Much of the research investigating color as an image characteristic for enhancing recognition memory has focused on comparisons between black-and-white images and full color images. These comparisons have only recently been extended to differentiate how color impacts learners of different cognitive style and in particular how color influences field dependency. Learners predisposed to field-dependence continually demonstrate a lower capacity than field-independent learners in terms of performance tasks where organizing or restructuring visual information is required. By using color as a mechanism to highlight objects within a visual field, we potentially increase figure-ground separation, which may help facilitate learning for field-dependents in instances where visual information is present. Thus this study undertook to examine the effects highlight color offers as a means of addressing individual learner differences. Undergraduate students were identified on the field-dependence-independence continuum using the Group Embedded Figures Test. Each student then received an instructional lesson on the anatomy of the heart where images were presented in one of four color variations; black-and-white, full realistic color, realistic highlight color, or contrived highlight color. All participants were given two tests following the instructional lesson, one for identification and the other for terminology. Test scores for the two tests indicated no differences for any variation of the color variable. Field-independents were observed to outperform field-dependents in all instances for both tests. / Ph. D.

Six separate experiments were conducted to investigate the role of Field Dependency (FDI) in determining the susceptibility of eyewitnesses to context reinstatement (CR); their performance in free, cued, and multi-choice recall, and facial identification accuracy; and finally the confidence expressed before and after performing these tasks, and the confidence accuracy relationship (C/AR). Questions were also addressed in relation to the measurement scale status of confidence ratings and the validity and utility of the Calibration / Resolution techniques for analysing the C/AR. Experiments I & II focussed on FDI and CR susceptibility, together with accuracy in free recall, cued recall, and recognition. Experiments III & IV focused on FDI, CR, and recognition. Experiment IV also utilised the Calibration / Resolution technique. Experiment V used a computer presented format to focus on FDI and recognition through simultaneous and sequential line-ups presented upright and inverted. Experiment VI included multi-choice recall testing along with free and cued recall and focussed on FDI, CR, and both correct and incorrect information produced. Experiments I, II, & VI indicated that Field Dependent (FD) participants benefited significantly from CR whilst Field Independent (FI) participants did not. FIs consistently outperformed FDs in cued recall. Experiment VI indicated that for FDs CR in free recall increased correct information and decreased erroneous information, leading to a significant improvement in the 'quality' of the information produced. In cued recall, however, correct information produced by FIs was greater than that produced by FDs and erroneous information lower, leading to a significant difference between FDs and FIs in the 'quality' of cued recall produced. Experiments III and IV indicated a significant superiority in facial recognition for FDs as compared to FIs across time delays of one week and three months in filled line-ups but not in blank. The explicit encoding format and upright and inverted lineups used in experiment V indicated a role for both attentiveness to others and configural processing in the superiority of FDs seen in experiments HI & IV. Results across experiments I, II, and VI indicated that confidence was significantly higher following a free recall test than when assessed at other points during recall testing. In experiment III, IV, & V confidence ratings were higher following exposure to the line-up than confidence ratings given before exposure. Results across all six experiments in relation to the C/AR show a marked level of inconsistency, however the use of the calibration / resolution techniques in experiment IV indicated a level of over-confidence on the part of FIs and underconfidence on the part of FDs that is in keeping with the personality aspects of FDI. In experiment VI the same techniques in relation to cued recall indicate a degree of overconfidence for 'easy' questions and under-confidence for 'hard' questions and point to a new approach to the investigation of the role of 'item difficulty' in determining the C/AR. Overall, the thesis argues that cognitive style is an important factor in predicting when context reinstatement will be beneficial, who will perform better in different recollection and recognition tasks, and how confidence will relate to accuracy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-76). Also available via the Internet.

Keeping a learner interested-and therefore engaged-in content to be mastered generally improves learning. One way to keep a learner interested is using seductive augmentation, which refers to the addition of entertaining text, graphics, sound, music, video or animation that is either irrelevant or only tangentially relevant to the learning objectives. Learner cognitive styles impact how individuals approach learning and problem-solving situations. With recent advances in technology, there has been an increased interest in the way such individual differences influence performance while learning. Research on the effects of cognitive styles has mainly focused on the role of field-dependence/independence. One of the recent advances in technology is the availability of virtual worlds as learning environments. This study investigated whether seductive augmentation in Second Life, a commonly used virtual world, affects the learning performance of field-dependent and field-independent education majors in an undergraduate class unit. A second focus of this study was to examine whether the computer self-efficacy of these learners changed after their two-month experience with the virtual world of Second Life. To determine if seductive augmentation in Second Life affects the achievement of field-dependent and field-independent learners differently, two different settings were designed in two different regions of Second Life. One setting was free of seductive augmentation, but the other setting included seductive augmentation in the forms of music, animation, text, videos and games. Thirty-six participants self-selected to the seductive setting and 48 to the non-seductive setting. The participants were pre- and post-tested on the instructional content presented both in Second Life and in real life classes; furthermore, to examine the influence on learners' computer self-efficacy, pre- and post-computer self-efficacy surveys were administered. The results of the study were obtained through two independent mixed-model factorial analyses of variance with repeats on the third factor (time) for achievement and computer self-efficacy scores. For the main effects, results indicated no significance for the between-group factors of field-dependency and seductiveness or for their interaction with either achievement scores or computer self-efficacy scores. The only significant factor was time as the main within-group factor for achievement scores. Therefore, the study did not find seductive augmentation effect in Second Life. In addition, there was no detectable change in the participants' computer self-efficacy as a result of their experience in this virtual world. The results of the present study contradict the findings of some previous research and support others.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether cueing strategies embedded in computer delivered text messages affected the recall and comprehension of students who differed in their field dependent-independent cognitive style orientations. Two hundred thirty-eight undergraduate students of Virginia Tech participated the study, and 219 sets of valid data were used for the statistical analyses. All participants were given the Group Embedded Figures Test to determine their level of field dependence-independence. They were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups that varied in their use of cueing strategy. The first treatment group featured computer delivered text messages with color-highlighted-keywords, the second group featured the same textual content with color-highlighted-key-phrases, and the third group was a control group that featured the same content and employed no cueing strategy. Participants were administered two tests following the treatments, one that assessed knowledge of terminology and another that assessed comprehension. A 3 x 3 Analysis of Variance was conducted to explore the main effects for field dependency and cueing strategy and any interaction effect between the two factors. The results showed that field independents outperformed field dependents in all tests. There were no significant differences for the three treatments; the cueing strategies employed in this study had no effect on participants' learning. A significant interaction was seen between field dependency and cueing strategy. However, the results of a one-way ANOVA are unexpected: the cueing strategies employed did not improve field dependents' performance on the assessments and actually hindered the performance of field independents. / Ph. D.

The aim of the study was to investigate how well the geometry achievement is explained by field dependency/ independency cognitive styles, spatial orientation, spatial visualization and attitude toward geometry. The sample of the study was composed of 378 ninth grade students (183 male and 195 female) from five different lycees in EskiSehir. The types of schools participating in the study were General High School, Anatolian High School, Commercial Vocational High, and Anatolian Fine Art High School. The data were collected by using four instruments, which were Group Embedded Figure Test ( GEFT ) , Spatial Ability Tests, Geometry Achievement Test (GAT) and Geometry Attitude Scale (GAS). GEFT developed by Witkin, Oltman, Raskin and Karp ( 1971 ) was used to determine students&rsquo / cognitive styles. Another test, The Spatial Ability Test developed by Ekstrom and colleagues (1976) was composed of four sub-tests. Two of them were aimed to measure spatial orientation, which were Cube Comparison and Card Rotation test. The others were developed to measure spatial visualization, which were Paper Folding and Surface Development tests. The Turkish version of the tests translated by Delialioglu (1996) used in the study. In order to measure geometry achievement, GAT was developed by researcher. GAS developed by Bulut, iSeri, Ekici and Helvaci (2002) was used to measure the dimension of like/dislike geometry, usefulness of geometry and anxiety about geometry. The data conducted from the research sample through the tests and scale was analyzed by using regression analysis. The multiple regression analysis indicated that students&rsquo / cognitive styles were the most significant variable in explaining their geometry achievements. The other predictive variables also made statistically significant contribution in explaining the variance in geometry achievement. Four predictive variables of the study were entered the regression model, and explained the % 47 of the variance in geometry achievement. The findings of the study suggested that students&rsquo / field dependency/ independency cognitive style had high importance in learning geometry / and it should have taken into the consideration in teaching geometry.