The development of the cognitive behavior survey to assess medical student learning

Abstract

This article describes the development of the Cognitive Behavior Survey (CBS), whose purpose is to examine the cognitive behavior of medical students during the preclinical years. The CBS performs three functions. It generates descriptive data on learning behavior, learning experience, and epistemological beliefs. It measures the role of memorization, conceptualization, and reflection in student learning. Finally, it serves an exploratory function by measuring the degree to which students view learning as a positive experience. A variety of measures was used to establish the validity and reliability of the scales. Cronbach's alphas for the four scales respectively are .82, .79, .76, and .91.