Role of field dependence in perception of movements

194 male students in physical education were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test. Those who scored high or low were selected for a perceptual experiment (n = 49). Expecting that the analyzing and (re)structuring ability of the field-independent person also applies to complex movement stimuli, subjects had to describe eight complex gross-motor gymnastic skills, demonstrated on a video system. field-independent persons tended to give more detailed descriptions of observed movements; in 5 of 8 cases the difference was statistically significant. Perhaps the field-independent person builds a more structured visual image of movements than the field-dependent person. If so, the former is probably in a better position to learn new motor skills.