Psrcep~iraland Motor Skills, 1975, 4 1 , 216-218.
@ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1975
FIELD DEPENDENCE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY GERALD V. BARRELL AND HELEN R. TRIPPE University of Southampton
Summavy.-Field-dependence scores of professional dancers, highly skilled performers in tennis, soccer, cricket and track and field athletics, medium-ability level players in the same four sports and a group of non-game players were measured using a rod and frame test. Results showed that highly skilled tennis players were significantly more field-dependent than top-class track and field athletes and medium-ability level tennis players.
A number of investigations concerned with individual differences have suggested that perceptual ability may be regarded as a continuum whose ends represent two contrasting modes of perceiving. The concept of a field dependence/ independence continuum of Witkin, et al. (8) is of particular interest and has attracted a great deal of attention. Arbuthnot (1) notes that about two thousand research projects, published and unpublished, have utilized this construct. However, apart from the studies by Gruen ( 3 ) with dancers and Jones ( 4 ) with physical education students, few attempts have been made to link Witkin's perceptual modes with highly skilled performers in sport or dance. The question whether different types of highly skilled sportsmen have characteristic modes of perception needs to be examined. Kane ( 5 ) has postulated that field-dependency may be an advantage in the performance of team sports in which the performer is required to relate the skill to the environment. However, this hypothesis does not appear to have been investigated experimentally. The present study proposes to consider whether high-level sporcsmen in different sports have characteristic modes of perception and also to ascertain whether differences in perceptual modes exist berween the following groups: ( i ) high-level and mediumlevel performers in the same sports and ( i i ) professional dancers and high-level sportsmen.
METHOD Subjects Ss can be categorized under three main headings: (1) Professional ballet dancers were 12 male members of the Royal Ballet and Ballet Rambert Dance Companies. ( 2 ) For the highly skilled players the criteria for differentiating between players of high and medium ability was the level of representation attained. The highly able groups were professionals and amateur players who were either Internationals or County Players. English Counties correspond approximately to American States, thus County Players can be equated with the top players in a State. The four groups comprised: ( i ) 30 professional soccer players ( 1st Division English League), ( i i ) 13 professional cricketers (Hampshire County Players), (iii) 1 8 tennis players (Hampshire County Players), and (iv) 21 track and field athletes (International and County Athletes). ( 3 ) Players of medium ability were those who had represented their club in regular competitive matches but who had not attained County, International, or Professional status. In practice they were mainly sportsmen
FIELD DEPENDENCE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY
217
who played for University first or second teams. It should be noted that the playing standard of English University Teams is generally below that found in American universities. The four groups comprised ( i ) 1 6 soccer players, ( i i ) 9 cricketers, (iii) 1 8 tennis players, and ( i v ) 16 track and field athletes. In addition, a group of 28 male Ss, none of whom had played club or representative sport, acted as controls. Procedure
Ss were tested using a commercial version of Olunan's ( 7 ) portable rod-and-frame apparatus. Administrative procedures were similar to those described by Oltman ( 7 ) in which S was required to direct E as he turned a rod until S considered it to be vertical. A series of eight rod-and-frame starting positions were presented and 28" deviations used throughout. S's score for a given test was the mean of the absolute deviations from vertical over the eight settings. The higher the mean the more field-dependent was S.
RESULTSAND D~SCUSSION Highly Skilled Performers The mean scores for each of the four groups of highly skilled sportsmen, the dancers and the control group were compared using a single-classification analysis of variance. The results are given in Table 1. As a significant F ratio was obtained, Duncan's ( 2 ) multiple-range test with Kramer's (6) modification for groups with unequal numbers was used to identify the groups showing significant differences. The results are shown in Table 2. TABLE 1 SIMPLEANALYSISOF VARIANCEOF ROD-AND-FRAME DEVIATION PROM VERTICAL OF HIGHLY SKILLEDSPORTSMEN AND DANCERS
df
Source Between groups Within groups Total
SS
5 116 121
44.25 345.09 389.34
MS
F
P
8.85 2.98
2.98
.05
Conzparison of Players of High and Medizlm Ability In each sport, t tests were used to see whether there were any significant differences between highly skilled players and those of medium ability. The results a r e shown in Table 3. As far as the highly skilled groups were concerned, Table 2 shows the tennis players were significantly more field-dependent in their TABLE 2
DIFFERENCES AMONG MEAN ROD-AND-FRAME SCORESOF HIGHLY SKILLEDPERFORMERS Tracksndfield athletes
Control group
Cricket players
Ballet dancers
Soccer players
Tennis players
1.63
1.81
2.14
2.62
2.68
3.42
Note.-Any .05).
two scores not underlined by the same line are significantly different ( p
=
G. V. BARRELL
&
H. R. TRIPPE
TABLE 3
COMPARISON OF MEANROD-AND-ERAME SCORESFOR TOP-CLASS AND MEDIUM-ABILITY-LEVEL PLAYERS IN FOURSPORTS Sport
Ability level
n
M absolute deviation
c
Track and field athletics
Top-class Medium Top-class Medium Top-class Medium Top-class Medium
21 16 13 9 30 16 18 18
1.63 1.95 2.14 1.69 2.68
0.97
2.26
0.72 2.87
Cricket Soccer Tennis
..
3.42 1.95
P
1.15
.05
mode of perception than were the track and field athletes or the control group. The other groups showed no significant differences. Thus the results do not fully support Kane's ( 5 ) hypothesis that field-dependency is associated with players who perform team sports in which they are required to relate the skill to the environment. The dancers' mode of perception did not differ from the four highly skilled sports groups measured. As in Gruen's ( 3 ) study, no differences were found between the dancers and the control group. The comparison of highly skilled and medium-level players in Table 3 indicates that, while top-class tennis players are significantly more field-dependent than club players, no differences were found between the two selected ability levels in the other three sports. REFERENCES I. ARBUTHNOT, J. Cautionary note on measurement of field independence. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1972, 35, 479-488. D. B. Multiple range and multiple F test. Biometrics, 1955, 11, 1-42. 2. DUNCAN, 3. GRUEN,A. The relation of dancing experience and personality to perception. Psychological Monographs, 1955, 69, No. 14 (Whole No. 399). 4. JONES.M. G. Perception, personality and movernenc characteristics of women srudents of physical education. Unpublished M.Ed. dissertation, Univer. of Leicester, 1970. 5. KANE,J. E. (Ed.) Psychological aspects of physical educaiion and sport. London: Routledge, & Kegan Paul, 1972. 6. KRAMER, C. Y. Extension of multiple range tests to group means with unequal nurnbers of replications. Biometrics, 1956, 12, 307-310. 7. OLTMAN,P. K. A portable rod and frame apparatus. Pevc@rual and Motor Skills,
1968, 26, 503-506. 8. WITKIN,H. A,, DYK, R. B., FATERSON,H. F., GOODENOUGH, D. R., Psychological diffwentiation. New York: Wiley, 1962. Accepted May 22, 1975.
&
KARP, S. A.
@ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1975
FIELD DEPENDENCE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY GERALD V. BARRELL AND HELEN R. TRIPPE University of Southampton
Summavy.-Field-dependence scores of professional dancers, highly skilled performers in tennis, soccer, cricket and track and field athletics, medium-ability level players in the same four sports and a group of non-game players were measured using a rod and frame test. Results showed that highly skilled tennis players were significantly more field-dependent than top-class track and field athletes and medium-ability level tennis players.
A number of investigations concerned with individual differences have suggested that perceptual ability may be regarded as a continuum whose ends represent two contrasting modes of perceiving. The concept of a field dependence/ independence continuum of Witkin, et al. (8) is of particular interest and has attracted a great deal of attention. Arbuthnot (1) notes that about two thousand research projects, published and unpublished, have utilized this construct. However, apart from the studies by Gruen ( 3 ) with dancers and Jones ( 4 ) with physical education students, few attempts have been made to link Witkin's perceptual modes with highly skilled performers in sport or dance. The question whether different types of highly skilled sportsmen have characteristic modes of perception needs to be examined. Kane ( 5 ) has postulated that field-dependency may be an advantage in the performance of team sports in which the performer is required to relate the skill to the environment. However, this hypothesis does not appear to have been investigated experimentally. The present study proposes to consider whether high-level sporcsmen in different sports have characteristic modes of perception and also to ascertain whether differences in perceptual modes exist berween the following groups: ( i ) high-level and mediumlevel performers in the same sports and ( i i ) professional dancers and high-level sportsmen.
METHOD Subjects Ss can be categorized under three main headings: (1) Professional ballet dancers were 12 male members of the Royal Ballet and Ballet Rambert Dance Companies. ( 2 ) For the highly skilled players the criteria for differentiating between players of high and medium ability was the level of representation attained. The highly able groups were professionals and amateur players who were either Internationals or County Players. English Counties correspond approximately to American States, thus County Players can be equated with the top players in a State. The four groups comprised: ( i ) 30 professional soccer players ( 1st Division English League), ( i i ) 13 professional cricketers (Hampshire County Players), (iii) 1 8 tennis players (Hampshire County Players), and (iv) 21 track and field athletes (International and County Athletes). ( 3 ) Players of medium ability were those who had represented their club in regular competitive matches but who had not attained County, International, or Professional status. In practice they were mainly sportsmen
FIELD DEPENDENCE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY
217
who played for University first or second teams. It should be noted that the playing standard of English University Teams is generally below that found in American universities. The four groups comprised ( i ) 1 6 soccer players, ( i i ) 9 cricketers, (iii) 1 8 tennis players, and ( i v ) 16 track and field athletes. In addition, a group of 28 male Ss, none of whom had played club or representative sport, acted as controls. Procedure
Ss were tested using a commercial version of Olunan's ( 7 ) portable rod-and-frame apparatus. Administrative procedures were similar to those described by Oltman ( 7 ) in which S was required to direct E as he turned a rod until S considered it to be vertical. A series of eight rod-and-frame starting positions were presented and 28" deviations used throughout. S's score for a given test was the mean of the absolute deviations from vertical over the eight settings. The higher the mean the more field-dependent was S.
RESULTSAND D~SCUSSION Highly Skilled Performers The mean scores for each of the four groups of highly skilled sportsmen, the dancers and the control group were compared using a single-classification analysis of variance. The results are given in Table 1. As a significant F ratio was obtained, Duncan's ( 2 ) multiple-range test with Kramer's (6) modification for groups with unequal numbers was used to identify the groups showing significant differences. The results are shown in Table 2. TABLE 1 SIMPLEANALYSISOF VARIANCEOF ROD-AND-FRAME DEVIATION PROM VERTICAL OF HIGHLY SKILLEDSPORTSMEN AND DANCERS
df
Source Between groups Within groups Total
SS
5 116 121
44.25 345.09 389.34
MS
F
P
8.85 2.98
2.98
.05
Conzparison of Players of High and Medizlm Ability In each sport, t tests were used to see whether there were any significant differences between highly skilled players and those of medium ability. The results a r e shown in Table 3. As far as the highly skilled groups were concerned, Table 2 shows the tennis players were significantly more field-dependent in their TABLE 2
DIFFERENCES AMONG MEAN ROD-AND-FRAME SCORESOF HIGHLY SKILLEDPERFORMERS Tracksndfield athletes
Control group
Cricket players
Ballet dancers
Soccer players
Tennis players
1.63
1.81
2.14
2.62
2.68
3.42
Note.-Any .05).
two scores not underlined by the same line are significantly different ( p
=
G. V. BARRELL
&
H. R. TRIPPE
TABLE 3
COMPARISON OF MEANROD-AND-ERAME SCORESFOR TOP-CLASS AND MEDIUM-ABILITY-LEVEL PLAYERS IN FOURSPORTS Sport
Ability level
n
M absolute deviation
c
Track and field athletics
Top-class Medium Top-class Medium Top-class Medium Top-class Medium
21 16 13 9 30 16 18 18
1.63 1.95 2.14 1.69 2.68
0.97
2.26
0.72 2.87
Cricket Soccer Tennis
..
3.42 1.95
P
1.15
.05
mode of perception than were the track and field athletes or the control group. The other groups showed no significant differences. Thus the results do not fully support Kane's ( 5 ) hypothesis that field-dependency is associated with players who perform team sports in which they are required to relate the skill to the environment. The dancers' mode of perception did not differ from the four highly skilled sports groups measured. As in Gruen's ( 3 ) study, no differences were found between the dancers and the control group. The comparison of highly skilled and medium-level players in Table 3 indicates that, while top-class tennis players are significantly more field-dependent than club players, no differences were found between the two selected ability levels in the other three sports. REFERENCES I. ARBUTHNOT, J. Cautionary note on measurement of field independence. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1972, 35, 479-488. D. B. Multiple range and multiple F test. Biometrics, 1955, 11, 1-42. 2. DUNCAN, 3. GRUEN,A. The relation of dancing experience and personality to perception. Psychological Monographs, 1955, 69, No. 14 (Whole No. 399). 4. JONES.M. G. Perception, personality and movernenc characteristics of women srudents of physical education. Unpublished M.Ed. dissertation, Univer. of Leicester, 1970. 5. KANE,J. E. (Ed.) Psychological aspects of physical educaiion and sport. London: Routledge, & Kegan Paul, 1972. 6. KRAMER, C. Y. Extension of multiple range tests to group means with unequal nurnbers of replications. Biometrics, 1956, 12, 307-310. 7. OLTMAN,P. K. A portable rod and frame apparatus. Pevc@rual and Motor Skills,
1968, 26, 503-506. 8. WITKIN,H. A,, DYK, R. B., FATERSON,H. F., GOODENOUGH, D. R., Psychological diffwentiation. New York: Wiley, 1962. Accepted May 22, 1975.
&
KARP, S. A.
