Does identifying a student's sensory learning style and exploiting it result in significantly better performance?

Question

Do people tend to have one pronounced sense (i.e., there is high variability in how strong the auditory, visual, olfactory etc. perception is among people) and can this sense, once identified, be exploited in both beneficial (e.g., targeted/adaptive learning/teaching) and manipulative (e.g., sales negotiations) ways?

My intuition doubts the effectiveness, but perhaps there is empirical evidence.

My answer would also be no for the same reasons I articulate on this previous learning styles question (not a duplicate question) — Jeromy Anglim, Aug 15 '13 at 08:24
Could you motivate a bit where this question is coming from? Seems interesting though! — Steven Jeuris, Aug 15 '13 at 09:43
I've seen the recommendation that a student identify his/her 'learning sense' in many study-help websites, pamphlets, and even textbooks. I've always been skeptical about it. — Wuschelbeutel Kartoffelhuhn, Aug 15 '13 at 10:24

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 15 '13 at 04:46

I think your intuition might be correct. According to Hal Pashler, there is no real evidence for learning styles. The authors do not state that one particular learning style is applicable to everyone. Instead, they conclude that a particular subject may have a preferred learning style. For example, essay writing would have a preferred "verbal" learning style.

Source

Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence by Pashler et al.Psychlogical Science in the Public Interest. Volume 9.3 (2008).

Does identifying a student's sensory learning style and exploiting it result in significantly better performance?

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