Reflective and Impulsive Cognitive Tempo and Mathematics Achievement in a Frontier, Outermost, and Disadvantaged Junior High School in Indonesia
Authors
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Etriana Meirista
Universitas Musamus
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Nur Rohmah Yulia Ningrum
STIA Karya Dharma College
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Nurhayati Nurhayati
Universitas Musamus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36312/e-saintika.v10i2.3786Keywords:
Conceptual Tempo, Reflective-Impulsive Cognitive Style, Mathematics Achievement, Matching Familiar Figures Test, 3T EducationAbstract
Conceptual tempo reflects individual differences in the balance between response speed and accuracy and may be particularly relevant to mathematics learning, where careful reasoning and verification are required. This study aimed to describe the distribution of conceptual-tempo profiles, compare mathematics achievement between Reflective and Impulsive students, and examine the statistical association between these two cognitive-style groups and mathematics achievement in a 3T (frontier, outermost, and disadvantaged) junior high school in Indonesia. A quantitative correlational design was employed. From a population of 210 students in Grades VII-IX, 138 students were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling followed by simple random sampling. Conceptual tempo was assessed using the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), while mathematics achievement was measured using a researcher-developed 30-item test. MFFT classification identified 51 Reflective students (36.96%), 19 Impulsive students (13.77%), 68 Slow-Inaccurate students (49.27%), and no Fast-Accurate students. Inferential analysis focused on the 70 Reflective and Impulsive students. Reflective students achieved higher mathematics scores (M = 61.12, SD = 10.84) than Impulsive students (M = 34.88, SD = 9.18). Dummy-coded regression showed a statistically significant association between cognitive-style membership and mathematics achievement, F(1, 68) = 87.70, p < .001, R² = .563, with an estimated group difference of 26.24 points (B = 26.238). These findings extend evidence on Reflective-Impulsive differences to an underrepresented 3T educational context while also revealing substantial conceptual-tempo heterogeneity within the broader student sample.
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