Effect of alcohol on perceptual field dependence.

The stability of perceptual field dependence, as determined from rod-and-frame test (RFT) performance, when alcohol is ingested by nonalcoholic Ss was investigated. Ss randomly assigned to the experimental (Alcohol) and the control (No Alcohol) groups were found not to differ significantly on pretest RFT scores. A significant increase in perceptual field dependence occurred on the posttest for the Alcohol group, while the No Alcohol group showed no significant change. The difference between the change scores for the 2 groups was significant at p < .01. Further analysis revealed that the noted increase in field dependence following alcohol ingestion does not differentially affect Ss classified prior to the administration of alcohol as high or low in field dependence. The relevance of these results to the "consequence" and "predisposition" interpretations of the known relationship between alcoholism and field dependence is discussed.