Field Dependence-Independence

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Field Dependence-Independence

by: KIshan Gondha, Susan Youndsteadt, Mirela Scott, Melissa Bloomfield, Ryan Rutowski & Lindsey Racz

Herman Witkin:

Testing Techniques

Field Dependence and Interpersonal Behavior:

Herman A. Witkin and Donald R. Goodenough

Field Dependence and

Persuasive Arguments

Herman Witkin:

Background

Field-dependent:

-interpersonal orientation

-stronger social skills

-use information from others in ambiguous social situations, when the source of information is viewed as reliable

Field-independent:

-impersonal orientation

-stronger cognitive analysis skills

-function more separately in ambiguous situations

Studies referenced:

-Unanimous decision making

-Cooperative rod-and-frame test

-Conflict resolution/compromise

-Flashing light flicker rate

-Another apparatus Herman Witkin developed is the Rod and Frame Test (RFT). RFT is when a participant sits in a darkened room where he or she is given instructions about watching a glowing rod surrounding by external stimuli. The researcher then manipulate both the rod, the frame, and the participant chair...eventually afterward asking the participant if they can adjust the rod perfectly upright. If they cannot, they are considered FD.

- He explains the differences between field dependent and field independent. Field independent people don't rely on social cues whereas field dependent rely on information provided by the outer world.

-From the RFT, this can explain people’s interpersonal relationships as well...

-------> interpersonal relationships -when someone is field dependent, they rely on social cues and are oriented toward other people and if someone is field independent, they are more impersonal and detached from others

-When Witkin died, the FI and FD research slowed. However new research reappeared in the 1990s

-Study conducted in 2006 at the University of Missouri

-Tested how field dependence/Independence affected the ability of subjects to be persuaded by either convincing or refutable arguments from sources of either high or low credibility

Procedure:

-354 subjects presented with an argument that was counterattitudinal to their beliefs

-Each subject was presented with a booklet claiming that a recorded news story they were about to hear was either a scholarly report (high credibility) or an op-ed piece (low credibility)

-Each message could either be of high or low quality, with high quality messages using statistics and logic, while low quality messages were illogical and used anecdotes

-After listening to the message, each subjects was asked their thoughts on the argument and given a test to determine field dependence

- American Psychologist concentrating in Cognitive Psychology and Learning Psychology

- He pioneered the Theory of Cognitive Styles.From this theory, he developed the Embedded Figure Test (EFT).

- He rather focus on objective means, like projective tests and solving tests instead of questionnaires.

- Conducted much of the original research in Field Dependence and Field Independence

Results

Results:

How'd you do?

Results showed that field dependent subjects were more affected by the credibility of the arguments, whether the message was convincing or not

This is comparable to field dependent people focusing more on the environment or context

In contrast, field independent subjects were more affected by the quality of the message rather than the credibility, suggesting that they can ignore the surroundings

Field Independent: people who can quickly spot many or all of the embedded figures

Field Dependent: people who have trouble quickly spotting many or all of the embedded figures

*In other words, those who are field dependent tend to see the entire perceptual field and can not differentiate between the more complex photo or situation to see the embedded details or pictures. Field independent people tend to impose their own structure on the information to process it

The Embedded Figures Test

Real World Applications

Although this study provides no predictive power to see how you will react to different arguments, it’s still good to keep in mind both the credibility AND the quality of an argument and not be solely focused on one aspect

-3 Minutes test

-1 Minute without answer key

-2 Minutes with answer key

-Good luck!

Personality, Learning Style

and Social-Political Attitudes

Campbell et al. (1971)

Results and Conclusions

-DeBell and Crystal (2005)

-Participants 72 students in Grades 6 through 12 (26 girls, 46 boys)

-All completed embedded figures test

and 6 other measures

Witkin et al. (1962)

Group Embedded Figures Test Scores were...

-somewhat correlated with visual learning

-Positively correlated with Concrete Global learning preference

-negatively associated with preferences for individualist responsibility

What does this tell us?

Discovered that ADD/ADHD children tend to be noticeably more field dependent than “normal” children

Multiple tests were conducted:

o Embedded Figures Test

§ Field Dependent

o Matching Familiar Figures Test

§ Faster response times, but higher error count

o Naming Repeated Animals Test§ No difference in Color Distraction Test

§ Longer response times

Conclusions...

o Hyperactive/Impulsive children (those with any type of ADHD) are more easily distracted by the environment – as shown above, how this is shown may vary by test, but the overall conclusion remains the same.

Field Independent males tend to be more emotionally independent and are better at impulse control

· Also, they are more focused on mastering intellectual topics, and persist longer on intellectually challenging tasks.

· They state that children who have high activity levels are more like to respond globally. (If their activity levels are demonstrated by poor impulse control)

o Refresher: Global Attribution is….?

§ When a person believes the cause of negative events is always the same, no matter the situation