Cognitive style and types of problem behaviour in boys in special schools.

BACKGROUND

The paper considers problem behaviour in the context of cognitive style with reference to both diagnosis and treatment.

AIMS

The aims of the study were to investigate whether the style of pupils with behaviour problems was different to that of children with no reported problems, and also to consider how pupils of different style manifested their problem behaviours.

SAMPLE

The sample comprised 131 male pupils aged 11-16 years from eight special schools.

METHOD

The sample were given the Cognitive Styles Analysis to assess their positions on the Wholist-Analytic and Verbal-Imagery style dimensions. The case notes of the sample were also examined for descriptions of recent behaviours.

RESULTS

When the style characteristics of the special school sample were compared with a comparison sample of 413 12-16 year-old males attending 10 secondary schools, the special school pupils had a significantly higher proportion of both Wholists and Verbalisers than the comparison group. Further, the inspection of the pupil records indicated that the types of social behaviour and behaviour problems exhibited varied with style.

CONCLUSION

The results were considered to have implications for the origins and treatment of problem behaviour.