Discussion of the relationship of personality variables to programing ability highlights a study of undergraduates that investigated the influence of cognitive style on the programing skill of debugging. Use of the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) is described, scoring schemes for diagnostic tasks are explained, and suggestions for further…

Microcomputer versions of three commonly used cognitive style measurement instruments are described and demonstrated: the Leveling-Sharpening House Test (LSHT) (Santostefano, 1964); Lowenfeld's Successive Impressions Test I (SIT-I) (1945); and the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) (Witkin, Oltman, Ruskin, and Karp, 1971). At present, many…

Describes a study of college freshmen that investigated the effects of navigation maps and learner cognitive styles on performance in searches for information, on cognitive map development, and on attitudes, within a hypertext learning system. Results indicate map type has significant effects on students' search steps, efficiency, and development…

Describes aptitude treatment interaction study that used the cognitive styles field dependence and independence matched with computerized algorithmic and discovery treatments to determine mathematics achievement on a criterion-referenced test. Posttest mathematics scores and student responses to the computer are analyzed, and mastery learning is…

Spatial context can be expected to play an important role in computer-based instruction and distance education using PC terminals because these types of computer-mediated instruction often occur in a restricted environment such as one's home or office. These settings, while convenient, are often isolated and lack diverse spatial cues. Fundamental…

This paper reviews the research literature regarding the importance of Witkin's theory of psychological differentiation, particularly the research on measures of field independence using perceptual disembedding tasks. The first phase of development of a multiple-choice perceptual disembedding measure, the Finding Embedded Figures Test, is…

This study was designed to investigate the effects of the presence or absence of metacognitive skill tools available in hyperspace environments on field independent and field dependent learners. Learners were engaged in problem solving in an information-rich hyperspace based on a lesson on the attack on Pearl Harbor. Forty undergraduates were…

The implications of content organization and cognitive style in relation to the design of hypertext were studied with a focus on the effects of linking structure and field dependence and independence on performance and attitudes. Subjects were 139 undergraduates classified as field-dependent or field-independent on the basis of Group Embedded…

Describes a study of undergraduates that determined the implications of content organization and cognitive style with regard to the design of hypertext. Highlights include effects of linking structure type and field-dependence and -independence on recall of verbal information, attitudes toward instructional materials, and use of the Group Embedded…

Presents a model that suggests the cognitive style and personality traits that are likely to affect programming stages and empirically investigates 1 portion of that model with 192 college students. Correlations between results from the Group Embedded Figures Test and design and coding tasks are discussed. (LRW)

This study tested the benefits of matching field dependent (FD) learners to an algorithmic method and field independent (FI) learners to a discovery method relative to mathematics achievement. It also attempted to discover if FD learners reacted more positively to computer experience than did FI learners. A total of 126 college algebra students…

This study examines how students' cognitive styles are correlated with their attitudes toward online education and learning behaviors in online learning environments. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and the attitude survey toward online instruction were administered to 104 students enrolled in various online courses at the University of…

Describes study of two-year college students that was conducted to determine whether variables that were predictors of success in a programing class were also predictors of success in a package-oriented computer class using Lotus 1-2-3. Diagraming skill, critical thinking ability, spatial discrimination, and test anxiety level were examined. (11…

Describes study that was conducted with fifth graders to investigate the effects of Logo instruction on three measures of cognitive style: divergent thinking, field dependence/independence, and impulsivity/reflectivity. Treatments of the experimental and control groups are explained, and results of pretests and posttests are analyzed. (11…

Different learning strategies that are used by field-independent (FI) and field-dependent (FD) people in a hypermedia-assisted instructional setting were studied with 63 international college students for whom English was a second language. The treatment was a semantic network-based hypermedia-assisted language-learning environment to help…