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Tasks assessing navigational abilities in ecological environment. (A) Path within “Umberto I” general hospital. Circles and rhombus indicate the turning points and the starting/ending point, respectively. (B) Example of landmark (on the top of the panel) and distracter (on the bottom of the panel) used in landmark recognition task. (C) Sketch map used during map drawing task.
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Field independence (FI) has been found to correlate with a wide range of cognitive processes requiring cognitive restructuring. Cognitive restructuring, that is going beyond the information given by the setting, is pivotal in creating stable mental representations of the environment, the so-called “cognitive maps,” and it affects visuo-spatial abil...
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When a designer is dealing with organizing urban blocks in designation of districts in the projects of urban design (particularly ground preparation plans), there are numerous guidelines and patterns for the order of blocks from different views such as energy, efficiency, permeability, security, social interaction, etc. However, there is no guideli...
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... Se ha afirmado, además, que el estilo cognitivo puede afectar el rendimiento de la MT espacial y que la complejidad del entorno puede modular este fenómeno 26 . En esa línea, el estilo cognitivo DIC puede modular la eficiencia de una persona para aislar y filtrar la información irrelevante de una tarea de MT visual; concretamente, los individuos IC tienen una habilidad superior para aislar y filtrar la información que no es necesaria, lo que les permite atender selectivamente lo que sí es relevante de la tarea y evitar, por tanto, que tal información irrelevante acceda a la MT; mientras que los DC no pueden filtrar la misma con éxito 27 . ...
... Adicionalmente, es relevante destacar que para el estilo cognitivo DIC, en aras de determinar la condición estilística como variable cualitativa, se establecieron terciles en el marco de las puntuaciones mínimas y máximas alcanzadas en la muestra, segmentada en función del género. El primer tercil (6-19 puntos para los varones y 2-14 para las mujeres) corresponde a los sujetos DC; el segundo tercil (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21), a los sujetos IM, y el tercer tercil (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34), a los sujetos IC (tabla 3). ...
... Adicionalmente, es relevante destacar que para el estilo cognitivo DIC, en aras de determinar la condición estilística como variable cualitativa, se establecieron terciles en el marco de las puntuaciones mínimas y máximas alcanzadas en la muestra, segmentada en función del género. El primer tercil (6-19 puntos para los varones y 2-14 para las mujeres) corresponde a los sujetos DC; el segundo tercil (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21), a los sujetos IM, y el tercer tercil (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34), a los sujetos IC (tabla 3). ...
El propósito de este estudio fue caracterizar, según el género y la edad, la memoria de trabajo, el estilo cognitivo dependencia-independencia de campo y el rendimiento académico en matemáticas de 87 estudiantes con edades comprendidas entre los 9 y 14 años. Se realizó un estudio con enfoque empírico-analítico, diseño no experimental transversal, nivel descriptivo. En cuanto al género, los resultados revelaron que tanto hombres como mujeres presentaron en promedio un rendimiento académico alto en matemáticas. En la memoria de trabajo, ambos géneros se encontraron dentro del rango de la normalidad para el bucle fonológico y la agenda visoespacial; sin embargo, se observaron puntuaciones ligeramente más altas en los hombres. En cuanto al estilo cognitivo dependencia-independencia de campo, ambos géneros se ubicaron en un nivel intermedio de campo. En cuanto a la edad, se encontró que en la agenda viso espacial, los hombres menores obtuvieron en promedio puntuaciones más bajas, mientras que, en el bucle fonológico, los niños de 14 años obtuvieron puntuaciones más altas. En cuanto al estilo cognitivo, se observó un aumento en las puntuaciones a medida que aumentaba la edad. Finalmente, en el rendimiento académico se encontró que los niños de 9 a 11 años obtuvieron un rendimiento académico alto en promedio, mientras que los mayores obtuvieron un rendimiento básico. Estos hallazgos sugieren que tanto la memoria de trabajo como el estilo cognitivo pueden desempeñar un papel crucial en el rendimiento académico en matemáticas, y podrían ser factores determinantes en las diferencias observadas en esta área. Se presentan las limitaciones del estudio y sugerencias para la educación.
... The effect of cognitive style on spatial knowledge has mixed results across studies. Boccia et al. [39] showed that FI individuals are associated with better performance on survey tasks. They concluded that the more an individual is FI, the more developed the survey knowledge. ...
... The results also align with the spatial navigation study by Nora et al. [30], concluding that FI individuals are able to predict a navigation path from even unfamiliar standpoints This study concluded that FI individuals outperformed FD individuals in the spatial orientation test, as indicated via greater scores on the PTA test. This finding agrees with Bocchi et al. [38] and Boccia et al. [39], who assert that FI people may perform better on perspective-taking tasks. There was, however, no considerable difference in spatial relations ability between FI and FD participants, which is contrary to the conclusions of some previous studies [38,39]. ...
... This finding agrees with Bocchi et al. [38] and Boccia et al. [39], who assert that FI people may perform better on perspective-taking tasks. There was, however, no considerable difference in spatial relations ability between FI and FD participants, which is contrary to the conclusions of some previous studies [38,39]. The reason for a different performance on spatial ability tasks depending on the type of cognitive style is unclear. ...
Under emergencies such as floods and fires or during indoor navigation where cues from local landmarks and a Global Positioning System (GPS) are no longer available, the acquisition of comprehensive environmental representation becomes particularly important. Several studies demonstrated that individual differences in cognitive style might play an important role in creating a complete environmental representation and spatial navigation. However, this relationship between cognitive style and spatial navigation is not well researched. This study hypothesized that a specific type of map orientation (north-up vs. forward-up) might be more efficient for individuals with different cognitive styles. Forty participants were recruited to perform spatial tasks in a virtual maze environment to understand how cognitive style may relate to spatial navigation abilities, particularly the acquisition of survey and route knowledge. To measure survey knowledge, pointing direction tests and sketch map tests were employed, whereas, for route knowledge, the landmark sequencing test and route retracing test were employed. The results showed that both field-dependent and field-independent participants showed more accurate canonical organization in their sketch map task with a north-up map than with a forward-up map, with field-independent participants outperforming field-dependent participants in canonical organization scores. The map orientation did not influence the performance of Field-Independent participants on the pointing direct test, with field-dependent participants showing higher angular error with north-up maps. Regarding route knowledge, field-independent participants had more accurate responses in the landmark sequencing tests with a north-up map than with a forward-up map. On the other hand, field-dependent participants had higher accuracy in landmark sequencing tests in the forward-up map condition than in the north-up map condition. In the route retracing test, however, the map orientation had no statistically significant effect on different cognitive style groups. The results indicate that cognitive style may affect the relationship between map orientation and spatial knowledge acquisition.
... A starting point for examining the individual variability that determines the effectiveness of PA in clinical use for the rehabilitation of neglect is to investigate the role of cognitive style, an individual pervasive characteristic that cannot be changed by learning or experience and modulates perceptual and intellectual functioning [28]. Cognitive style influences the way people process environmental information [29][30][31] and is divided into field-dependence (FD) and field-independence (FI) according to the reference frame used for encoding the information [28]. FD individuals are more susceptible to the assimilation of misleading cues preferring an external reference system to process and organize environmental information. ...
Prism adaptation (PA) is a well-known and widely used technique for rehabilitating unilateral spatial neglect and studying sensory–motor plasticity. However, there is conflicting evidence in the literature regarding its effectiveness which may arise from differences in the type of prisms used, clinical characteristics of the patients, and the procedure used in training. Individual differences may play a role in PA effectiveness in rehabilitating neglect, affecting both its development and its effects. Field-dependent/independent cognitive style is a pervasive characteristic of individual functioning, affecting how environmental information is processed. Here, we tested the hypothesis that cognitive style plays a role in PA efficacy by submitting to a protocol of prism adaptation to 38 health participants, who were classified as field-dependent (FD, N = 19) or field-independent (FI, N = 19), by using the Embedded Figure Test. Results show that during the exposure phase, FI individuals needed a lesser number of pointing movements to reduce the deviation error than FD individuals. However, there are no differences in the extinction of sensory–motor and cognitive after-effects. These results suggest that prismatic adaptation is affected by individuals’ cognitive style since FI individuals will need fewer trials to reach adaptation and this could explain why using this rehabilitation technique with a unique, standard protocol is not always effective.
... He originally concluded that appropriately and according to the dependence or independence of the field, when each individual gravitated towards their topics and careers, their cognitive style contributed to their achievements. As Kozhevnikov et al. (5) noted along with Boccia et al. (6), Witkin's initial studies in education became the first works to reveal individual cognitive differences, with such supporting evidence that Witkin's field dependence-independence (FDI) cognitive styles were standardized for psychometric educational research (7). For example, an early study on task resolution with 103 students from 5 to 11 years old reported that students with an FI cognitive style tended to answer more questions, which increases with age (8). ...
The visual psychometric Embedded Figures Test classifies people into field-independent and field-dependent cognitive styles. The objectives of the study were to investigate neuromorphological evidence for Witkin’s field-independent cognitive style with experimental descriptive studies in subjects with different field-independent cognitive styles and to determine the associated or related underlying neuromorphology. The results demonstrate the existence of neuro morphological bases in the left inferior parietal lobe cortex, which exhibits a pattern of neural connections that are bilaterally related to cortical areas of the inferior frontal gyrus and the anterior and midcingulate cortex. It is proposed that the visual flow presented is not unique due to the limitations of neuroimaging studies and the high variability of the anatomical and histological patterns of the left inferior parietal lobe cortex.
... They also needed the contextual information than the complex configuration. This study also could not detect the attached figures completely [50]. The finding is also in line with [51]. ...
p> Reconstructing geometrical concepts requires a spatial thinking process, so the spatial thinking process will be correct and complete. The phenomena of cognitive style differences cause different perceptions and thinking activities to solve geometric problems. This qualitative-explorative research describes the spatial thinking process of students with field-dependent cognitive styles in reconstructing the concept of spatial geometry based on the theory of Action-Process-Object-Schema (APOS). The research subjects were 27 students and obtained five students with field-dependent cognitive styles. The researchers used a purposive sampling technique from the subjects with a certain consideration. The researchers selected a student that met the three elements of spatial thinking and the five indicators of spatial ability. This research collected the data with interviews, documentation, and group embedded figure test (GEFT). The analyzing techniques used data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and concluding. The spatial thinking process of the field-dependent students had a spatial category with three indications: i) Inaccuracy in the elements of representational thinking; ii) The inaccuracy of spatial perception indicators; and iii) Not using de-encapsulation mental mechanisms. </p
... The internal factors are of greater interest because they directly affect navigational competence; by consequence, it is possible to better intervene on them in order to plan prevention programs related to navigational disorders. The most important internal factors for navigation are: a) the cognitive predisposition to grasp certain environmental information rather than others [12][13][14][15][16]; b) gender [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]; c) age [25][26][27][28][29][30]; d) professional experience [31][32][33][34][35][36]; e) familiarity with the environment [37][38][39][40], reflecting the result of repeated exposure to a stimulus or an environment [41,42]; f) navigational strategies used during navigation [36,43]; g) psychiatric (e.g., spatial anxiety, depression, agoraphobia: [44][45][46]) and neurologic diseases (Alzheimer's disease and brain lesions in the navigational brain network: [47][48][49][50]). ...
... Town Knowledge (TK) was the summed ratings ofItems 8,12,13,14,15,16,19,20,and 21 [e.g., Item 12: "How well do you know (insert the name of the city where you live in)?"];3. Spatial cognitive style. ...
In the last decade, several cases affected by Developmental Topographical Disorientation (DTD) have been described. DTD consists of a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting the ability to orient in the environment despite well-preserved cognitive functions, and in the absence of a brain lesion or other neurological or psychiatric conditions. Described cases showed different impairments in navigational skills ranging from topographic memory deficits to landmark agnosia. All cases lacked a mental representation of the environment that would allow them to use high-order spatial orientation strategies. In addition to the single case studies, a group study performed in Canada showed that the disorder is more widespread than imagined. The present work intends to investigate the occurrence of the disorder in 1,698 young Italian participants. The sample is deliberately composed of individuals aged between 18 and 35 years to exclude people who could manifest the loss of the ability to navigate as a result of an onset of cognitive decline. The sample was collected between 2016 and 2019 using the Qualtrics platform, by which the Familiarity and Spatial Cognitive Style Scale and anamnestic interview were administered. The data showed that the disorder is present in 3% of the sample and that the sense of direction is closely related to town knowledge, navigational strategies adopted, and gender. In general, males use more complex navigational strategies than females, although DTD is more prevalent in males than in females, in line with the already described cases. Finally, the paper discusses which protective factors can reduce DTD onset and which intervention measures should be implemented to prevent the spread of navigational disorders, which severely impact individuals’ autonomy and social relationships.
... The order of the six tasks was randomized. As in Boccia et al. [49], we computed an aggregate score that resulted from the sum of the tasks' scores (from 0 to 42). The aggregate score (AS) may be considered as an index of the participants' spatial ability, and it allows for the maintenance of the individuals' spatial abilities on a continuum. ...
Many automotive industries are developing technologies to assist human drivers in suggesting wiser choices to improve drivers' behaviour. The technology that makes use of this modality is defined as a "digital nudge". An example of a digital nudge is the GPS that is installed on smartphones. Some studies have demonstrated that the use of GPS negatively affects environmental learning because of the transformation of some spatial skills. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the use of the GPS nudge and its relationship with spatial ability, together with its function in supporting the driving behaviour of non-expert drivers, in order to reduce the number of road crashes. A total of 88 non-expert drivers (M age = 21 years) filled in questionnaires and carried out tasks to measure spatial abilities, sense of direction, driver behaviour, and six different real-life driving scenarios. The results reveal that the higher the spatial skills are, the greater the GPS use is, and that drivers who use GPS improve their sense of direction. Moreover, people with high visuospatial abilities use GPS more extensively. Finally, young drivers do not consider the GPS aid to be useful when they have no time pressure. The results are discussed by taking into account the familiarity-and-spatial-ability model.
... [20] All patients did a SCD questionnaire [21] to assess their degree of SCD. The Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale [22] was used to measure the ability in facial recognition and direction. ...
A close relationship has recently been described between subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and gut microbiota disorders. Herein, we aim to investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on gut microbiota in participants with SCD.
We conducted a study of 60 participants with SCD. Sixty participants were allocated to either EA group (n = 30) or sham acupuncture group (n = 30). Both groups received 24 sessions of real acupuncture treatment or identical treatment sessions using the placebo needle. Global cognitive change based on a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was evaluated to detect the clinical efficacy of acupuncture treatment at the baseline and the end of treatment. Faecal microbial analyses were carried out after collecting stools at T0 and T12 weeks. Microbiomes were analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Correlation analyses were performed to investigate the relationships between the changes in gut microbiota and symptom improvement.
Age is a particularly important factor leading to the severity of dementia. Compared with sham acupuncture group, the number of Escherichia–Shigella in EA group decreased after treatment. The number of Escherichia–Shigella in EA group decreased after treatment compared with EA group before treatment. Bifidobacterium is positively correlated with clinical efficacy Z-score and Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (both P
... In line with previous literature (Boccia, Vecchione, et al., 2017, 2019Teghil et al., 2019a), we assessed individuals' predisposition towards FDI using the paper-and-pencil version of the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) (Witkin et al., 1971). This test shows an overall high reliability, with reported coefficients in different samples of young adults ranging between 0.76 and 0.89 (Witkin et al., 1971). ...
... Allman et al., 2014;Zakay & Block, 1997). As mentioned in the Introduction, an influence of FDI has been reported in tasks involving cognitive restructuring, such as visuospatial and navigational learning (Boccia, Vecchione, et al., 2017;Tascón et al., 2017), but also semantic and episodic memory tasks (Corson et al., 2009;Spiro & Tirre, 1980). Present results thus suggest that differences between FD and FI individuals in cognitive restructuring may have affected the formation of a long-term temporal referent during IBL. ...
... Here we showed for the first time that individual differences in field-dependent/independent cognitive style significantly affect the acquisition of temporal knowledge, in line with previous evidence that the degree to which individuals tend to rely on an internal frame of reference affects performance in different cognitive domains, including time processing Boccia, Vecchione, et al., 2017;Silverman et al., 1961;Teghil et al., 2019a). Also, our findings provide evidence that such individual differences interact with the type of representation required by the task, since they exert a differential effect on temporal learning depending on whether it relies on an internal representation of time, or on an external sensory cue. ...
The acquisition of information on the timing of events or actions (temporal learning) occurs in both the subsecond and suprasecond range. However, although relevant differences between participants have been reported in temporal learning, the role of dimensions of individual variability in affecting performance in such tasks is still unclear. Here we investigated this issue, assessing the effect of field-dependent/independent cognitive style on temporal learning in the suprasecond range. Since different mechanisms mediate timing when a temporal representation is self-generated, and when it depends on an external referent, temporal learning was assessed in two conditions. Participants observed a stimulus across six repetitions and reproduced it. Unbeknownst to them, in an internally-based learning (IBL) condition, the stimulus duration was fixed within a trial, although the number of events defining it varied; in an externally-cued learning (ECL) condition, the stimulus was defined by the same number of events within each trial, although its duration varied. The effect of the reproduction modality was also assessed (motor vs. perceptual). Error scores were higher in IBL compared to ECL; the reverse was true for variability. Field-independent individuals performed better than field-dependent ones only in IBL, as further confirmed by correlation analyses. Findings provide evidence that differences in dimensions of variability in high-level cognitive functioning, such as field dependence/independence, significantly affect temporal learning in the suprasecond range, and that this effect depends on the type of temporal representation fostered by the specific task demands.
... An individual's cognitive styles could be used as a reference to solve geometrical problems. There were correlations between cognitive styles and spatial skills (Boccia et al., 2017;Erkan Yazici, 2017;Hanifah et al., 2018;Nori & Giusberti, 2006). ...
... The field-independent students were strongly correlated to the various cognitive process that required cognitive restructure. It was to create a stable mental representation environment and to influence spatial skills (Boccia et al., 2017). An individual with a field-independent cognitive style could separate an element from the whole unit. ...
p style="text-align: justify;">Spatial thinking has roles to facilitate learners to remember, understand, reason, and communicate objects and the connections among objects that are represented in space. This research aims to analyze the spatial thinking process of students in constructing new knowledge seen from the field-independent cognitive style learners based on Action-Process-Object-Schema (APOS) theory. APOS theory is used to explore spatial thinking processes which consist of mental structures of action, process, object, and schema. This research is qualitative research with an exploratory method. It provided the students' opportunity to solve problems alternately until the method found the most appropriate subjects for the research objectives. The subjects were 2 students of Mathematics Education in the fourth semester of Universitas Muria Kudus Indonesia. The data collection techniques were started by distributing the validated and reliable spatial thinking questions, the cognitive style question, and the interview. The applied data analysis consisted of data reduction, presentation, and conclusion. The findings showed (1) spatial thinking process of holistic-external representation typed learners were indicated by the representative thinking element, abstract-illustrative figure expression to communicate and complete the tasks correctly, (2) spatial thinking process of the holistic-internal representation typed learners were indicated by the representative means, having ideas, connecting with the previous knowledge in the forms of symbols and numbers, and finding the final results correctly although incomplete.</p
