Field Dependence and the Differentiation of Affective States

1981 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine R. Parkes

SummaryThe extent to which anxiety, irritability and depression were differentiated as separate entities associated with characteristic patterns of somatic and cognitive symptoms by field dependent (FD) and field independent (Fl) normal female subjects was studied with the Hidden Figures Test and Unpleasant Emotions Questionnaire. In the Fl group the correlations between the three emotions were low and non-significant, reflecting a clear-cut differentiation in symptom configuration, as shown by psychiatrists. In the FD group the inter-correlations were significant and positive, corresponding to relatively poor symptom differentiation, comparable to that of a psychiatric patient group. This suggests that the cognitive style variable of field dependence may underly differences in symptom differentiation associated with psychiatrist/patient differences and, more generally, with social class and sex differences.

1973 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen M. Vaught ◽  
Paul A. Roodin

Forty-two male and 42 female college students were subdivided into field independent, medium, and field dependent identity groups and matched for sex. Each subject was given 24 active and 24 passive touch form discrimination trials. The results showed that active touch form discrimination yielded fewer errors than passive touch and that females were better form discriminators than males. The interaction between field dependence, form discrimination and sex showed that in contrast to field independent subjects, field dependent males made more form discrimination errors while females improved. This interaction is discussed in relation to the field dependence literature.


1998 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 32-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Tinajero ◽  
Fernanda Páramo

This study examined the role of sex and intelligence in the relationship between field dependence-independence and second language acquisition for a sample of 383 students (187 girls and 196 boys) aged between 13 and 16. The Portable Rod and Frame Test (PRFT) and the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) were used to evaluate cognitive style. A two-way covariance analysis, with intelligence as the covariate, was employed to investigate differences in second language achievement between students classified as either field-dependent or field-independent. A cluster analysis using z scores was examined to study the performance of subjects classified as either field-dependent or field-independent according to scores obtained on the EFT and the PRFT (“coincident” subjects) and those classified as field-dependent in one test and field-independent in the other (“non-coincident” subjects). No statistically significant differences between the two groups were obtained when cognitive style was defined by scores on the PRFT. When field dependence-independence was measured by scores on the EFT, field-independent girls performed better than field-dependent girls (p < .005), but this outcome was not observed for boys. These results suggest a differential contribution of the “perceptive” and “cognitive” components of field dependence-independence and a modulating role by sex.


1971 ◽  
Vol 33 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1191-1194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph-M. De Koninck ◽  
Geneviève Crabbé-Declève

It was hypothesized that field-independent Ss would produce more white space figure-ground reversal responses (S) on the Rorschach test than field-dependent Ss. From 27 females and 25 males given the rod-and-frame test the 7 most field-independent and the 7 most field-dependent took the Rorschach test. The 7 field-independent Ss produced more white space reversals. A control on the number of reversal responses as a function of time of exposure and a control on sex differences showed no contaminating effect. Thus, both measures may refer to the same dimension.


Perception ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 661-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Sigman ◽  
Philip K Oltman

The extent to which apparent size is relationally determined has been studied by Rock and Ebenholtz and by Wenderoth, who came to widely differing conclusions as to the magnitude of this phenomenon. In both studies, a large range of individual differences was observed. In the present study, an attempt was made to account for variations in the influence of visual contexts on the perception of size by relating them to the cognitive style dimension of field dependence/independence. In two situations, relatively field-dependent observers made size judgments which were influenced by a frame surrounding the target figure, while relatively field-independent observers tended to be less influenced by the frame, making their judgments approximate the retinal size of the target. The results suggest that assessment of the magnitude of the relational determination of apparent size must consider the cognitive style of the observers as well as situational variations.


1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (3-1) ◽  
pp. 739-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Nagata

11 field-dependent and 14 field-independent students rated the relative grammaticality of sentences three times, with sentences presented repeatedly during the first and second judgments. All the subjects received negative reinforcement after the second judgments. Analyses showed that field-independent subjects tended to adopt a more stringent criterion on judgments after than before repetition, whereas no change in criterion was found for field-dependent subjects. Negative reinforcement showed only a tendency to lead field-dependent subjects toward greater change to a more lenient criterion than field-independent subjects. Change in judgments of grammaticality are reliably associated with the cognitive style of subjects, field dependence or field independence.


1993 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Rosa Young ◽  
Jeffrey T. Fouts

This study examined the field-dependent/independent cognitive style of three samples of second and third graders: a) those selected for gifted services; b) those nominated for services but not selected; and c) those not nominated for gifted services. In addition, the relationship between field dependence/independence and achievement and ability test scores was also explored. The results of this study indicated that a field-independent (analytical) cognitive style enhanced the prospect of being selected for gifted services, and that bias against field-dependent (global) cognitive style students may exist in certain selection procedures which rely on traditional assessment procedures and measures.


1975 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Coates ◽  
Mae Lord ◽  
Evelyn Jakabovics

The present study investigated the hypothesis that preschool children who spend more time in social play than in non-social play would be more field-dependent than their field-independent counterparts. Over-all the hypothesis was supported by the results. Although the social-non-social dimension appeared to account for most of the findings, correlations between individual play activities and field dependence suggested that this single dimension could not adequately account for all of the findings. The dimension of perceptual-motor demand required in some of the activities may have been involved as well. Discussion focused on the complexity of the play preference, cognitive findings, and on sex differences as well.


1994 ◽  
Vol 78 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1195-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin F. Davies

This study examined cognitive-style differences in reading strategies on a lexical-decision task. Subjects made word/nonword judgments for letter sequences consisting of either real words, English-sounding nonwords, or non-English-sounding nonwords. In line with previous findings, responses were significantly slower to English-sounding nonwords than to non-English sounding nonwords. This effect was qualified by a significant interaction with field dependence such that field-dependent subjects were significantly slower than field-independent subjects for English-sounding nonwords but not for non-English-sounding nonwords or for real words. These findings complement a 1988 finding by Davies that field-dependent scorers prefer a phonological strategy for lexical access and they provide better evidence for the role of such process differences in normal reading.


1986 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Swinnen ◽  
Joost Vandenberghe ◽  
Erik Van Assche

This study sought to determine the relationships between the cognitive styles field dependence-independence and reflection-impulsivity and the acquisition of a gross motor skill in an unstructured learning environment. In reference to the first cognitive style construct, it was hypothesized that field-independent subjects perform better than field-dependent subjects because they provide organization when the material to be learned lacks structure, leading them to rely on their analyzing and restructuring ability. The second construct refers to cognitive inhibition required for response uncertainty tasks as well as motor impulse inhibition. Subjects (57 boys, 65 girls) were 13-year-old junior high school students. Several visual perceptual tests were administered and gymnastic performance scores were measured at pretest, during the learning session, and posttest. The hypothesis that field-independent subjects are more successful in an unstructured learning environment than field-dependent subjects was confirmed for boys only. The correlations between the reflection-impulsivity variables and gymnastic performance were generally low, and no support could be found for the hypothesis that reflective subjects are more successful in learning the skill than impulsive subjects.


1973 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 735-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin F. Sousa-Poza ◽  
Robert Rohrberg ◽  
Ernest Shulman

Some characteristics of the social behavior of field-dependents as well as their superior recognition of ambiguous social stimuli led to the hypothesis that they would show greater self-disclosure than field-independents. This hypothesis was tested by administering the 60-item Jourard Self-disclosure Questionnaire (JSDQ) to 13 field-dependent and 13 field-independent Ss. In terms of total self-disclosure scores, field-dependents showed significantly (.025) higher levels than field-independents. Results are discussed in light of personality theories which emphasize the role of self-conceptual transactions in the development of the self.


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