning styles is currently available. The current study aimed to develop such a scale based on the learning style theory of Qian and Lipkin (Front Hum Neurosci 5:77, 2011). Methods Response data from total of 768 undergraduate students was used for this study. This sample was split into two subsamples of N = 460 and N = 308 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. The correlations between the resulting new subscales and some other potentially related measures were examined. Results A three-factor structure with 19 items was obtained measuring need for task clarity/familiarity, susceptibility to cognitive load, and the grasping of conceptual relations. Conclusions This newly developed measure can be used to help understand the nature of the individual differences in cognitive processing that are evident across both the autism spectrum as well as the overall population more generally.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-04334-yAutism spectrumLearning styleIndividual differencesScale development
spellingShingle Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi
Craig Leth-Steensen
Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum
BMC Psychiatry
Autism spectrum
Learning style
Individual differences
Scale development
title Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum
title_full Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum
title_fullStr Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum
title_full_unstemmed Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum
title_short Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum
title_sort development of a novel theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum
topic Autism spectrum
Learning style
Individual differences
Scale development
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-04334-y
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