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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Precise vs General Feedback in Reducing Field-Dependence

subject

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Summary.-To investigate the effect of feedback on performance of the Rod-and-frame Test the standard test procedure mas altered. The result of the alteration was a procedure which was called the Rod-and-frame Test as a Learning Task. On this task the subiect has to adjust the rod to the vertical twice in succession from each tilting position, whereby he is permitred a maximum of 10 trials in each tilting position and a range of tolerance of elo. After each trial the subject is given feedback about his performance. An experiment was conducted with 30 male and 30 female students to investigate whether a precise feedback giving both the direction and the degree of the rod's deviation from the vertical is more effective in reducing frame-dependence than a general feedback which states only the direction of deviation. The data were analyzed via analysis of variance with repeated measures on one factor. The results indicated a gradual improvement under precise feedback conditions for both men and women but under global feedback conditions only women improved their performance. The Rod-and-frame Test is one of the most frequently used measures of field-dependence. It measures how accurately a subject can adjust to the vertical a luminous tilted rod surrounded by a luminous tilted frame in an otherwise dark room. A small deviation from the vertical indicates field-independence, that is, the subject is able to disregard the tilted frame as a frame of reference. Men are shown to be more field-independent than women (Witkin, Dyk, Faterson, Gmdenough, & Karp, 1962 ) . A number of studies attempted to change the performance of subjects on the Rod-and-frame Test through training and feedback procedures (Elliott & McMichael, 1963; McALlister, 1970; Small, 1973; Witkin, 1948) but results were inconclusive. Erdos (1979) has pointed out that the shortcoming of the above studies was the lack of contingent feedback about the subject's performance after he adjusted the rod to the vertical and the lack of opportunity to try again from the same position of initial tilt. Erdos used a modified rod-andframe procedure to test the effect of contingent feedback on the' rod-and-frame performance. On this task, the rod-and-frame test as a learning task, the subject has up to 10 trials to adjust the rod to the vertical twice in succession from the same position of initial tilt. After every trial the subject was given feedback both about the direction and degree of the rod's deviation from the vertical. Once the subject reached the criterion a new position of tilt was