Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1975,40, 392-394. @ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1975
TRAINING IN MUSICAL RHYTHM AND FIELD DEPENDENCE OF CHILDREN1 JOSEPH A. PARENTE AND JOHN J. O'MALLEYa University of Scranton Summary.-The present experiment investigated the effects of musical r h y h training on field dependence in children. An experimental group of 12 Ss showed significant improvement on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test after training, while a matched control group did nor improve. Pretest scores on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test were not correlated.
A widely investigated dimension of perceptual functioning is field independence-field dependence. Witkin, Dyk, Faterson, Goodenough, and Karp (1962) have defined a field-independent individual as one who tends to experience his surroundings analytically, with objects distinct from their backgrounds, while a field-dependent person is one who perceives his environment globally, being more affected by the prevailing field or context. A number of experimenters have found that various types of sensory-motor training have caused children to become more field-independent. For example, Gill, Herdtner, and Lough (1968) found that perceptual-motor training resulted in improved scores on the Rod-and frame Test, a measure of field dependence. In the present experiment the effects of musical rhythm on field dependence were investigated.
METHOD Ss were 40 naive elementary school students in the first, second and third grades from St. Frances Cabrini School in Scranton, Pa. All Ss were in the normal range of intelligence; chronological ages ranged from 5 yr., 11 mo., to 9 yr., 1 mo. Two measures of field dependence were used. They were the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test; the latter was produced by the Marietta Apparatus Company (Model 18-10).A piano and a snare drum were the only musical instruments employed. The Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test were administered to all 40 Ss; in the case of the Rod-and-frame Test, four trials were given, with the frame tilted 30' left for two trials and 30' right for two trials. Based upon Children's Embedded-figures Test scores, two groups of 12 Ss each were assigned to experimental and control conditions in such a way that the mean Children's Embedded-figures Test scores for the two groups were about equal. =Reprints may be obtained from the second author at the following address: John !. O'Malley, Ph.D., Psychology Deparunent, Universiry of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania l n c ~ n
IOJLU.
'The authors wish to express their appreciation to Joanne Nehila and Andrew Garber who tested Ss.
CHILD'S RHYTHM IN FIELD DEPENDENCE
393
The chronological ages of the children selected for the experiment ranged from 5 yr., 11 mo. to 9 yr., 1 mo. The distribution of males and females in each group was equal. Treatment for the experimental group consisted of eight rhythm training sessions over a period of 4 wk., under the guidance of a skilled musician. Each session, in which all Ss were administered the treatment at the same time, was 1hr. in length. During the first session, Ss were taught to manipulate the drumsticks and to play the drum and were familiarized with the concept of counting rhythm to songs. For the next three sessions, Ss played the snare drum in 4/4 time, while E played various childrens' songs on the piano. The next four sessions dealt with 3/4 time, with the same basic learning procedure as followed for 4 / 4 time. Throughout the last four sessions, discrimination between 3/4 and 4 / 4 times was stressed. In a typical session, S would spend about 5 min. actually playing the drum; when not playing the drum, all Ss clapped to the music appropriately. The goal of the training was to acquaint Ss with the rudimentary aspects of rhythm. Ss assigned to the control group were given unrelated activities in a group setting at the times during which training for the experimental Ss were being conducted. On the day after training for the experimental Ss was completed, all 24 Ss were retested on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test. The examiners, who did both pretesting and posttesting, were blind with respect to the conditions of the experiment. RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
By the end of training all members of the experimental group were well familiarized with 3/4 time, 4 / 4 time, and discrimination between the two. Unlike the results of a number of previous experiments (Witkin, et al., 1971) there was no correlation between the pretest scores on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test ( r = -.11) for all 40 TABLE 1
PRETEST SCORES FOR ALL 40 SS Ss
CEFTl RFTl*
Ss
CEFTl RFTl
4 25 11 4 5 14 0 12 9 0 13 10 14 9 10 17 5 14 20 15 10 16 4 6 11 5 17 9 7 11 23 7 8 4 11 18 19 8 9 13 30 10 3 30 20 11 *(Degrees Error) in four trials. 1 2 3 4
70 25 12 22 13 10 16 33 25 40
SS CEFTI RFTI
SS CEFTX RFTl
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32
11
10 11 12 18 3 12 13 7 17
0 85 20 0 25 67 65
0 55 50
33
12 15 11
34 35 36 37 38 39 40
15 19 6 4 11 20
14
25 30 0 25 50 25 75 20 25 40
J. A. PARENTE & J. J. O'MALLEY
TABLE 2
POSTTEST SCOREISFOR TWO GROUPS SS
Experimental Ss CEFTa RFT. SS CEFT, RFTs
SS
Control Ss CEFTa R F L SS CEFTZ RFTa
Ss. A Lindquist Type 1 (Lindquist, 1956) analysis of the number of correct responses on the Children's Embedded-figures Test indicated that the effect of conditions was not significant ( F < 1.00). The effect of trials was significant (F = 44.20, df = 1/22, p < .001), as was the interaction of trials and conditions ( F = 4.31, df = 1/22, p < .05). The group means (and SDs) respectively were: Experimental, pretest = 7.00 (3.05 ), Control, pretest = 8.08 (2.94), Experimental posttest = 13.08 (3.03), Control, posttest = 11.25 (2.63). A Lindquist Type 1 analysis of the total number of degrees error for the four trials on the Rod-and-frame Test showed that the effect of conditions was not significant ( F < 1.00). The effect of trials ( F = 6.78, df = 1/22, 9 < .01) and the interaction between trials and conditions ( F = 5.94, df = 1/22, p .05 ) were significant. The group means (and standard deviations) respectively were: Experimental, pretest = 33.66 (25.54), Control, pretest = 24.58 (22.59), Experimental, posttest = 8.75 (10.47 ) , Control, posttest = 23.75 (20.68). The present data indicate chat training in musical rhythm, and probably other forms of perceptual-motor training, resulted in significant improvement in performance on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rodand-frame Test. It seems reasonable to expect that long-term training; as opposed to the present relatively short-term training, would lead to even greater movement toward field independence.
TRAINING IN MUSICAL RHYTHM AND FIELD DEPENDENCE OF CHILDREN1 JOSEPH A. PARENTE AND JOHN J. O'MALLEYa University of Scranton Summary.-The present experiment investigated the effects of musical r h y h training on field dependence in children. An experimental group of 12 Ss showed significant improvement on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test after training, while a matched control group did nor improve. Pretest scores on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test were not correlated.
A widely investigated dimension of perceptual functioning is field independence-field dependence. Witkin, Dyk, Faterson, Goodenough, and Karp (1962) have defined a field-independent individual as one who tends to experience his surroundings analytically, with objects distinct from their backgrounds, while a field-dependent person is one who perceives his environment globally, being more affected by the prevailing field or context. A number of experimenters have found that various types of sensory-motor training have caused children to become more field-independent. For example, Gill, Herdtner, and Lough (1968) found that perceptual-motor training resulted in improved scores on the Rod-and frame Test, a measure of field dependence. In the present experiment the effects of musical rhythm on field dependence were investigated.
METHOD Ss were 40 naive elementary school students in the first, second and third grades from St. Frances Cabrini School in Scranton, Pa. All Ss were in the normal range of intelligence; chronological ages ranged from 5 yr., 11 mo., to 9 yr., 1 mo. Two measures of field dependence were used. They were the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test; the latter was produced by the Marietta Apparatus Company (Model 18-10).A piano and a snare drum were the only musical instruments employed. The Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test were administered to all 40 Ss; in the case of the Rod-and-frame Test, four trials were given, with the frame tilted 30' left for two trials and 30' right for two trials. Based upon Children's Embedded-figures Test scores, two groups of 12 Ss each were assigned to experimental and control conditions in such a way that the mean Children's Embedded-figures Test scores for the two groups were about equal. =Reprints may be obtained from the second author at the following address: John !. O'Malley, Ph.D., Psychology Deparunent, Universiry of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania l n c ~ n
IOJLU.
'The authors wish to express their appreciation to Joanne Nehila and Andrew Garber who tested Ss.
CHILD'S RHYTHM IN FIELD DEPENDENCE
393
The chronological ages of the children selected for the experiment ranged from 5 yr., 11 mo. to 9 yr., 1 mo. The distribution of males and females in each group was equal. Treatment for the experimental group consisted of eight rhythm training sessions over a period of 4 wk., under the guidance of a skilled musician. Each session, in which all Ss were administered the treatment at the same time, was 1hr. in length. During the first session, Ss were taught to manipulate the drumsticks and to play the drum and were familiarized with the concept of counting rhythm to songs. For the next three sessions, Ss played the snare drum in 4/4 time, while E played various childrens' songs on the piano. The next four sessions dealt with 3/4 time, with the same basic learning procedure as followed for 4 / 4 time. Throughout the last four sessions, discrimination between 3/4 and 4 / 4 times was stressed. In a typical session, S would spend about 5 min. actually playing the drum; when not playing the drum, all Ss clapped to the music appropriately. The goal of the training was to acquaint Ss with the rudimentary aspects of rhythm. Ss assigned to the control group were given unrelated activities in a group setting at the times during which training for the experimental Ss were being conducted. On the day after training for the experimental Ss was completed, all 24 Ss were retested on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test. The examiners, who did both pretesting and posttesting, were blind with respect to the conditions of the experiment. RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
By the end of training all members of the experimental group were well familiarized with 3/4 time, 4 / 4 time, and discrimination between the two. Unlike the results of a number of previous experiments (Witkin, et al., 1971) there was no correlation between the pretest scores on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rod-and-frame Test ( r = -.11) for all 40 TABLE 1
PRETEST SCORES FOR ALL 40 SS Ss
CEFTl RFTl*
Ss
CEFTl RFTl
4 25 11 4 5 14 0 12 9 0 13 10 14 9 10 17 5 14 20 15 10 16 4 6 11 5 17 9 7 11 23 7 8 4 11 18 19 8 9 13 30 10 3 30 20 11 *(Degrees Error) in four trials. 1 2 3 4
70 25 12 22 13 10 16 33 25 40
SS CEFTI RFTI
SS CEFTX RFTl
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32
11
10 11 12 18 3 12 13 7 17
0 85 20 0 25 67 65
0 55 50
33
12 15 11
34 35 36 37 38 39 40
15 19 6 4 11 20
14
25 30 0 25 50 25 75 20 25 40
J. A. PARENTE & J. J. O'MALLEY
TABLE 2
POSTTEST SCOREISFOR TWO GROUPS SS
Experimental Ss CEFTa RFT. SS CEFT, RFTs
SS
Control Ss CEFTa R F L SS CEFTZ RFTa
Ss. A Lindquist Type 1 (Lindquist, 1956) analysis of the number of correct responses on the Children's Embedded-figures Test indicated that the effect of conditions was not significant ( F < 1.00). The effect of trials was significant (F = 44.20, df = 1/22, p < .001), as was the interaction of trials and conditions ( F = 4.31, df = 1/22, p < .05). The group means (and SDs) respectively were: Experimental, pretest = 7.00 (3.05 ), Control, pretest = 8.08 (2.94), Experimental posttest = 13.08 (3.03), Control, posttest = 11.25 (2.63). A Lindquist Type 1 analysis of the total number of degrees error for the four trials on the Rod-and-frame Test showed that the effect of conditions was not significant ( F < 1.00). The effect of trials ( F = 6.78, df = 1/22, 9 < .01) and the interaction between trials and conditions ( F = 5.94, df = 1/22, p .05 ) were significant. The group means (and standard deviations) respectively were: Experimental, pretest = 33.66 (25.54), Control, pretest = 24.58 (22.59), Experimental, posttest = 8.75 (10.47 ) , Control, posttest = 23.75 (20.68). The present data indicate chat training in musical rhythm, and probably other forms of perceptual-motor training, resulted in significant improvement in performance on the Children's Embedded-figures Test and the Rodand-frame Test. It seems reasonable to expect that long-term training; as opposed to the present relatively short-term training, would lead to even greater movement toward field independence.
