Field dependence--independence, social--non-social play and sex differences in preschool children.

The present study investigated the hypothesis that preschool children who spend more time in social play than in non-social play would be more field-dependent than their field-independent counterparts. Over-all the hypothesis was supported by the results. Although the social-non-social dimension appeared to account for most of the findings, correlations between individual play activities and field dependence suggested that this single dimension could not adequately account for all of the findings. The dimension of perceptual-motor demand required in some of the activities may have been involved as well. Discussion focused on the complexity of the play preference, cognitive findings, and on sex differences as well.