FIELD DEPENDENCE AND PAROLE SUCCESS

• NCJ Number: 18934
• Author(s): K R RENEAR
• Date Published: 1969
• Length: 89 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DISSERTATION - CLAREMONT GRADUATE SCHOOL

Annotation

THIS STUDY TESTED WITKIN'S HYPOTHESIS THAT AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL OF FIELD DEPENDENCE, RATHER THAN EITHER HIGH OR LOW FIELD DEPENDENCE, IS ASSOCIATED WITH PERSONAL ADEQUANCY, DEFINED HERE AS PAROLE SUCCESS.

Abstract

WITKIN AND OTHER INVESTIGATORS HAVE IDENTIFIED FIELD DEPENDENCE AS A STABLE COGNITIVE DIEMNSION. DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FIELD DEPENDENCE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT STYLES OF PERCEPTUAL, INTELLECTUAL, AND PERSONALITY FUNCTIONING. FIELD DEPENDENCE WAS MEASURED IN THIS STUDY BY PERFORMANCE ON THE ROD AND FRAME TEST (RFT), THE EMBEDDED FIGURES TEST (EFT), AND THE BLOCK DESIGN, PICTURE COMPLETION, AND OBJECT ASSEMBLY SUBTESTS OF THE WECHSLER ADULT INTELLIGENCE SCALE (WAIS SUBTESTS). THE 90 VOLUNTEER SUBJECTS WERE FEMALE ADULT INMATES OF A WOMEN'S PRISON. THEY HAD A MEAN I. Q. OF 106 AND A MEAN AGE OF 33.5 YEARS; 59 WERE CAUCASIAN, 26 NEGRO, AND 5 MEXICANAMERICAN. PERSONAL ADEQUACY WAS DEFINED AS SUCCESS ON PAROLE. THREE MEASURES WERE USED TO PREDICT PAROLE SUCCESS: THE NUMBER OF DISCIPLINARY REPORTS RECEIVED BY EACH SUBJECT, THE NUMBER OF LETTERS AND VISITS FOR EACH SUBJECT, AND THE BASE EXPECTANCY SCORE, WHICH IS AN EMPIRICALLY DERIVED PREDICTOR OF PAROLE SUCCESS. NONE OF THE FOREGOING PREDICTORS OF PAROLE SUCCESS SHOWED A RELATIONSHIP TO FIELD DEPENDENCE. HOWEVER, ACTUAL SUCCESS ON PAROLE, MEASURED BY RETURN OR NONRETURN TO PRISON, WAS RELATED TO AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL OF FIELD DEPENDENCE AS MEASURED BY THE EFT AND THE WAIS SUBTESTS, BUT WAS NOT RELATED TO RFT SCORES. WOMEN WHO RETURNED TO PRISON TENDED TO HAVE EITHER HIGH OR LOW SCORES ON THE EFT AND ON THE WAIS SUBTESTS. WOMEN WHO DID NOT RETURN TO PRISON TENDED TO HAVE ITERMEDIATE SCORES ON THE EFT AND ON THE WAIS SUBTESTS. THE RESULTS PROVIDED CROSS-VALIDATION EVIDENCE IN FAVOR OF THE BASE EXPECTANCY AS A PREDICTOR OF PAROLE SUCCESS. THE RESULTS WERE INTERPRETED AS PARTIAL CONFIRMATION OF WITKIN'S HYPOTHESIS THAT AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL OF FIELD DEPENDENCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH PERSONAL ADEQUACY. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)