Social Compliance as a Function of Field Dependence

Abstract

To test Witkin's hypothesis that field-dependent individuals are socially compliant, 10 field-dependent and 10 field-independent Ss were selected on the basis of their performance on the Thurstone Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test (RFT). Each field-dependent S was then paired with a field-independent S and asked to cooperate in setting the rod to true vertical in the RFT. The obtained mean displacement from true vertical of the pair working together was in every case in the direction of greater field independence than the mean of the scores for the two individuals working alone ( p < .001, sign test). However, a posttest indicated that the RFT conformity of field-dependent Ss was confined to the paired situation. The Barron Independence of Judgment Scale significantly differentiated between field-dependent and field-independent Ss. The findings support Witkin's hypothesis that field-dependent Ss are socially compliant.