The Perry scheme: Across cultures, across approaches to the study of human psychology

Abstract

This paper presents a series of five studies conducted between the year 1994 and the year 2000. A common goal shared by all five studies is to validate the Perry scheme as measured by the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory. Involved in the studies were 2,269 (937 males, 1321 females, and 11 did not indicate gender) students from 12 universities in three cultures. All research participants responded to the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory. Participants from one of the studies also responded to the Study Process Questionnaire. Still, participants from another one of the studies also responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory. Three of the major findings are: (1) the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory has reasonably good reliability and good internal and external validity, (2) the cognitive-developmental pattern of the mainland Chinese students was opposite to that described by Perry, and (3) the cognitive-developmental pattern described by Perry was not identified in either of the two U.S. samples. Recommendations were made as they relate to future studies using the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory.