Performance of Field-Independent and -Dependent College Students,and Their “Fixed” and “Mobile” Subtypes,on Two Formats of a Cognitive Task

Abstract

This study compared the performance of 101 college students classified as field-independent and -dependent, who were also divided into “fixed” (or rigid) and “mobile” (or flexible) subtypes. The divisions were based on the median-split technique being applied to the students' scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test and the Breskin Rigidity Test. The dependent variables were performance on the open-answer and multiple-choice versions of a complex cognitive task, Gorham's Proverbs Test. As expected, field-independent subjects outperformed field-dependent ones on both versions, and the field-independent-fixed subtype tended to outperform the other three subtypes (field-independent-mobile, field-dependent-fixed and -mobile). Implications of the results are discussed and suggestions for further research are provided.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Breskin

(1968) Measurement of rigidity: a non-verbal test. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 27, 1203–1206.

Chapman

L. J.

Cameron

Cocke

J. G.

, & Pritchett

(1975) Effects of phenothiazine withdrawal on proverb interpretation by chronic schizophrenics. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 84, 24–29.

Cunningham

D. M.

(1986) Factors affecting the use of proverb interpretation as a measure of abstract ability. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Howard Univer.

Eisner

D. A.

(1972) Developmental relationship between field-independence and fixidity-mobility. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 34, 767–770.

Ferguson

G. A.

(1976) Statistical analysis in psychology and education. (4th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.

Goldstein

, & Blackman

(1978) Cognitive style: five approaches and relevant research. New York: Wiley.

Goodenough

D. R.

, & Karp

S. A.

(1961) Field dependence and intellectual functioning. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 211–216.

Gorham

D. R.

(1956a) Proverbs Test. Missoula, MT: Psychological Test Specialists.

Gorham

D. R.

(1956b) A proverbs test for clinical and experimental use. Psychological Reports, 2, 1–12.

10.

Gorham

D. R.

(1956c) Use of the Proverbs Test for differentiating schizophrenics from normals. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 20, 435–440.

11.

Gorham

D. R.

(1963) Additional norms and scoring suggestions for the Proverbs Test. Psychological Reports, 13, 487–492.

12.

Haronian

, & Sugerman

A. A.

(1966) Field independence and resistance to reversal of perspective. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 22, 543–546.

13.

Haronian

, & Sugerman

A. A.

(1967) Fixed and mobile field independence: review of studies relevant to Werner's dimension. Psychological Reports, 21, 41–57.

14.

Nie

N. H.

Hull

C. H.

Jenkins

J. G.

Steinbrenner

, & Bent

D. H.

(1975) Statistical package for the social sciences. (2nd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.

15.

Oltman

P. K.

Witkin

H. A.

Raskin

, & Karp

S. A.

(1971) A manual for the Embedded Figures Test. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

16.

Werner

(1957) The concept of development from a comparative and organismic point of view. In Harris

D. B.

(Ed.), The concept of development: an issue in the study of human behavior. Minneapolis, MN: Univer. of Minnesota Press. Pp. 125–148.

17.

Witkin

H. A.

(1950) Perception of the upright when the direction of force acting on the body is changed. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 40, 93–106.

18.

Witkin

H. A.

(1965) Psychological differentiation and forms of pathology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 70, 317–336.

19.

Witkin

H. A.

, & Asch

S. E.

(1948) Studies in space orientation: III. Perception of the upright in the absence of a visual field. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 603–614.

20.

Witkin

H. A.

, & Goodenough

D. R.

(1977) Field dependence and interpersonal behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 661–689.

21.

Witkin

H. A.

, & Goodenough

D. R.

(1981) Cognitive styles: essence and origins. New York: International Universities Press.