Fifty-five college students participated in a study investigating the effect of field dependence and time limitations on the solution of mathematics word problems and visual interpretation problems. Field-independent (n=25) and field-dependent (n=30) subjects represented the upper and lower thirds on the Hidden Figures Test. Field-independent subjects scored higher than did field-dependent subjects on both base and complex word problems, but there was no difference between the groups on visual problems. Although effects for time were found, they appeared to be artifactual. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between the demands of the verbal and visual problems, and differences in restructuring abilities of field-independent and field-dependent learners. Two tables and three graphs contain study data. (Author/SLD)