Field Dependence-Independence

What is it about?

We examined individual performance on an embedded figures test, in two separate studies. Performance measures were both the number ( m) of hits (H) and the number of false alarms (FA), and their respective reaction times (RT). Using these measures, we postulated four templates of performance, indicative of field dependence ( mH = low, RT H = long, mFA = high), field independence ( mH = high, RT H = short, mFA = low), impulsiveness ( mH = low, RT H = short, mFA = high), and reflectiveness ( mH = high, RT H = long, mFA = low). In the first study, individual profiles were correlated with these four templates, whose mean values were updated in a stepwise manner, under the constraint that the individual profile had to be substantially correlated with the emerging template ( r > 0.9). This procedure resulted in the final placement of a total of 64 individuals (80%) into one of the four templates. In the second study, we could identify 87% of the participants in such a manner. These participants also provided us with performance data on the rod-and-frame test (RFT), and a line-bisection task (whose analysis here is innovative), as well as scores on the sensation-seeking scales. We emphasize the utility of adopting such a finely-tuned approach to the study of the disembedding aspect of the cognitive style, and to the profiling of individual differences in general.

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Perspectives