Perceptual Response Sets on the Rod-and-Frame Task in a College Sample

RFT scores of 38 male college students were examined for the presence of response sets. Significant response sets were found in 79% of the sample's over-all RFT scores. Further, the three RFT series were also analyzed separately for response sets and compared with data from a sample of technical personnel. It was concluded that (1) response sets do tend to occur in RFT performances and (2) that response sets are seemingly more apt to occur with college students than technical personnel. Most intriguing, however, was the finding that almost all Ss favored the left side of true vertical in their response sets. Several hypotheses were proposed as explanations of such response-set phenomena.