Field independence and the free-recall of nonsense syllables.

Abstract

40 Ss were classified as either field independent or field dependent and then randomly assigned to one of four free-recall learning situations which were varied in terms of mode of item presentation and item meaningfulness. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was carried out. The hypothesized Field Independence × Meaningfulness and Field Independence × Mode of Presentation interactions were not significant, but significant main effects were found for Field Independence ( p < .05), Meaningfulness ( p < .01) and Mode of Presentation ( p < .05). It was concluded that lists of nonsense syllables high in intra-list similarity form embedding contexts analogous to the contexts presented in the Embedded Figures Test.