title: Does field independence predict visuo-spatial abilities underpinning human navigation? Behavioural evidence.
abstract: Field independence (FI) has been defined as the extent to which the individual perceives part of a field as discrete from the surrounding field, rather than embedded in the field. It has been proposed to represent a relatively stable pattern in individuals' predisposition towards information processing. In the present study, we assessed the effect of FI on skills underpinning human navigation. Fifty Healthy individuals took part in this study. FI has been assessed by using the group embedded figures test (GEFT). Participants were also asked to perform several visuo-spatial orientation tasks, including the perspective taking/spatial orientation test (PTSOT), the mental rotation task (MRT) and the vividness task, as well as the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale, a self-reported questionnaire, which has been found to predict environmental spatial orientation ability. We found that performances on the GEFT significantly predicted performances on the PTSOT and the MRT. This result supports the idea that FI predicts human navigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy. maddalena.boccia@uniroma1.it.|Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. maddalena.boccia@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Maddalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boccia
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.|Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, L'Aquila University, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piccardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, L'Aquila University, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Mariangela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Marco
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.|Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pizzamiglio
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.|Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guariglia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012044:Regression Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Field dependence; Mental rotation; Perspective taking; Sense of direction; Spatial orientation