Validation of Two Cognitive Measures to Assess Field-Dependence/Independence

Abstract

The administration and scoring procedures for the Articulation of the Body-concept Scale and the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test were adapted to assess 3- to 8-yr.-old children's magnitude of field-dependence/independence. 300 3- to 5-yr.-old and 480 6- and 8-yr.-old children were administered the appropriate forms of the Embedded Figures Test, Articulation of the Body-concept Scale, and Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test. High reliability and validity estimates were found using a variety of procedures. Scores on these tests were correlated with each other to find the relationships among the tests for both the preschool and primary children. Correlations for the preschool children were stronger than those for the primary children. However, the results support the hypothesis that the administration and scoring procedures for the Articulation of the Body-concept Scale and the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test can be used to determine preschool and primary children's field-dependence/independence.

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