Effects of Field Independence and Dogmatism on Reversal and Nonreversal Shifts in Concept Formation

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Abstract
40 St were administered the Dogmatism Test and a group Embedded Figures Test of field independence. Median splits on the two measures were employed to form 4 groups of 10 Ss each, representing the four possible combinations. All Ss were required to master an initial discrimination employing a concept formation task of the card-sorting variety. Subsequently, one-half of each sub-group was required to master the reversal of the initial task, whereas the other half of each sub-group was required to master a nonreversal task relative to the initial discrimination. This procedure resulted in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. It was predicted on various theoretical grounds that (1) reversal shifts are easier than nonreversal shifts; (2) field-independent Ss would demonstrate superior performance regardless of shift condition; (3) open-minded Ss would be more successful regardless of shift condition; and (4) that field-dependent closed-minded Ss would experience special difficulty with shifts regardless of condition. All of the hypotheses were supported by the data.