[1] The GEFT was constructed by Herman A Witkin, Philip K. Oltman, Evelyn Raskin, and Stephen A. Karp with the goal to provide an adaptation of the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) for group testing.
[2] The EFT was developed by Witkin to assess cognitive style and analytical ability by measuring field dependence and field independence[2] with figures suggested by Kurt Gottschaldt, a German psychologist and influencer of Gestalt psychology and theory.
[1] The GEFT is a timed test elapsing 20-minutes and can be administered to an individual or groups of older children (age 10+), adolescents, and adults.
[5][6] Since Witkin, et al. published the GEFT, other researchers have generated additional data, reporting both higher[7][8] and lower[9] normative samples.
The GEFT was validated for exclusive administration via paper and pencil until 2014, when an online version was developed by Jack Demick, a research associate at Harvard University and a clinical and developmental psychologist.