Presentation and validation of the "Gestaltwahrnehmungstest" as a measure of field dependence

The "Gestaltwahrnehmungstest" a computer-based method which measures field dependence, is presented. The subjects are required to identify a simple hi dden figure(embedded)-in geometric and "meaningful", i.e., everyday designs ,The test consists of 30 items and was constructed according to the dichoto mous model of Rasch. Conformity with this model was found in a sample of 46 0 subjects. The item and person parameters showed good discrimination in th e middle range of the latent trait dimension. The reliability on the basis of the Rasch analysis was .87. The reliability coefficients, which were com puted by classical test theory methods, were high. The internal consistency of the test was between .85 and .95 (for the split-half reliability the co efficients:ranged from .83 to .94). The retest reliability was computed in one study(n = 89)nd was found to: be .65. Some studies support the construc t validity of this measure. In one study (n = 177) the "Gestaltwahrnehmungs test'' and the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) correlated (r = 51); the correla tion with intelligence (measured with the "Wiener-Matrizen-Test") in the,sa me Sample was .30. Finally two studies are presented which aimed to find in terindividual differences between field-dependent and field-independent sub jects(the sample was divided in half using the median of the scores of the Gestaltwahrnehmungstest). One experiment (n = 251) suggested that field-dep endent subjects are not as able as field-independent subjects to segregate affect from cognition in a judgment task. According to the results of the s econd study (n = 54), field-dependent subjects are more cooperative in soci al dilemmas than field-independent individuals.