By Albert R. Gilgen

FROM TE ABSTRACT: “According to the theory of cognitive controls (Klein, 1951), leveling-sharpening represents an important dimension of cognitive structure. It is believed that memory traces of previous stimuli fuse or assimilate, and that they do so more for some individuals (levelers) than others (sharpeners). This supposedly leads the former to differentiate less among successive stimuli than the latter. The Squares Test, designed by Holman and Klein (1951), generally serves as the criterion task for the concept leveling-sharpening. The test consists of a series of 150 squares of light projected successively onto a black screen in an almost completely darkened room. The squares range in size from 1.2 to 13.7 inches and the series is made up of 10 overlapping subseries. Subseries 1 involves the 5 smallest sizes (presented in 3 different orders), and the series progresses in stepwise fashion from the smallest to the largest squares so that Subseries 10 includes only the 5 largest sized squares. Subjects (Ss) are required to estimate the size of each square…”

Michigan. Illinois. Michigan State University. Dissertation. 1965. 149p.