While personality relates to one’s behaviour as a whole, cognitive function relates more explicitly to mental information processing. Since the majority of system development work and IT work in general involves intellectual functioning, it is not difficult to see that how a person performs “mind work” is a relevant psychological factor in IT work. In fact, it is in the area of cognition that a majority of psychological research in computing/information systems has been carried out.
COGNITIVE STYLE
According to Hayes and Allinson (1998), cognitive style is “a person’s preferred way of gathering, processing, and evaluating information.” Streufert and Nogami (1989) identify cognitive style as a pervasive personality variable. It influences what information in one’s environment a person focuses on and how he/she interprets this information.
One main way of dichotomizing cognitive functioning is the analytic, sequential versus intuitive, holistic functioning. Some psychologists have referred to the former as “left-brain thinking” and the latter “right-brain thinking” (although other scholars may consider this an oversimplification). The former focuses on “trees,” and the latter sees the “forest” in solving problems and coming to conclusions.
The intuitive person integrates many perspectives, finds problems and discovers opportunities, and generates new visions. She is sensitive to both logical and emotional issues, viewing them as one. However, she may overlook important details, may not communicate precisely enough, and may put off decisions.
Adaptor-Innovator
One of the main theories on cognitive styles, along with an instrument to evaluate the style, is the Kirton Adaptation/Innovation theory. This theory of cognitive strategy relates to the amount of structure that a person feels appropriate within which to solve a problem or to embark on creativity.
The Adaptor (left-brained) prefers to work within current paradigms, focusing on doing things better, while the Innovator (right-brained) prefers to “color outside the lines,” constructing new paradigms, focusing on “doing things differently.”
The Innovator, on the other hand, cuts across and often invents new paradigms. He is more interdisciplinary, approaches tasks from unsuspected angles, and often treats accepted means with little regard. He tends to take control in unstructured situations, but is usually capable of detailed routine work for only short bursts of time. While an Adaptor has higher self-doubt and is vulnerable to social pressure and authority, an Innovator does not need consensus to maintain confidence in the face of opposition.
Cognitive Style in IT
It is not difficult to realize that there will be both Adaptors and Innovators in the IT profession. It is also easy to see that each style, if properly harnessed and managed, will provide significant contributions to the development and implementation of information systems, particularly Web-based multimedia applications.
FOR THE BEGINNER
Once cognitive style is recognized as a legitimate psychological factor relevant to IS work, the natural question arises how such consciousness can be used within the profession. The first step is for large numbers of IS professionals to begin to recognize their preferred style, quite possibly alongside their personality type. Areas of IS work in which cognitive style can have a significant effect can be identified. Management can then promote a “culture of awareness” that encourages open communication on effective synergy in different thinking styles. Once an IS developer becomes conscious of his strengths and likely “blind spots” related to his preferred cognitive functioning, he may actually seek input from a co-worker with a complementary style. Such an attitude can indeed reflect “professional wisdom” or “emotional intelligence.”
The issue of cognitive style is likely to be viewed by many IS professionals as the most “scientific” of the topics presented so far. Since so much of IS work involves thinking and learning, many people would likely not object to finding out more about how they think. Thus, most objections from IS workers would not come on philosophical grounds, but perhaps on grounds of a general uneasiness regarding self-examination.
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