Field independence and simultaneous processing in preschool children

The present study examined the relations between field independence and simultaneous processing of preschool children as measured by the Preschool Embedded Figures Test (PEFT) and subtests from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), respectively. Data partially supported the assumption that field-independent children would perform significantly better on simultaneous processing tasks in general. Significant age and sex differences on field-independence/field-dependence and simultaneous-processing abilities were found among the embedded figures task and selected portions of the K-ABC. Analysis of embedded figures further indicated age differences, but no significant sex differences.     

Relationship between sex, age, education and field-dependence: a cross-cultural comparison

Past examination of the relationship between field-independence and age has indicated a developmental trend of increased field-independence up to 17 yr., with a movement toward greater field-dependence after this point. However, discrepancies between longitudinal and cross-sectional findings suggest that this relationship may be confounded by socioeconomic variables. The present study examined the age/field-dependence relationship in a sample of Northern Italians controlling for educational background. Results for females indicated statistical control of educational variables modified the age/field-dependence relationship, but did not for the male sample.     

Mental capacity,mental effort,and cognitive style

This study tests the relationship between two theoretical models of human attentional capacity: Pascual-Leone's mental capacity and Kahneman's mental effort. It was found that significant and positive correlations exist between the empirical measures of the above constructs, and the relationship is demonstrated via construct validation by showing that the two constructs relate in the same manner to the subject's cognitive style (i.e., field-dependence/independence).     

Self-regulated learning in female students with different cognitive styles: an exploratory study

In the present study, the relationship between the cognitive style called field-dependence/independence and learning strategies was explored. Acquisition, encoding, retrieval, support, and meta-cognitive strategies of first-year psychology and social education students (all women; M age = 19.2 yr., SD=1.7) with upper and lower quartile scores on field-dependence/independence were assessed on two self-report questionnaires and compared. Field-dependent students reported greater use of some learning strategies, specifically Self-instructions, Counter-distractions, Self-questioning, Self-monitoring, and Self-evaluation. The possible mediation of cognitive style on the influence of social desirability and a failure to activate appropriate strategies on accuracy of self-reports of learning strategies are discussed. Arguments and data are presented in favour of a distinction among the association of cognitive style with a tendency and capacity to use specific strategies and the benefits and manner of their application.     

广告传播途径与人们对产品确信度的影响

通过三个实验考察了广告传播途径与人们对产品确信度之间的关系。实验一发现,中心传播途径能够增加被试对科技品的确信度,而边缘途径能够增加被试对日用品的确信度;中心途径能够增加场独立被试对产品的确信度,边缘途径能够增加场依存被试对产品的确信度。实验二发现,反自身利益的广告传播更能够增加被试对产品的确信度;实验三发现,间接传播能够增加被试对产品的确信度,产品类型与传播途径及传播途径与被试认知风格之间都存在着交互作用。     

认知特征、场独立性与飞行空间定向关系的研究

通过认知分化测验（ＣＬＢ）、团体镶嵌图形测验（ＧＥＦＴ）以及飞行定向水平的模糊评价技术,旨在检验认知特征、场独立性和飞行空间定向水平之间的关系。研究结果表明;（１）高水平的视觉空间认知能力及较强的场独立性特征不仅有助于获得一个良好的飞行定向水平,而且还构成了预测定向水平差异的有效指标;（２）场独立性特征与空间认知特征之间存在着一个很高的相关。具有较强场独立性特征的飞行员往往也具有较为典型的空间认知特征;（３）错觉水平较低的飞行员与中、重度错觉水平组飞行员在空间认知、认知分化和场独立性上的得分分别构成了显著的差异,表明轻度组飞行员在空间定向中表现出了良好的视觉空间信息组织、加工和某些元认知技能方面的优势。研究结果进一步证明了视觉空间认知加工和场独立性水平与飞行空间定向之间的紧密关系。     

Attachment styles,conflict styles and humour styles: interrelationships and associations with relationship satisfaction

Relationships among attachment styles, conflict styles and humour styles were examined in the context of romantic relationships. Each style was assumed to be based upon underlying assumptions about self and others, so relationships among the measures were predicted. A model assuming that the relationship of attachment styles to relationship satisfaction was partially mediated by the conflict styles and humour styles was tested. Overall, the predicted relationships among the three measures were supported. Conflict styles and humour styles reflecting attitudes about others were related to the avoidance attachment style, while those reflecting attitudes about the self were related to the anxiety attachment dimension. Conflict styles and humour styles were mediators of the association of attachment style with relationship satisfaction. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long-term meditation: the relationship between cognitive processes,thinking styles and mindfulness

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between meditation and cognitive functions. More in depth the purpose is to demonstrate that long-term meditation practice improves attention skills and cognitive flexibility. Eighteen long-term meditation practitioners were compared to a matched control group, who never practiced meditation. Each subject was tested, using computerized software (Presentation Software 9.90), which measured: attention, visual search abilities, working memory and Stroop’s interference tasks. Furthermore, we examined the relationship between long-term meditation practice, mindfulness skills and thinking styles, namely styles of processing information. The results showed significant differences between the two groups, demonstrating that long-term meditation is linked to improvements of attentional functions, working memory and cognitive flexibility.     

Field-dependence, extraversion and perception of the vertical: empirical and theoretical perspectives of the rod-and-frame test.

Using conventional scoring procedures for the Rod-and-frame Test (RFT), extraversion was shown to interact with field-dependence (defined by scores on the Hidden-shapes Test), with the field dependent extraverts being most inaccurate performers on the rod and frame. Of greater importance, serious questions were raised about theoretical and empirical aspects of the relationship between paper-and-pencil measures of field-dependence and performance on the rod and frame, and it was concluded that "what has...been demonstrated over the past ten years is the reliability of a relationship of questionable validity."     

Field-dependence, sensation-seeking, and preference of paintings

College students (122 males and 88 females) completed the Group Embedded Figures Test measure of field-dependence, and Sensation-Seeking Scale, and performed preference ratings on 40 slides of paintings. Factor analysis revealed six hypothesized and one unhypothesized preference dimensions that underlay preference ratings of paintings. It was hypothesized that the cognitive structuring ability associated with field-dependence would result in certain relationships between field-dependence and preference for paintings. Further, it was hypothesized that preference for novel, complex, and dynamic experiences, associated with sensation-seeking, would result in certain relationships between sensation-seeking and preference for paintings. For the full sample, three of five hypothesized relationships between field-dependence and preference for paintings were obtained, while three of four hypothesized relationships were found between sensation-seeking and preference for paintings.     

Heuristic and analytic processing: age trends and associations with cognitive ability and cognitive styles

Developmental and individual differences in the tendency to favor analytic responses over heuristic responses were examined in children of two different ages (10- and 11-year-olds versus 13-year-olds), and of widely varying cognitive ability. Three tasks were examined that all required analytic processing to override heuristic processing: inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning under conditions of belief bias, and probabilistic reasoning. Significant increases in analytic responding with development were observed on the first two tasks. Cognitive ability was associated with analytic responding on all three tasks. Cognitive style measures such as actively open-minded thinking and need for cognition explained variance in analytic responding on the tasks after variance shared with cognitive ability had been controlled. The implications for dual-process theories of cognition and cognitive development are discussed.     

Cognitive coping and defense styles in patients with personality disorders

This study investigates the associations between cognitive coping (as measured with the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; CERQ), defense mechanisms (as measured with the Defense Style Questionnaire-60; DSQ-60) and personality disorders (PDs; as measured with the SIDP-IV interview) in a large sample of patients with PDs (n = 1,435). Explorative factor analyses indicated that the nine CERQ subscales can be clustered into three higher-order factors (adaptive coping, non-adaptive coping and external attribution style). When compared to a general population sample, the PD sample particularly scored higher on nonadaptive coping styles. A higher number of PDs was related to a particularly higher level of nonadaptive coping and less mature defensive functioning, but also to lower levels of adaptive coping and external attribution. This study is the first to suggest that three higher-order coping styles can be identified among PD patients, and that these coping styles are related to the presence and number of PDs.     

Correlates of Canadian native children's reading performance: From cognitive styles to cognitive processes

Individual differences in reading and cognitive processing among a sample of generally poor readers were studied in order to answer two major questions: Do they have a specific cognitive style that favors global-simultaneous strategies and a weak sequential strategy? If they do not have a distinct cognitive style or strategy, but are merely poor in using sequential (Successive) strategies, then, would the same processes that influence reading performance in the general population determine their performance as well? A sample of 84 Canadian First Nations (FN) children were assessed in word and pseudoword reading, rapid naming speed, and ability to process information using the Planning, Attention, Successive, and Simultaneous (PASS) theory of intelligence. Results confirmed that this sample of children did not exhibit a specific cognitive style. Rather, there was evidence of a weakness in Successive processing only in the subgroup of poor readers. The importance of understanding the role of Successive processing and rapid naming speed relative to reading is further discussed.     

Type A behavior, attentional style, and symptom reporting among adult men and women

Type A behavior and its components (measured on the JAS) were examined in relation to attentional style and symptom reporting in 294 healthy adult men and women. The results showed that for both men and women the JAS Type A, Job Involvement, and Hard Driving factors were all associated with self-reported attentional effectiveness as measured by the Nideffer Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style. However, a fourth JAS factor, Speed and Impatience, was associated with Nideffer measures of cognitive overload. For both men and women, the Type A, Speed and Impatience, and Hard Driving factors were all positively associated with the number of medical and psychological symptoms reported on the Cornell Medical Index. In addition, acute psychological distress (Hopkins SCL-90R) was associated with Type A behavior for men and with Speed and Impatience for both sexes. Attention differences did not account for the observed positive relationships between Type A factors and symptom reporting with one exception; attentional overload (internal) appeared to partially explain the relationships between symptom reporting and Speed and Impatience in women. In summary, Type As described themselves as having a broader attentional focus and reported more naturally occurring physical and psychological symptoms than did Type Bs.     

Personality, birth order and attachment styles as related to various types of jealousy

The relationships between jealousy, personality, attachment styles and birth order were examined in a sample of 100 Dutch men and 100 Dutch women. Three types of jealousy were examined: reactive jealousy (a negative response to the emotional or sexual involvement of the partner with someone else), preventive jealousy (efforts to prevent intimate contact of the partner with a third person), and anxious jealousy (obsessive anxiety, upset, and worrying about the possibility of infidelity of the partner). The three types of jealousy were not at all related to egoism and dominance, but significantly correlated with neuroticism, social anxiety, rigidity and hostility. Only among women was a low self-esteem correlated with jealousy. On all three jealousy measures, those with an anxious-ambivalent attachment style were more jealous than those with an avoidant style, with those with a secure attachment style being the least jealous. Attachment style was strongly related to most personality dimensions, but the effects of attachment style upon jealousy stayed virtually the same when controlling for personality factors. The most important finding in the present study was that laterborns were more jealous according to all three measures than firstborns, a finding that was not due to personality differences between first- and laterborns, nor to differences in attachment style, gender or occupational level of the father. Because some evidence was found that only borns were slightly less jealous than firstborns, it is suggested that the experience of exclusive love and attention in one's childhood, leads to a lower level of jealousy among firstborns.     

Identity processing styles and language proficiency among Persian learners of English as a foreign language

The relationship between identity processing styles and language proficiency in English as foreign language (EFL) was investigated among the Persian EFL learners. 266 Persian candidates taking part in a Ph.D. examination at Shiraz University took part. The Language Proficiency Test was used to measure language proficiency in English. The Identity Styles Inventory was used to measure normative, informational, and diffuse-avoidant identity processing styles. Relationships between normative and informational styles and language proficiency and its subscales (grammar, vocabulary, and reading) were positive and significant. Negative relationships between diffuse-avoidant style and language proficiency and its subscales (grammar, vocabulary, and reading) were observed. There were significant sex differences for diffuse-avoidant style and for vocabulary.     

Avoiding interference: adult attachment and emotional processing biases

The present study investigated attachment-related differences in emotional processing biases. Consistent with the proposal that avoidant individuals limit attention to potentially distressing information, attachment avoidance was associated with reductions in emotional Stroop (ES) interference for attachment-related words (e.g., intimate, loss). These biases were strongest among individuals who were currently in a romantic relationship, suggesting that being in a close relationship may activate avoidant defensive strategies. In addition, avoidant attentional biases were attenuated under cognitive load, suggesting that inhibiting attention to attachment-related information requires cognitive effort. Finally, avoidance was unrelated to ES performance for emotional, nonattachment-related words, demonstrating the specificity of these attentional biases. The present findings suggest that avoidant individuals can inhibit attention to potentially threatening information, that this ability requires cognitive effort, and that relationship status may be an important moderator of avoidant defensive strategies. The implications of these strategies for emotional functioning and well-being are discussed.     

Cognitive differentiation, back pain, and psychogenic pain drawings

Two groups of subjects with back pain were studied (n = 67). All subjects underwent a battery of psychological tests which included a test of psychological differentiation (the Rod-and-Frame Test), a test of psychological defenses (Meta-contrast Technique), and the Eysenck Personality Inventory. In addition, the subjects drew a pain picture and answered a questionnaire on pain-related issues. Each group of subjects was then subdivided into 4 groups depending on the judged abnormality of their pain drawings. The two main groups were compared overall and the subgroups of the two back-pain groups compared with each other. The Meta-contrast Technique results show that depression was quite common among back-pain subjects as a whole compared to a painless group of subjects. Differences were found on field-dependence; subjects with abnormal pain drawings were more field-dependent than those with "normal" pain drawings. Few other between-group statistical differences were noted between the two back-pain groups. Expected scores on hysteria were not noted among the abnormal drawing makers, neither were there differences between the groups on the items of pain duration, physical functionings, or of depression.     

Parental defense style and child competence: A match-mismatch hypothesis

This study sought to explore the possible relationship between parental style of psychological defense and children's social competence in 50 families in which one parent had been hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder. Based upon a formal analysis of the logical transformations inherent in various defense mechanisms, three levels of complexity of defenses were identified, along with a counterpart set of cognitive operations necessary for decoding these defense levels. It was hypothesized that children lacking the requisite cognitive skills to grasp the logical complexities of their disturbed parent's primary mode of psychological defense would be less socially adjusted and judged less competent than children who could understand the defensive transformations of their parent. The results suggested that children who, due to their cognitive immaturity, are potentially