Cognitive Styles: History and New Problems
The article describes the modem state and the logic of the problem of cognitive styles. Is presented the analysis of peculiarities of development of theoretical ideas about cognitive styles in foreign psychology. Is considered the formation of the concept of «cognitive style» and different approaches to its contents and nature. The main theoretical sources of the stylistic approach to intellectual activities were the theory of psychological differentiation of Witkin G, the theory of cognitive control of J. Klein, R. Gardner, F. Holtzman, etc., the theory of cognitive tempo of J. Kagan, the theory of individual conceptual systems of O. Harvey, D. Hunt, and H. Schroder, personal construct theory of J. Kelly. The peculiarities of cognitive styles development in Russian psychology are described in the article. The methodological basis of the study of human styles are the elements of the activity paradigm of A. N. Leontiev, the concept of integral individuality of V. S. Merlin, the typological approach to the analysis of properties of the nervous system of B. M. Teplov, V. D. Nebylitsyn. Are formulated the basic theoretical issues of the cognitive-style paradigm at the present stage (expansion of the style approach on many areas of psychological research; the problem connected with bipolar treatment styles; the genetic aspect of the problem). The necessity to solve the following question is substantiated in the article: when there are cognitive-style differences in the overall ontogenetic development of the person.