Three items are described in this paper: the individual difference variable of cognitive style, research which has implicated cognitive style and reading achievement, and beginning reading research which uses cognitive style as a dependent variable. The contents include "Cognitive Style," which discusses research related to defining cognitive style and behaviors related to cognitive style; "Cognitive Style and Reading," which describes how cognitive style is related to reading and discusses two cognitive style dimensions which have been implicated with reading--dependence-independence and impulsivity-reflectivity; "Needed Research," which presents possible research in the areas of word recognition skills, psycholinguistic theory, relevant graphic cues, and the relationship between cognitive style and the self-correcting behavior of beginning readers; and "Summary," which emphasizes the need for beginning reading research to provide teachers with instructional strategies which match the cognitive style of children who are beginning to learn how to read. (WR)