The Rod and Frame Test was developed in the 1940s by Herman Witkin and Solomon Asch, and was designed to distinguish people according to the degree to which they depend on external cues in order to make visual judgements. Witkin and Asch distinguished between so-called field-independent and field-dependent individuals.

In this test, the subject is placed in a dark room, and presented with two separate luminous visual objects: a frame and a rod. The rod is placed within the frame, and set at different angles. The subject is asked to report which direction the rod would need to be turned in order for it to match up with the surrounding frame.

Source: Witkin, H. A., & Asch, S. E. (1948). Studies in space orientation: IV. Further experiments on perception of the upright with displaced visual fields. Journal od expérimental psychology, 38, 762-782.