Learning style and teaching style interaction and the effect on psychological reactance

Scope and method of study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of teaching style and learning style on psychological reactance and student's evaluation of educational quality. Sample data was collected from small college and university populations. Assessment of learning style and dispositional psychological reactance was obtained first, then students were randomly assigned to teaching style vignettes in which they answered questions concerning situational psychological reactance and teacher effectiveness. Upon validation and reliability checks of the dependent variables the main analysis were conducted.;Findings and conclusions. The results indicated that there was a significant main effect for teaching style and educational psychological reactance. Specifically, a presentational style of teaching produces more psychological reactance than teaching styles with moderate levels of structure and control. Student's evaluations of teacher effectiveness in the areas of course structure and instructor personality characteristics indicated main effects in the area of teaching method as well. The presentational mode of teaching produced lower ratings of course structure than those methods closer to student-centered organization. Likewise, student ratings of instructors were lower for both the presentational and the student-centered method. Evaluations concerning comparison to other classes produced an interaction between teaching and learning styles. Patterns of learning style by teaching style ratings were significantly different primarily in the presentational teaching mode. The implications and suggestions for further research are discussed. for further research are discussed.