Teachers' demands and pupils' morale in school: Pupils' individual cognitive styles

Abstract

The main purpose of the present research was to examine the impact of a teacher's cognitive dimension toward pupils on the pupils' cognitive style, and the influence of that on the pupils' morale in school. The nature of the teachers' demands was examined for 4 children. The results were as follows: (1)When the pupil recognizes the teacher's cognitions as positive, the intensity of the direction by denial is mainly underestimated, and the demand in relation to activities that the pupil can do well is overestimated. (2) When a pupil's reaction to a teacher's request is self-criticism, the direction by denial about a demand in relation to an activity that the pupil cannot do skillfully is overestimated, and that about a demand for something the pupil can do well is underestimated. These results show that each pupil's cognitive style in response to teachers' demands is one of the important factors that determines the pupil's morale in school. To understand pupils' morale, it is necessary to take into consideration not only how teachers react to the pupils, but also how the pupils react to environmental cognitive factors, especially the teacher s cognitions.