1. When there is conflict between people over ideas, I tend to favor the side that:
Identifies and tries to bring out the conflict
Best expresses the values and ideals involved
Best reflects my personal opinions and experience
Approaches the situation with the most logic and consistency
Expresses the argument most forcefully and concisely
2. When I begin work on a group project, what is most important to me is:
Understanding the purposes and value of the project
Discovering the goals and values of individuals in the group
Determining the steps to be taken to get the project done efficiently
Understanding how the project will pay off for myself and others
Getting the project organized and under way
3. Generally speaking, I absorb new ideas best by:
Relating them to current or future activities
Applying them to concrete situations
Concentration and careful analysis
Understanding how they are similar to familiar ideas
Contrasting them to other ideas
4. For me, charts and graphs in a book or article are usually:
More useful than the narrative, if they are accurate
Useful, if they clearly display the important facts
Useful, if supported and explained by the narrative
Useful, if they raise questions about the narrative
No more and no less useful than other material
5. If I were asked to do a research project, I would probably start by:
Trying to fit the project into a broad perspective
Deciding if I can do it alone or will need help
Speculating about what the possible outcomes might be
Determining whether or not the project should be done
Trying to formulate the problem as thoroughly as possible
6. If I were to gather information from neighbors about a community concern, I would prefer to:
Meet with them individually and ask specific questions
Hold an open meeting and ask them to air their views
Interview them in small groups and ask general questions
Meet informally with key people to get their ideas
Ask them to bring me all the relevant information that they have
7. I am likely to believe that something is true if it:
Has held up against opposition
Fits with other things that I believe
Has been shown to hold up in practice
Makes sense logically and scientifically
Can be personally verified by observable facts
8. When I read a magazine article in my leisure time, it is likely to be about:
How someone resolved a personal or social problem
A controversial social or political issue
An account of scientific or historical research
An interesting, humorous person or event
A true account of someone's interesting experience
9. When I read a report at work, I am likely to pay the most attention to:
The relation of the conclusions to my own experience
Whether or not the recommendations can be accomplished
The validity of the findings, backed up by data
The writer's understanding of goals and objectives
The inferences that are drawn from the data
10. When i have a task to do, the first thing I want to know is:
What the best method is for getting the task done
Who wants the task done and when
Why the task is worth doing
What effect it may have on other tasks that have to be done
What the immediate benefit is for doing the task
11. I usually learn the most about how to do something new by:
Understanding how it is related to other things I know
Starting in to practice it as soon as possible
Listening to differing views about how it is done
Having someone show me how to do it
Analyzing how to do it the best way
12. If I were to be tested or examined, I would prefer:
An objective, problem-oriented set of questions on the subject
A debate with others who are also being tested
An oral-visual presentation covering what I know
An informal report on how I have applied what I have learned
A written report covering background, theory, and method
13. People whose abilities I respect the most are likely to be:
Philosophers and statesmen
Business and government leaders
14. Generally speaking, I find a theory useful if it:
Seems related to other theories or ideas that 1 have learned
Explains things to me in a new way
Can systematically explain a number of related situations
Serves to clarify my own experience and observations
Has a practical and concrete application
15. When I read an article on a controversial subject, I prefer that it:
Show the benefits to me for choosing a point of view
Set forth all the facts in the controversy
Logically outline the issues involved
Identify the values supported by the writer
Highlight both sides of the issue and clarify the conflict
16. If I read a book outside my field, I am most likely to do so because of:
An interest in improving my professional knowledge
Having been told it would be useful by someone I respect
A desire to extend my general knowledge
A desire to get outside my field for a change
Curiosity to learn more about the specific subject
17. When I first approach a technical problem, I am most likely to:
Try to relate it to a broader problem or theory
Look for ways to get the problem solved quickly
Think of a number of opposing ways to solve it
Look for ways that others might have solved it
Try to find the best procedure for solving it
18. Generally speaking, I am most inclined to:
Find existing methods that work, and use them as well as possible
Speculate about how dissimilar methods might work together
Discover new and better methods
Find ways to make existing methods work in a new and better way
Figure out how existing methods ought to work