Intuition‐analysis cognitive style and learning preferences of business and management students : A UK exploratory study

The study is an attempt to provide empirical elaboration, in the context of business and management education, for the “onion” and cognitive control models of cognitive style. Using a sample of 226 business and management undergraduates the research explored the relationship between cognitive style (measured using the cognitive style index and learning preference. Using principal components analysis, three categories of learning preference were discerned (active, reflective and individual). Correlational analysis and one way analysis of variance revealed statistically significant relationships between preferences for reflective and individual methods and cognitive style. The results provide some support for the “onion” and cognitive control models; the implications for business and management education, training and development are discussed.