Imagery and verbal traits in early middle adolescents : an initial analysis
Date
1986
Authors
Hartmann, John James
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Abstract
This investigation represented an initial enquiry into the preferred thinking styles of young and middle adolescents. Elkind's theories of the imaginary audience and the personal fable (see e.g., 1967), derived from the Piagetian concept of developmental egocentrism, were offered as plausible reasons to infer a heightened use of and preference for an imaginal style of thinking in this age group. The developmental tasks that obtain during this period as suggested by Erikson (1950) were cited as a codicil.
A modified version of the Individual Differences Questionnaire (IDQ, Paivio & Harshman, 1983), made linguistically accessible to this adolescent age group, was used in the assessment of over 700 early and middle adolescents. The data generated by this instrument were factor analyzed following the procedures previously outlined by Paivio and Harshman (1983). Further multivariate analyses were carried out when the replicability and stability of he factor solutions had been established.
The modified IDQ yielded two factors which corresponded to the original (nominal) verbal and imaginal scales. Further, a six factor solution was deemed to be the best representation of the simple structure of the factor space. This replicated the previous study by Paivio and Harshman (1983). In the present study an imaginal factor was primary in both the two and six factor solutions.
Multivariate analyses using a subset of 40 items from the IDQ, balanced for trait and polarity, suggested a strong bias toward an imaginal style of thinking for this sample. No significant age differences were found within the study. A small, significant effect for sex obtained, the females scoring higher on all items (on average) that the males. A noticeable polarity effect was discovered such that negatively worded items (disconfirmation of a trait) were scored with more assurance than positive items. Implications for the classroom were suggested.
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UN SDG 4: Quality Education