96 LE ROY A. STONE

SUMMARY Bender Gestalt Test protocols from 50 psychiatric male patients were scored

using the Pascal-Suttell scoring system. Inter-design response was correlated and cluster analyzed. Seemingly, response to the eight designs should be regarded as occurring within a unitary dimension. Short forms of the Bender Gestalt could be justified.

REFERENCES 1. BILLINGSLEA, F. Y. The Bender-Gestalt: An objective scoring method and validating data.

2. BILLINGSLEA, F. Y. The Bender Gestalt: a review and a perspective. Psychol. Bull., 1963, SO,

3. GUERTIN, W. H. A factor analysis of the Bender-Gestalt Tests of mental patients. J . din.

4. HOLZINGER, K. J. and HARMAN, H. H. Factor analysis: a synthesis of factorial methods. Chicago:

5. PASCAL, G. R. and SUTTELL, BARBARA J. The BenderGeshlt Test. New York: Grune Kz Stratton,

6. TRYON, R. C. Cluster analysis: correlation projile and ortlwmetrie (jaclor) analysis for the isola-

Clin. Psyehol. Monogr., 1945, No. 1.

233-251.

Psydwl., 1952, 8, 362-367.

Univ. Chicago Press, 1941.

1951.

tion of undies in mind and personality. Ann Arbor: Edwards Bros., 1939.

A COMPARISON OF NEGRO AND CAUCASIAN PERFORMANCES ON THE BENDER-GESTALT TEST

LOUISE D. CARLSON

Bryce Hospital, Tuseahsa, A h .

PROBLEM Bender(2) showed that the Bender-Gestalt was much less influenced by cul-

tural factors than verbal tests. However, no one has demonstrated that cultural variables are insignificant factors that can be disregarded in evaluating the Bender- Gestalt. Hutt and Briskin (5 ) recommended the Bender-Gestalt especially for socially deprived , relatively nonverbal, or foreign born individuals, assuming that the Bender-Gestalt is influenced relatively little by cultural and educational factors. However, Hebb") has indicated that even the ability to perceive geometric figures is a learned skill, and any learned skill may be affected by cultural factors. Since the Southern Negro is considered a socially deprived group, the following study was con- ducted to see if cultural factors were insignificant and one could safely apply the same standards in evaluating Bender-Gestalt performance for Negro and white psychiatric patients.

METHOD The Bender-Gestalt Test is administered routinely as part of a test battery to

Ss admitted both to the white and Negro centers of Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Two groups of 31 Ss were selected respectively from recent admissions. Only those diagnosed as schizophrenic and matched according to specific diagnoses were included. In addition, the Ss were matched as rated for degree of impairment in functioning based on the degree of thought disturbance manifested on the Pro- verbs Test (8) administered at the time of testing. A three-point scale ranging from clear and relevant responses to loose and autistic responses was used.

The Ss were also matched according to their scores on the Ammons Full-Range Picture Vocabulary Test.") * ) have shown that Ss with a mental age of 11 are capable of reproducing all of the Gestalten adequately; therefore Ss with a mental age of less than 11 on the Amnions were eliminated. Tolor and Schulberg(*) also reported that age was not a significant factor in the quality of performance on the Bender-Gest,alt within the age range of 15 to 55. As a result, only those falling

COMPARISON OF NEGRO AND CAUCASIAN PERFORMANCES ON BENDER-GESTALT TEST 97

within this age range were included in this study. Although no sexual difference was expected, 21 females and 10 males were placed in each group.

Names on the Bender-Gestalt protocols were covered and they were selected at random and scored by the Pascal and Suttellc’) method. Raw scores were used in the analysis as standard scores were available only for those who had attended high school. The few Ss with only a grammer school education in one group were matched with an equivalent education in the other group. Above the elementary level, however, Negroes tended to have completed more grades in school than whites with the same score on the Ammons.

RESULTS The data were analyzed by means of 1 tests for significant differences between

the white and Negro groups. The total Pascal-Suttell raw score for the Negroes was significantly poorer ( p < .025) than that of the whites. Significant differences in per- formance were found on Figures 4 , 6 , 7 , and 8 (Table 1). The time taken to complete the Bender-Gestalt was significantly greater for the Negroes at the .025 level of con- fidence. An item analysis showed that the mean number of errors for Negroes was 15 as compared to a mean of 10 for whites. The frequency of errors was significantly greater for the Negroes ( p < .01) as demonstrated by chi square and t test.. No significant differences were found for any particular kind of error nor for the mmber of errors for any particular figure.

TABLE 1. A COMPARISON OF NEGRO AND WHITE SCORES ON THE BENDEWGESTALT

Bender Gestalt

Design 1 Design 2 Design 3 Design 4 Design 5 Design 6 Design 7 Design 8 Configuration Desi Totals B e n 8 Time-Sec.

Mean Raw Score Negro White

3.03 3.64 3.26 2.93 5.74 4.06 5.29 2.71 4.68 4.84 8.74 5.10 9.19 3.81 9.74 5.48 1.77 .55

51.42 32.39 797.74 542.58

Standard Deviation Negro White

3.18 5.48 4.18 4.69 6.21 5.09 4.73 4.39 4.55 4.30 5.70 5.23 8.83 4.26 1.04 4.93 2.99 1.68

33.13 25.36 413.80 393.90

I 1

* p < .05; * * p < ,025; ***p < .01.

t

.54

.29 1.16 2.23*

.14 2.64** 3.06*** 4.70*** 1.99 2.54- 2.49**

A significant negative correlation (T = - .36, p < .05) was found between educa- tion (the number of years in school) and the total raw score on the Bender-Gestalt by the Pascal-Suttell scoring system. However, the Negroes had significantly more formal education (t = 2.22, p < .05) than the whites. Therefore, the amount of formal education cannot be considered a significant factor in the Negroes’ relatively poor performances compared to the whites. Rather it suggests that with equal education the differences might have been greater.

While Ss were not matched regarding occupational level, most Negroes in Alabama at this time have a lower socio-economic status than whites with equivalent ability. Negroes, and perhaps others on a lower socio-economic level, in general, may live in a culture wherein activities important in developing perceptual-motor skills are not practiced to the same extent.

The mean age of whites was 34 years, SD 7.9 years, while the mean age of Negroes was 29, SD 8.1. The average age of the whites was significantly higher than that of the Negroes, but the correlation between the total Bender score and age was not significant. Tolor and Schulberg@) report a negative correlation between poor functioning and actual age in the early years, no significant correlation between the ages of 15 and 55, and a positive correlation between age and poor functioning in

98 LOUISE D. CARLSON

the later years. Only two Negro Ss were below the age of 20 and only two white Ss were over the age of 50 in this study. These findings suggest that the age of the Negroes should have facilitated a better performance on the Bender rather than acting as a handicap. No significant difference was found between male and female groups in total raw score performance on the Bender.

Niebuhr and Coheri(6) found that patients diagnosed as schizophrenic reaction, chronic undifferentiated type achieved higher Pascal-Suttell scores on the Bender- Gestalt Test than those diagnosed schizophrenic reaction, acute undifferentiated type. The data of this study supported this finding ( t = 3.04, p < .01).

SUMMARY This study tested the assumption that cultural factors do not significantly in-

fluence perforniarice on the Bender-Gestalt Test. Thirty-one Negro and 31 white psychiatric patients were matched for psychiatric diagnoses, severity of illness, and intellectual functioning. Each Bender-Gestalt was scored by the Pascal and Suttell scoring system. Significant differences between the Negro and white groups were found on Figures 4, 6, 7, 8, and total raw score, suggesting one cannot assume that cultural factors do not influence Bender-Gestalt performance significantly. The causes of these differences could not be clarified within this research design, and further investigation is needed to deterinine how and to what degree cultural and socio-economic factors do influence performance on the Bender-Gestalt.

REFERENCES 1. AMMONS, R. B., LARSON, W. L. and SHEARN, C. R. The Full-Range Picture Vocabulary Test: V. Results for an adult populatiqn. J . wnsult. Psychol., 1950,l4, 150-155.

2. BENDER, LAURETTA. A visual-motor gestalt test and its clinical uses. Amer. Orthopsychiat. Ass. Res. Monogr., 1938, No. 3.

3. BENJAMIN, J. 1). A method for distinguishing and evaluating formal thinking disturbances in schizophrenia. In J. S. Kasanin (ED.). Language and thought in schizophrenia. Berkeley: Univ. Calif. Press, 1944.

4. HEBB, D. 0. The organization of behavior. New York: Wiley, 1949. 5. Hum, M. L. and BRISKIN, G. J. The clinical use of the Revised Bender-Gestalt Test. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1960.

6. NIEBUHR, H. and COHEN, D. The effect of psychopathology of visual discrimination. J . abnorm. soc. Psychol., 1956,63, 173-177.

7 . PASCAL, G. and SUTTELL, B. The Bender-Gestalt Test. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1951. 8. TOLOR, A. and ScHuLBEnG, H. An evaluutim of the Bender-Gestalt Test. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas, 1963.

SUSCEPTIBILITY OF INDIVIDUAL BENDER-GESTALT TEST DESIGNS TO ROTATION BY PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS

Veterans Administration Hospital Lyons, New Jersey

PROBLEM

EARL X. FREED

Much recent research(*) has focused upon Bender-Gestalt Test (BG) rotations, their clinical meaning, frequency, etc. Such rotations form the basis for Fuller and Laird’s ( 3 ) Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test (MPD). More specifically, the MPD was based on reports that certain of the BG figures were less stable and co- hesive in terms of figure-ground relationships and thus were more likely to be rotated. Various studies(3) have cited figures A, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 as most susceptible to rota- tion. Most of these studies dealt with children. The present note presents other baseline, actuarial data on the frequencies of rotation of each BG figure in line with Billingslea’s ( l ) suggestion for research “on the perceptual contributions of each design.”