ABSTRACT
The relationships among cognitive style, personality characteristics, and treatment attrition were examined. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ(, and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were administered to 78 inpatient alcoholic male veterans. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that the GEFT and CAQ shared 24% common variance; second-order CAQ factors of Depression, Independence, and Extraversion contributed significantly. The GEFT and MMPI shared 16% common variance. Field-independent alcoholics demonstrate less psychopathology, more independence, and tend to be more introverted than field-dependent alcoholics. Cognitive style did not differ among four treatment attrition groups. Implications for treatment are discussed.
Subject(s)
Alcoholism/rehabilitation , Field Dependence-Independence , Patient Dropouts/psychology , Personality , Adult , Alcoholism/psychology , Humans , Male , Psychological TestsABSTRACT
The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) purports to be a measure of field articulation. The extent to which the GEFT measures apsects of personality and cognitive impairment was explored. Eighty-one male alcoholics, mean age of 42.9, receiving treatment for alcoholism at the Seattle VA Medical Center were administered the GEFT, Shipley Hartford Institute of Living Scale, the Trail Making Test (TMT), and the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ). Multiple regression analysis indicates that Part B of the TMT and the residual abstraction score from the Shipley share 32% of the common variance with GEFT. The CAQ second-order factors of depression and independence also contributed significantly to the regression equation accounting for an additional 10% of the common variance. The results suggest the GEFT may be more a measure of cognitive impairment than personality. Alternative explanations are explored.
Subject(s)
Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Field Dependence-Independence , Adult , Alcoholism/psychology , Cognition Disorders/chemically induced , Group Processes , Humans , Male , Personality TestsABSTRACT
The present study investigated the interaction between cognitive style, imagery, and memory. The Tactual Performance Test Location Score from the Halstead-Reitan battery was used as a measure of incidental tactual memory and mental imagery. The Group Embedded Figures Test was used to assess cognitive style. Results for 38 Caucasian males of mean age 49.9 yr. suggest that cognitive style is related to an individual's ability to perform a non-verbal, non-visual memory task. Further, cognitive style may be an important mediating variable influencing intrapersonal behaviors such as non-verbal memory and mental imagery.
