Freud's oral character and Witkin's field-dependent person are theoretically similar and empirically have been shown to display many of the same traits and behaviors. This investigation examined their relationship in a group of normal adult women. Three of six oral variables were significantly related to Witkin's Rod-and-frame error score of field-dependence. Field-dependent women had more spontaneous oral thoughts, more negative attitudes toward food and eating, and recalled fewer food than nonfood words when tested in a learning task. These results suggest that field-dependent women are orally conflicted, and that the concept of orality may be a link between the externality exhibited by the obese, by the alcoholic, and by the field-dependent person.