The present study relates the "field dependence-independence" cognitive style to the performance on tasks involving several attention processes and resources. With a 98 Portuguese children and 95 Portuguese adolescents sample, four attention tasks were applied: storage capacity (Digits Forward Test); verbal working memory (Digits Backward Test); capacity to focus, shift, and maintain attention (Digit Symbol Test); and capacity for sustained attention (Visual Search and Attention Test, VSAT). It was also applied a factor g test for intelligence control. Results showed differences on attention processes between field-dependence and field-independence cognitive styles. These differences are more evident in the children subgroup on VSAT. These results open new research topics to explain lowest academic performance of field-dependent children.
cognitive style; field dependence-independence; attention processes
