Dependencia-independencia de campo: ¿nivel de desarrollo o estilo cognitivo?

Althrough field dependence-independence was initially conceived as a dimension of supposed neutrality, and therefore not comparable with intelligence and/or cognitive development, this assumption was soon challenged, generating a wide debate, providing research data and theoretical interpretations. The present paper summarizes and disscuses this contribution by: comparing a cognitive perspective with Piaget’s psychogenetic model; reviewing avaliable empirical evidence on the relation between field dependence-independence indices and operational development tasks together with theoretical interpretations. Finally, the mobility-fixity dimensions is addressed, and its relation to levels of development is discussed.