Herman Witkin
Encyclopedia
Herman A. Witkin was an American
psychologist
who specialized in the spheres of cognitive psychology
and learning psychology. He was a pioneer of the theory of Cognitive styles and Learning styles
(developed in cooperation with Solomon Asch
, Donald Goodenough etc.). He preferred to diagnose not by questionnaires but by more objective means, such as projective tests, task-solving tests etc. He was the author of the concept of field-dependency vs. field-independency. The majority of Witkin's research was done during his tenures at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine in Brooklyn, NY and at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked until his death in 1979.
Herman Witkin studied differences in perceptual style for almost 30 years. His first book was titled Personality Through Perception (1954). The idea in this book was that personality can be revealed through differences in how people perceive their environment. Witkin was at first interested in the cues that people use in judging orientation in space. What makes one know that what one sees is a tilted object and that it is not you who are tilted? For one to find a conclusion, one examines other objects in the surroundings.
Witkin developed an apparatus called the Rod and Frame Test (RFT). When using the RFT, the participant sits in a darkened room where he or she receives instructions about watching a glowing rod surrounded by a glowing square frame. The researcher can manipulate both the rod, the frame and the participant's chair in different angles of tilts. The participant is then instructed to adjust the rod so that the rod is perfectly upright. For the participant to be able to do this, he/she has to ignore cues in the visual field. If the participant adjusts the rod so that it is leaning in the direction of the tilted frame, then that person is said to be dependent on the visual field. This person will be categorized as field-dependent. On the other side there will be people who are field-independent. These people will disregard the external cues, and use information from their bodies in adjusting the rod to appear upright. Field-independent people seem to rely on their own sensations instead of the perception of the field, to make a judgment.
The Rod and Frame Test is a difficult and time consuming method for revealing field-dependence and -independence. Witkin therefore developed the Embedded Figures Test (EFT). This test also measures field dependence without relying on the cumbersome Rod and Frame Test. An example of a EFT is a picture with many hidden figures which you are supposed to find. Field-independent people will quickly be able to find the hidden figures, while field-dependent people will have trouble locating the simple figures embedded within the more complex surroundings. Witkin found a strong correlation between the Performance on the EFT.
After Witkin's death, little research was done on field independence-dependence. However, new research began to appear in the beginning of the 1990s. Among the contributors were Vrij, van der Steen & Koppelaar (1995) and Linda Bastone & Heather Wood (1997).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
who specialized in the spheres of cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
and learning psychology. He was a pioneer of the theory of Cognitive styles and Learning styles
Learning styles
Learning styles are various approaches or ways of learning. They involve educating methods, particular to an individual, that are presumed to allow that individual to learn best. Most people prefer an identifiable method of interacting with, taking in, and processing stimuli or information...
(developed in cooperation with Solomon Asch
Solomon Asch
Solomon Eliot Asch , also known as Shlaym, was an American Gestalt psychologist and pioneer in social psychology.-Early life and education:...
, Donald Goodenough etc.). He preferred to diagnose not by questionnaires but by more objective means, such as projective tests, task-solving tests etc. He was the author of the concept of field-dependency vs. field-independency. The majority of Witkin's research was done during his tenures at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine in Brooklyn, NY and at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked until his death in 1979.
Herman Witkin studied differences in perceptual style for almost 30 years. His first book was titled Personality Through Perception (1954). The idea in this book was that personality can be revealed through differences in how people perceive their environment. Witkin was at first interested in the cues that people use in judging orientation in space. What makes one know that what one sees is a tilted object and that it is not you who are tilted? For one to find a conclusion, one examines other objects in the surroundings.
Witkin developed an apparatus called the Rod and Frame Test (RFT). When using the RFT, the participant sits in a darkened room where he or she receives instructions about watching a glowing rod surrounded by a glowing square frame. The researcher can manipulate both the rod, the frame and the participant's chair in different angles of tilts. The participant is then instructed to adjust the rod so that the rod is perfectly upright. For the participant to be able to do this, he/she has to ignore cues in the visual field. If the participant adjusts the rod so that it is leaning in the direction of the tilted frame, then that person is said to be dependent on the visual field. This person will be categorized as field-dependent. On the other side there will be people who are field-independent. These people will disregard the external cues, and use information from their bodies in adjusting the rod to appear upright. Field-independent people seem to rely on their own sensations instead of the perception of the field, to make a judgment.
The Rod and Frame Test is a difficult and time consuming method for revealing field-dependence and -independence. Witkin therefore developed the Embedded Figures Test (EFT). This test also measures field dependence without relying on the cumbersome Rod and Frame Test. An example of a EFT is a picture with many hidden figures which you are supposed to find. Field-independent people will quickly be able to find the hidden figures, while field-dependent people will have trouble locating the simple figures embedded within the more complex surroundings. Witkin found a strong correlation between the Performance on the EFT.
After Witkin's death, little research was done on field independence-dependence. However, new research began to appear in the beginning of the 1990s. Among the contributors were Vrij, van der Steen & Koppelaar (1995) and Linda Bastone & Heather Wood (1997).