Thinking styles and self-determination among university students who are deaf or hard of hearing and hearing university students

This study explores how students' thinking styles are related to their self-determination. The Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) Self Determination Scale were administered to 913 university students (480 who were deaf or hard of -hearing and 433 hearing) in mainland China. Results showed that, among all participants, those with Type I styles (i.e., more creativity-generating, less structured, and cognitively more complex) had higher levels of self-determination, while those with Type II styles (i.e., more norm favoring, more structured, and cognitively more simplistic) had lower levels of self-determination. The contributions, limitations, and implications of this study are discussed.