Relationship Between Thinking Styles and Resilience

Abstract

The present research investigated the relationship between thinking styles and resilience. We tested the hypothesis that some thinking styles would be more strongly related to resilience than others. We report the results of a study involving 194 community college students (53 male, 138 female, and 3 failed to report). We assessed students' thinking styles using the Thinking Styles Inventory Revised II (TSI-R2; Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2007), which identifies a total of 13 distinct thinking styles. We assessed resilience using the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA; Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvinge, & Martinussen 2003), which assesses six aspects of resilience. The results showed that only three of the 13 possible thinking styles predicted resilience. These were: a) executive, which is characterized by a preference for instruction, structure, and productivity, b) external, which is characterized by an emphasis on the social relationship and working with others, and c) hierarchic, which is characterized by a preference to prioritize tasks. Implications for future research in educational settings are discussed.