Cognitive Styles in Equivalence Range
Authors: Sloane Howard N. , Gorlow Leon , Jackson Douglas N. 
Published: September 2011

With the aim of appraising the generality and construct validity of the concept of equivalence range, defined as the preferred span of objects or qualities that an individual is willing to consider in one category, a number of cognitive tasks were devised to appraise different facets of styles of categorizing behavior. Several sorting tasks were employed, some original and some adapted from previous research, to sample the breadth of an individual's preferred mode of categorization. These included an object sorting test employing real objects, object sorting tests substituting the names of objects for real objects, tasks in which photographs of people and descriptions of people were sorted, and a drawing sorting task. In addition several perceptual “bandwidth” tasks were especially developed to study Ss' characteristic range of equivalence judgments and categorizations. Also included were tests of criticalness response style and associational ease to appraise the relevance of styles of verbal categorization to other possible facets of equivalence range. Several measures of accuracy in size constancy, and brightness judgments, previously reported by Gardner to relate to sorting behavior, were included in the battery.

All tests were administered to a total of 60 female Ss, the measures inter-correlated, factored, and rotated to oblique simple structure. Of the seven factors extracted, three were considered sufficiently large and clear to be interpreted meaningfully. The first and the largest of these was identified as Sorting Equivalence Range. All sorting tests loaded this factor, but none of the other tasks were substantially represented. The other two factors were identified as Conceptual Bandwidth and Associational Ease or Lack of Criticalness.

The following conclusions appear warranted. (1) A general stylistic consistency identifiable as Sorting Equivalence Range, represented in a wide variety of sorting tasks and content, appeared as the first and largest factor. Sorting behavior thus showed consistency across content areas, but was not closely related to tests loading on either of the other two factors identified: Conceptual Bandwidth or Lack of Criticalness. Indeed, three rather distinct dimensions were identified. (2) Contrary to published research, performance on size constancy accuracy tasks was found to be largely independent of consistencies in categorizing behavior. No test reported by Gardner (1953) to relate to categorizing behavior loaded the first factor. (3) Group-administered paper-and-pencil object sorting tests developed by Clayton and Jackson (1961), received high loadings on the Sorting Equivalence Range factor, and may in the future be substituted for the more costly individual form. (4) The identification of a factor of Associational Ease or Lack of Criticalness, related to verbal ability, suggests that it may be profitable to explore more fully cognitive styles in intellectual productions. Variables commonly identified as response style or set (Clayton & Jackson, 1961; Jackson & Messick, 1958; Frederiksen & Messick, 1959) bear examination in relation to perceptual and cognitive styles. (5) Further research employing large samples and a broad array of hypothesized measures of equivalence range is needed, both to cross-validate present findings, and to clarify further the nature of dimensions of cognitive styles in categorizing behavior.