Field-Dependence and Performance on a Writing Task

Abstract

Timed writing samples were obtained from 50 female psychiatric inpatients. Patients were assigned on the basis of their scores on the rod-and-frame rest to extreme field-dependent and field-independent groups. Compared to field-independent persons, the field-dependent patients took significantly greater times to complete the writing task. In spite of the longer times, three independent raters found the field-dependent writing less legible, less well oriented on the page, less neat, and generally poorer in over-all quality than the field-independent writing. Findings are discussed in terms of possible dominant (left) cerebral hemisphere involvement in field-dependence.