ABSTRACT
In summing up the research in this book, it is clearly demonstrated that styles are studied across diverse research domains and from different conceptual, theoretical, and methodological points of view (see also Appendix 1A). Indeed, more than ten years ago, Riding (2000) wrote in the concluding chapter of a similar book to this one that a strategic approach to advance the style field involves four critical issues: (1) reduce the large number of style labels to some fundamental cognitive style dimensions; (2) develop simple, valid, and direct cognitive style measures suitable for worldwide use; (3) clearly situate cognitive style in the context of other individual differences and develop a model on how the various constructs interact in affecting behavior; and (4) establish clear relationships between cognitive style measures and objectively observable behavior to find relevant applications of cognitive styles in practice. Over the past decade, his plea has been followed by similar calls from others (e.g., Cools, 2009a; Curry, 2006; Kozhevnikov, 2007; Rayner, 2006; Sadler-Smith, 2009a, 2009b).
