Effects of vigilance decrement on the recognition of embedded figures

Abstract

Field independence was described by Witkin et al (1962) as the ability to separate an item perceived from its context. Here most experiments have used visually presented material where the subject was shown a simple geometrical figure and then a complex one containing the simple figure as part of it: the subject's task was to find and point out where the simple figure was hidden. Recent work has suggested that the skills involved in Witkin's tests might be associated with particular cultural backgrounds. This extension of Witkin's theory of field independence by Wober linked visual phenomena with those of a social and maturational nature: the ability to separate visual items from their context was shown to be aligned with the development of a sense of personal identity ; the person was considered to be an item set in a context or social field, be it family or society around him: an individual, depending on the way he was socialized as a child, may perceive the world analytically, if he did he was labelled field independent, if not he was field dependent. Intro. p.1.