Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of Alberta, 2009. / "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta." Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on September 9, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257-286).

M.A. (Psychology) / The concept of field dependence-field independence was developed by H.A. Witkin. Witkin and almost all subsequent researchers implicitly assumed that field dependence and field independence are bipolar opposites of a single underlying continuum. Resent research (O'Hara, 1985), however, suggested the possibility that field dependence and field independence are two independent constructs. The principal goal of the present study was to determine the cognitive and personality correlates of field dependence and field independence. To investigate the stated problem, a battery of 21 psychometric tests was administered to a stratified sample of 303 first year university students at the Rand Afrikaans University. The battery consisted of the newly constructed Field Dependence Inventory, Hidden Figures Test, Social Intelligence Test, Pattern Relations Test, and Jackson Personality Inventory. In order to ascertain whether the sample of students could be classified into (more than two) natural classes in terms of field dependence and field independence, a cluster analysis was performed. The Field Dependence Inventory served as a measure of field dependence, and the Hidden Figures Test, as a measure of field independence. These tests were used as input variables to the cluster analysis. Four classes were established. Differences in means between the four classes, in terms of the cognitive variables, were investigated by means of the Social Intelligence Test, and Pattern Relations Test. Personality differences were investigated by means of the Jackson Personality Inventory. The differences in means between the four classes, were investigated by means of a multivariate analysis of variance, one-way analyses of variance, and Scheffe's multiple comparisons...

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Herman Witkin's research in differentiation theory proposed a conceptual framework describing the cognitive style known as field-dependence-independence. The operational measures of this construct are restructuring skills and interpersonal competencies, and were originally conceived to be fixed in an individual. A recent reconceptualization, however, suggested that there may be some malleability in learning strategies that flow from cognitive style. Learners predisposed to field dependence might gain access to restructuring skills brought to problem-solving Situations by field independents. Thus this study undertook to examine the effects and practicability of restructuring training as a means of addressing individual learner differences. Community college students were identified on the field-dependence-independence continuum using the Hidden Figures Test. Students in the experimental group received training in use of restructuring strategies. All participants were given subsequent tasks requiring the employ of restructuring strategies. These posttest tasks included a visual disembedding task, a verbal disambiguating task, and a task of visual perspectivism. Training effect was observed in field dependents for all three test tasks. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a supplantation technique (zoom) on field dependent and field independent learners in the teaching of a picture detail recognition task through television. Specific research questions included: will field dependent or independent cognitive style affect the student's ability to recognize picture details presented in a television format; will the zoom television technique affect the learning of a picture detail recognition task for students classified as field dependent or field independent; is there an interaction effect between cognitive style and television presentation mode; will recall increase across four learning trials, can the zoom technique be modeled successfully in other picture detail recognition tasks by field independent and field dependent subjects; and is there an interaction effect between the learning trials and the television presentation mode? Students were shown two videotape treatments: one under the zoom condition which acted as a supplantation device and one under a no-zoom treatment which withheld supplantation. A posttest only 2x2x4 repeated measures design was utilized. The independent variables were cognitive style, treatment condition, and learning trials. The dependent measures were four posttests measuring picture detail recognition. Results indicate that the zoom treatment did not produce significantly higher picture detail recognition scores for either field independent or field dependent learners. Cognitive style had no significant effect on students' picture detail recognition ability in a learning task presented by television. Also, there was no significant interaction between the treatment and cognitive style. There was a significant difference in mean student performance across the four picture detail recognition tasks, as well as a significant interaction between the treatment condition and the learning trials. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

The purpose of this study is to identify what detail design tools are more productive for the different types of professional software developers. By establishing a match between the detail design tool and the cognitive style of the professional programmer, the end product (Information Systems) should be of a higher quality. Two laboratory experiments were conducted. The first experiment was with professional Software Developers; the second one was with students. The dependant variables considered in this study were the number of semantic errors and the time required to complete a design task for conditional logic. The independent variables were the cognitive style of the subject, the complexity of the task, and the detail design tools. Decision trees, flowcharts and pseudocode were used as detailed design tools. Field dependence was the only dimension of cognitive style that was tested.

by Leung Hiu-shan. / Thesis submitted in: June 1999. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-58). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iv / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.viii / INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Weak Central Coherence of Autism --- p.1 / Cognitive Style of Field Dependence/Independence --- p.4 / Visual Illusions --- p.5 / Summary of Previous research & Objectives and Hypotheses of Present Study --- p.8 / METHOD --- p.12 / Participants --- p.12 / Stimuli --- p.13 / Procedure --- p.19 / RESULTS --- p.24 / EFT --- p.24 / RFT --- p.26 / Correlation between EFT and RFT --- p.26 / Visual illusions --- p.30 / "Relationship between EFT, RFT and Visual Illusions" --- p.34 / Percentage of Subjects Succumbed/Not succumbed to Geometric Illusions --- p.44 / DISCUSSION --- p.44 / REFERENCES --- p.55 / APPENDICES --- p.59

Historically, Native American students have not achieved academic success; ethnic and racial stereotypes are common explanations for the problem. Many perceive the Native American student to be lacking either academic preparation or socio-cultural support for success. A review of the literature showed emerging research which indicates that significant differences can be shown between the learning styles of Native American students and their non-Native counterparts. It has been claimed that these differences may account for some of the differences in academic achievement. The purpose of this study was an attempt to document more thoroughly the differences between the learning styles of Native American and non-Native university students, employing the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The GEFT measures degree of field sensitivity, a measure of the degree to which an individual is affected by the surrounding environment or situation within which learning is to take place. It has been postulated that Native American children tend to be reared in a culture which promotes field dependent learning styles. Conversely, children reared in families promoting strong individual identity tend to be more field independent. The results of administering the GEFT to a group of Native American university students and to a comparison group of non-Native students supported the theory. A numerical difference of 2.1, on a scale of 1 to 18, was found between the mean scores of the two study groups with the Native American students scoring in the more field dependent domain. The mean score for the Native American student study group was 9.7, while that for the comparison group was 11.8. In addition to ethnic differences, the data from this study showed differences from previously established norms both by age and gender. Based on the results of this study, educators may be urged to consider the style in which a student learns before categorizing him or her as academically deficient. Further study of learning styles of Native American students and concommitantly of teaching styles which are best suited to Native American students is recommended. / Graduation date: 1991