Witkin's Embedded Figures Test Research Articles

Cognitive processes in patients with different structure of anxiety disorders

To study the relationship between cognitive functions and psychopathological disturbances in anxiety disorders. WAIS, the modified Witkin's Embedded figures test, a symptom scale (Yu.A. Aleksandrovsky et al. 1984) were administered to 111 patients, including 37 with generalized anxiety disorders (GAD, ICD-10 F41.1), 36 with anxiety-phobic disorders (AFD, ICD-10 F40) and 38 with anxiety-hypochondriac disorders (AHD, ICD-10 F45.2), and to 114 healthy people. A distinct trend towards an increase of cognitive impairment depending on an increase in the complicity of psychopathological picture was observed as follows: GAD - AFD - AHD. A decrease in visual-motor coordination and visual attention was found in patients with GAD. In AFD patients, besides disturbances characteristic of GAD, there was a decrease on the WAIS Vocabulary subtest. In AHD patients, there was a decrease in analytic and synthetic abilities. The heterogeneity of changes in cognitive processes and the structure of their correlations with psychopathological symptoms in anxiety disorders was revealed as follows: a decrease in some parameters of cognitive processes in anxiety disorders with mild structure, an increase in cognitive dysfunction and in a number of correlations in anxiety disorders with more complex psychopathological picture, higher scores on the WAIS Block design task.

An Experimental Study of the Relationship between Representational Systems in the Bilingual and Psychological Differentiation.

A sample of 98 bilingual students, equally proficient in English and Yoruba, were ordered from low to high separation of representational systems on the basis of their scores on three verbal indices: (1) percentage of responses given to a word association test in English which could not be translated into Yoruba. (2) Percentage of correctly identified sentences in a sentence recognition test and (3) differences in performance on a bigram test when the instructions were given in English or Yoruba or English and Yoruba. Respondents then participated in a task involving a shortened form of Witkin's Embedded Figures Test. It was predicted that the degree of separation of representational systems is significantly related to field dependence/independence. The results of this preliminary study are interpreted to indicate that the degree of separation of the bilingual's representational systems may be related to his/her degree of psychological differentiation. (IFE Psychologia (2002) 10(2), 127-135)

Gender Differences in Illusion Response: The Influence of Spatial Strategy and Sex Ratio

Two experiments explored factors related to gender differences in Ponzo illusion susceptibility. In Experiment 1, 54 male and 54 female (predominantly white, middle class) undergraduates were administered Witkin's Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and, on 2 separate occasions, a form of the Ponzo illusion. Results showed the Ponzo to be quite reliable over several days. Females were significantly more field dependent (as shown by slower responses to the EFT), and significantly more susceptible to the Ponzo illusion, than males. Furthermore, EFT performance correlated significantly with Ponzo susceptibility for females, but not for males, suggesting that the difference between males and females in Ponzo response may be due not to differences in field independence per se, but rather to differences in the strategies used to solve the illusion task. In Experiment 2, 111 male and 148 female (predominantly white, middle class) undergraduates were administered the Ponzo illusion twice, the 2 administrations separated by about 90 min. Again, the illusion task showed good reliability, and females were significantly more susceptible to the illusion. Furthermore, the magnitude of the difference between males and females was systematically related to the sex ratio (the ratio of the number of males to the number of females) of the particular session in which each subject happened to be participating. It is suggested that social factors such as sex ratio might affect the strategies participants use when doing illusion tasks, and perhaps other spatial skills tasks as well.

Cognitive and projective measures of differentiation and their relationship to empathy

The present investigation compared cognitive and projective methods of assessing “differentiation,” Witkin's Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and Blatt's Concept of the Object Scale (COS), and reexamined expectations concerning the relationship between level of differentiation and capacity for empathy. Whether lesser or greater differentiation would promote empathy was of specific interest. Two forms of empathy were investigated, an “affective” form assessed by the Mehrabian Empathy Scale and a “cognitive” form assessed by the Hogan Empathy Scale. Expected sex differences in differentiation and empathy were also investigated. Results demonstrated consonance between COS and EFT measures of differentiation within the male sample only ( p < .05). Individuals classified by EFT as relatively less differentiated (“field dependent”) produced more part object responses ( p < .02) and those classified as more differentiated (“field independent”) showed a trend toward more whole object responses ( p < .10) on the COS. Associations between measures of differentiation and empathy reached significance or showed trends in the male group only. Men with relatively lesser differentiation on the EFT (“field dependent”) showed greater “affective empathy” ( p < .10) and men with greater differentiation on the COS showed greater “cognitive” empathy ( p < .05). Women demonstrated higher levels of “affective” empathy than men ( p < .001).

Motion perception and aging.

The authors used a correlated motion paradigm to investigate the effects of aging and gender on motion sensitivity. In 2 experiments with a total of 50 elderly and 50 young subjects, motion thresholds were significantly higher for elderly women. The correlated motion signal, which was embedded in random motion, may have been coherent to subjects in much the same way a form is in Witkin's Embedded Figures Test (EFT). In Experiment 2, EFT scores were obtained. A significant positive relationship between motion thresholds and EFT performance was found within each age group. Although gender-related perceptual style differences may contribute to motion perception effects, the authors argue that a common neural factor contributes to performance on both the EFT and the correlated motion task.

Reference librarians—a psychological profile

ABSTRACTEarlier studies indicated that personality variables of both library users and librarians may well constitute major determinants in the “barriers” problems. To identify the librarian “personality”, Fitts' Tennessee Self Concept Scale, Witkin's Embedded Figures Test and Rotter's Locus of Control Scale together with a largely open-ended questionnaire were given to a sample (N = 58′) of reference/user librarians in Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

Perceptual differentiation among drug addicts: correlations with intelligence and MMPI scores.

Examined the level of perceptual differentiation, as measured by Witkin's Embedded Figures Test, as well as the correlations between perceptual differentiation and scores on The Shipley Institute of Living Scale and MMPI scales for drug addicts. The sample of 42 polydrug-dependent persons was court mandated into inpatient treatment as a condition of probation, parole, or furlough. Analysis of variance showed that addicts, like alcoholics, were less perceptually differentiated than normals. Correlational and/or multivariate procedures yielded significant relationships between differentiation, verbal and abstraction abilities, likelihood of cognitive impairment, and MMPI scales F, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 0.

Structure of Witkin's Embedded Figures Test.

A number of reports have indicated that Witkin's Embedded Figures Test correlates with performance on standard intelligence tests. This finding was replicated in a recent factor analytic study when the test loaded substantially on a factor best representing the performance subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). However, the embedded figures also loaded on an uncorrelated factor, in addition to those normally associated with WAIS, which would relate well to Witkin's conception of psychological differentiation. These loadings on two uncorrelated factors suggested that the factorial structure of the Embedded Figures Test should be examined. An item analysis indicated a bi-factorial structure and, as presently constituted, the scale will provide misleading and ambiguous information.

The solution of achromatic and chromatic Embedded Figures revisited.

Two samples of 20 males and 20 females each were drawn from two Eastern universities. Each of these two samples was presented with the 12-item Form B of Witkin's Embedded Figures Test, with half of each sex receiving the achromatic and half the chromatic format. As in the previous experiment (Bush & Coward, 1974), neither replication yielded a significant difference in mean solution time attributable to the effects of color. However, unlike the previous investigation, no sex differences were observed.

Visual Recall of Dress Design Determined by Perceptual Style

It was the major objective of this study to devise a measuring instrument specifically for the perception of line and design in clothing. In order to assess the feasibility of such instrument, its power of differentiation was determined on the basis of the perceptual style of field dependence. The theoretical basis for the investigation was provided by the general concepts and principles of Gestalt theory of perception. In order to determine perceptual style, the perceptual differentiation of figure from ground was measured by use of the Jackson Short Form of the Witkin Embedded Figures Test. The Clothing Perception Test was designed to investigate three categories of visual perception, selected as being representative of the major aspects of perception of clothing design. Among various interactions demonstrated, the most consistent finding related to class standing and perceptual style. Junior and senior students were found to be considerably less field dependent than freshman and sophomore students. On the basis of clothing perception scores, class standing again proved highly significant. Junior and senior students were found to possess greater ability for recall of dress design. Significant correlations among personality dimensions and measures of clothing perception indicate that relatively field independent persons tend to possess a greater ability for recall of line in clothing design.

Factor Analytic Study of the Embedded Figures and Rod and Frame Tests

154 first-year university students were administered marker tests for Guilford's Factors of Convergent Production of Figural Transformations, Cognition of Semantic Units, and Cognition of Figural Systems as well as Witkin's Embedded Figures Test and the Portable Rod and Frame Test. Scores in the test battery were factor analyzed to determine the equivalence of different measures of psychological differentiation. Results of the analysis indicated that the Embedded Figures scores correlated (—.52) with Convergent Production of Figural Transformations, whereas the Portable Rod and Frame scores did not load on any of the factors extracted.

The effects of age on perceptual problem-solving strategies.

Witkin's Embedded Figures Test (EFT) was used to measure the changes with age in field dependence and problem-solving ability Qualitative data concerning problem-solving strategies and quantitative data were collected. EFT was administered to 12 females in each of the following decades: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60, 70s. All subjects were moderately to well educated, healthy, and relatively active members of the community. All had at least 20/33 corrected or uncorrected vision. An interview was held with each participant after completion of the EFT. ANOVA of time scores indicated that significantly (p less than 0.01) more time is needed to solve the items with an increase in age; a Tukey (a) test revealed a significant (p less than 0.05) increase between the 40s and 60s age groups. With an increase in age a significant (p less than 0.01) decline in the number of items solved was found. Partial correlations revealed that age is the most important factor, vis-á-vis general intelligence, visual acuity, and the personality factors measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory. The relative stability of performance up through 49 and after 50 implies a decline in field independence rather than in higher-order cognitive processes.

Psychology of Scientist: XXXIII. Cognitive Style Differences between Science and Non-Science Faculty and Students

Jackson's shortened form of Witkin's Embedded Figures Test was individually administered to 24 undergraduate male students and 24 male university faculty to assess their level of field dependence. One half of the faculty and student groups specialized in science, while the remaining half were non-science oriented. It was hypothesized that both students and faculty specializing in the sciences would exhibit greater field independence than the non-science groups. It was further hypothesized that this difference would be more pronounced between science and non-science faculty groups than between similar student groups. A 2 × 2 analysis of variance gave a significant main effect for field of study, with science-oriented individuals exhibiting a high degree of field independence. However, individual comparisons indicated a significant difference between science and non-science groups occurred only with the faculty. The results were discussed in terms of the relationship between cognitive style, field of study, and the possibility of selective screening during academic training.

Consistency of lateral eye shift related to preschoolers' performance on an analytical perceptual task.

Studies by Bakan (1971) , Weiten and Etaugh ( 1 9 7 3 ) , and Gur (1975) have supported Bakan's (1969) suggestion that people who consistently shift their eyes to the right when asked a reflective question have a more dominant left hemisphere in their over-all psychological functioning. However, Barnat's (1974) research found no significant difference between righr and left movers' performance on Witkin's Embeddedfigures Test. Subsequent work by Weiten and Etaugh (1974) suggested that inconsistent eye-shift may be related to incomplete cerebral dominance, and further, to various intellectual deficits. The present study was undertaken to determine whether consistent shifters differed from inconsistent shifters in their performance on a flexibility of closure task similar to Witkin's. A sample of preschoolers ( 3 9 boys, 37 girls) ranging in age from 4.7 to 6.2 yr. were rated on lateral eye-shift. Three trained examiners each scored one third of the subjects. The examiner, seared in front of each subject, instructed h ~ m to Look at me while I ask you this question, then you can think about it. Questions such as What is your favorite kind of ice cream? were used to appeal to children of this age. Subjects were classified on the basis of 709; of their eye movements being in the same direction as 29 right, 22 left, and 25 lnconslsrent shifters. lnvalid trials, where the subject broke eye contact, accounted for 2.6% of the trials, non-movements for 15.0%, and valid movements for 82.4%. All subjects were given a hidden-pictures task of 1 0 simple figures embedded in each of three large pictures. Scoring was on the basis of figures correctly identified in a 1-min. examination of each picture. Reliability as assessed by Cronbach's alpha was 3 2 . The mean scores on the hidden-pictures task for each group were: right shifters, 10.83 ( S D , 4.96); left shifters, 9.95 ( S D , 3.25); and inconsistent shifters, 7.12 (SD, 3.69). An analysis of variance showed a significant difference between the means of the three groups ( P = 5.77, df = 2/73, f i .05) or performance on hidden-picmres test ( t = .32, d f = 74, p > .05) . Results suggest that inconsistency of eye-shift may be related to field-dependence and this might be the result of incomplete cerebral dominance. This hypothesis should be explored further, particularly in relation to the development of perceptual-cognitive styles in children.

Motion sickness, field dependence, and levels of development.

75 Ss from the fifth, seventh, and college grades rated themselves on a motion-sickness questionnaire and then took a modified, author-designed, group version of Witkin's Embedded-figures Test which measures field dependence. The main hypothesis of a positive relation of motion sickness to field dependence was not confirmed. Contrary to much of the literature, no sex/field dependence relations were obtained. However, IQ and developmental levels were significantly related to speed of problem solving.

Field dependence-independence as related to college curricula.

32 college students took part in an experiment using Witkin's Embedded-figures Test as a measure of field dependence. It was hypothesized that: (1) students majoring in liberal arts are more field-dependent than those majoring in math, physics, and chemistry; and (2) college-age females are more field-dependent than college-age males. The data supported both hypotheses.

Cognitive styles and the schizophrenias and character disorders.

Witkin's Embedded-figures Test, Pettigrew's Category Width Measure, the Random Figures Test, the Howard Maze, and Silverman's Scanning Procedure were administered to 48 schizophrenics and 24 character disorders. All Ss were male inpatients at a Veterans Administration Hospital who were without organic impairment. The schizophrenics were divided into 4 groups depending on whether they were paranoid or nonparanoid and process or reactive. Using analysis of variance, a main effect was found for Category Width (p &lt; .05) and a three-way interaction effect for the Embedded-figures Test, Category Width, and Scanning (p &lt; .04) in accounting for a significant amount of the variance on the Paranoid Rating Scale. A three-way interaction effect of these same measures was also found to account for a significant (p &lt; .05) amount of the variance in the chronicity variable. Character disorders were less field independent and formed broader conceptual categories than reactive schizophrenics. They also showed less preference for complexity.

Analytic-perceptual style and verbal conditioning.

Relations among analytic-perceptual style, awareness, and desire for reinforcement within a Taffel-type verbal conditioning paradigm were assessed. Witkin's Embedded-figures Test and Mayman's Rorschach form level scores were analyzed separately as indices of analytic-style. Data were analyzed by multiple linear regression with linear contrasts. Embedded-figure scores did not relate to any others. But form level interactions with awareness and desire for reinforcement and a triple interaction provided limited support for the hypothesis that an active analytic style facilitates awareness and verbal conditioning, if the reinforcer is desired.

The Relation between the Rod-and-Frame Test and Witkin's Embedded Figures Test

The Relation between the Rod-and-Frame Test and Witkin's Embedded Figures Test

Perceptual Style and Reading Ability: Implications for an Instructional Approach

A strong positive correlation obtained between field independence (Witkin's Embedded Figures Test), and reading grade achievement. Identification of individual perceptual styles before initiating reading instruction seems justifiable for optimum results.