Effectiveness of Discrimination of the Sizes of Line Segments by Humans with Different Cognitive Style Parameters

Abstract

The effectiveness of the discrimination of segment sizes by people with different cognitive style parameters – field dependence vs. field independence, analytical vs. synthetic, and flexible vs. rigid cognitive control – was studied. Discrimination effectiveness was assessed in terms of the magnitude of the Ponzo illusion. The magnitude of the Ponzo illusion was found to be significantly smaller in subjects with a field-independent cognitive style than in those with a field-dependent style. People with the flexible type of cognitive control demonstrated a tendency to more accurate perception of segment size in the Ponzo figure than those with rigid control. There was no relationship between the analytical-synthetic style of categorization and the magnitude of the Ponzo illusion.