The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a cognitive structure, or organizational aid, on the performance of field-independent (FI) and field-dependent (FD) women on an affective sensitivity task.Research has suggested FI individuals generally perform affective sensitivity tasks with greater accuracy than do FD individuals. However, previous research relating FI-FD with affective sensitivity may have failed to account for the influence of cognitive restructuring skills assumed to be required for the performance of an affective sensitivity task. Therefore, this investigation was undertaken to determine if the introduction of a cognitive structure would significantly influence the performance of either FI or FD women on an affective sensitivity task.The research sample included 86 volunteer female subjects recruited from undergraduate classes offered at Ball State University during Spring Quarter, 1979, in the departments of Nursing, Educational Psychology, Counseling Psychology and Psychological Science. Subjects, identified as FI or FD respectively, by their score of + ½ SD or – ½ SDfrom the mean of the norming group for the Group Embedded Figures Test; were assigned to one of two experimental condition groups, treatment or control.A cognitive structure, a commercially prepared audiovisual presentation relating nonverbal communication to specific emotional states, was presented to the treatment group. Two dependent variables were administered to both treatment and control groups. The primary dependent variable, the Affective Sensitivity Scale, Form E-A-2, a 16 millimeter color and sound film of encounters between two or more people, required the identification of the filmed participants' feelings in a multiple choice format. The secondary dependent variable was the Hogan Empathy Scale.The data from these instruments were analyzed using a Multivariate Stepdown Analysis of Variance. Results of this statistical analysis indicated one significant finding. FI subjects scored significantly higher than FD subjects on the Affective Sensitivity Scale, Form E-A-2, when controlling differences due to the Hogan Empathy Scale. INTO support was found for a differential effect of a cognitive structure on the performance of FI and FD subjects on an affective sensitivity task.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181952 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Wightman, Barbara K. |
| Contributors | Baumann, Karen S. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 126 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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