Intellectual style theories: different types of categorizations and their relevance for practitioners

Abstract

In the 20th century, a large number of psychological theories of intellectual styles were developed. Different reviews mention up to 71 theories of style. In the last 25 years, several suggestions as to how theories of styles may be divided into categories and fields of focus have been offered. Theorists and researchers disagree about the criteria on which categorizations should be based, and about which theories fulfill these criteria. Such disagreements are fruitful at a theoretical level, but also have negative consequences for the intended fields of application of the style theories and the associated instruments for measuring styles, because practitioners seeking the theory and instrument best suited for their intended use/application simply cannot find their way through the jungle of disagreements. The present study seeks to reduce the confusion for practitioners seeking to employ styles, by developing a taxonomy of categorizations of style theories in which all style theories can be placed.