Developed in 1938
“A Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Its Clinical Use”- Lauretta Bender
Gestalt function Integrated Biologically determined Responds to stimuli as a whole
Measures visual-motor integration skills in children and adults from 4 to 85+ years of age
One of the most frequently used instruments in psychological assessment
History
Revision Goals:
Extend measurement scale – significantly easier and significantly harder items were added
Obtain a large and representative sample to reflect visual-motor skills across
a lifespan (N = 4,000) Retain as many original Bender-Gestalt Test items as possible:
Development & Revision
Adience-Abience Scale
Measures development of defenses and coping operations of the personality
Items relating to space and size, organization, changes in the Gestalt form, and distortion
Psychopathology Scale Items related to organization, changes in the Gestalt form, and distortions of the Gestalt
Clinical Uses
The test consists of nine figures, each on its
3x5 card.
Copy the figure into a single piece of paper.
The test is not timed, although the standard administration time is typically 10-20 minutes.
After the testing is complete, the results are scored based on accuracy and organization.
Administration of the Bender-Gestalt II consists
of two phases: Copy Phase
Examinee is shown stimulus cards with designs and asked to copy each of the designs on a sheet of paper
Recall Phase Examinee is asked to redraw designs from memory
Motor and Perception supplemental tests screen for specific motor and perceptual abilities/difficulties
Test Description
Examinee Information—Name, gender, hand preference
Physical Observations—Sensory impairments or movement
restrictions
Test-Taking Observations—Carelessness, indifference,
inattentiveness, unusual or unique behaviors
Copy Observations—Examinee’s approach, drawing process
Recall—Amount of time needed to recall designs and the
order in which designs are recalled
Summary—Overview of information collected
Observation Form
Administer test on a table, seated across from the
examinee if possible Supply one pencil and one sheet of paper
(vertically in front of examinee) Show the stimulus cards to the examinee one at a
time (aligned with the top of drawing paper) Administer stimulus cards in the correct numeric
sequence and do not allow examinee to turn or manipulate them.
Begin test with the appropriate card:
Administration Process
Ages Start Item End Item
4yr – 7yr 11mo 1 13
8yrs and older 5 16
Copy Phase:
Inconspicuously measure how long the examinee takes to complete the items – record time in minutes and seconds
Document your observations – carefully note the examinee’s approach to drawing each design
Recall Phase: Administered immediately following the copy phase Examinee is given a new sheet of paper an asked to
draw as many of the designs that were previously shown
Administration Process
Motor Test:
2 – 4 minutes Draw a line between the dots in each figure
without touching the borders
Perception Test: 2 – 4 minutes Circle or point to a design in each row that best
matches the design in the box
Administration Process
Global Scoring System used to evaluate each
design the examinee draws during the Copy and Recall phases 5 point rating scale Higher scores better performance
Scoring
The Global Scoring System
0 No resemblance, random drawing, scribbling, lack of design
1 Slight – vague resemblance
2 Some – moderate resemblance
3 Strong – close resemblance, accurate reproduction
4 Nearly perfect
Using the different areas of the Observation Form:
Total the raw scores Record any observations noted during
administration Calculate:
The examinee’s age Test–taking times for the Copy and Recall phases Supplemental tests scores Percentile ranges
Now refer to the appendixes in the manual for the corresponding standard scores, percentile ranks, and other scores.
Scoring
Scoring the supplemental tests:
Motor Test
Perception Test Each correct response is scored one (1) point Each incorrect response is scored zero (0) points
Scoring
Criteria for Scoring the Motor Test
1 Line touches both end points and does not leave the box. Line may touch the border but cannot go over it.
0 Line extends outside the box or does not touch both end points
Raw scores for Copy and Recall phases are
converted into scaled scores and percentiles Mean = 100 SD = 15
Standard Score can range from 40 to 160
Test Scores
Classification Labels for Standard Scores
145 - 160
Extremely high or extremely advanced
130 – 144
Very high or very advanced
120 – 129
High or advanced
110 – 119
High average
90 – 109 Average
80 – 89 Low average
70 – 79 Low or borderline delayed
55 – 69 Very low or moderately delayed
40 – 54 Extremely low of moderately delayed
Information gained through observation of
test-taking behaviors is crucial Global Scoring System – integrated (age,
education, ethnicity, IQ, test performance, and behaviors)
Indicators of potential behavioral or learning difficulties: length of task, tracing with finger before drawing, “anchoring,” frequent erasures, motor incoordination
Test Behavior
Split- Half Reliability
A group average coeffient of .91 Standard Error of Measurement of 4.55
Test-Retest Reliability Varied from .80 to .87 when corrected for
the first test
Overall good reliability
Internal Consistency
Correlation of scoring between examiners was
high Copy Phase: .83 to.94 (average of .90) Recall Phase: .94 to .97 (average of .96)
This test is easy and straight forward to score
Inter-rater Consistency
Correlation with other visual motor tests:
When matched with the Beery VMI: .65 for the Copy Phase .44 for the Recall Phase
Do you consider this valid?
Validity
Correlation with other tests
Tests of achievement: WJ-III _ACH and WIAT Ranges from .20 to .53 for the Copy
Phase Ranges from .17 to .47 for the Recall
phase
Validity
Correlations with other tests
Tests of intelligence: Stanford Binet 5 and WAIS III Ranged from .47 to .54 for the copy phase Ranged from .21 to .48 for the recall phase
These scores suggest that there is more than one construct being measured
Validity
Based on a carefully designed, stratified,
random plan that closely matched the U.S. 2000 census
4,000 individuals from 4 to 85+ years of age Additional samples were collected for validity
studies (e.g., individuals with mental retardation, learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and examinees identified as gifted)
Data was collected over a 12-month period in 2001 through 2002
Standardization Sample
Utilizing U.S. 2000 census data, the Bender-Gestalt
II normative sample was designed to be nationally representative and matched to percentages of the U.S. population for four demographic variables:
1. Age
2. Sex
3. Race/Ethnicity (including Hispanic origin)
4. Geographic Region:
(Northeast, Midwest, South, and West)
5. Socioeconomic Level (Educational Attainment)
Normative Specifications
21 age groups, differing in size and age, were
defined
More refined age categories used at the earliest and latest age groups because of higher rate of change in scores due to age-related development or decline
Age and Sex
The Bender-Gestalt II standardization included
approximately equal percentages of males and females for each age group except for ages 60 and above where differences in sex also occur in the census
60 – 69 Females (55.5) and Males (44.5)70 – 79 Females (61.0) and Males (39.0)
80+ Females (66.0) and Males (34.0)
Sex
Examinees’ racial and ethnic origins were
identified on the consent forms by the examinees or their parents or legal guardians American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian,
Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander Black or African American White Hispanic Multiple ethnicities (classified as “Other”)
Race/Ethnicity
Four regions: Northwest, Midwest, South and
West Examinee’s home or residence was used to
define his or her geographic regions Educational attainment was used as an
indicator of socioeconomic level Adults: levels measured by years of education
completed Minors: levels measured by the years of
education completed by their parents or guardians
Geographic Region and Socioeconomic Level
Mental Retardation:
Significant sub-average intellectual functioning as measured by an IQ score of more than two standard deviations below the mean
Concurrent deficit in adaptive behavior Designation by a local, county, or state
education agency that the individual is qualified for special services for mental retardation
Qualified classifications referenced in the DSM-IV-TR
Clinical and Special Populations
Specific Learning Disabilities
Academic achievement—substantial discrepancy from intellectual capacity with both achievement and IQ
Specific learning disabilities: discrepancies in any of seven areas as originally defined in Public Law: Mathematics calculation, mathematics reasoning, basic
word reading, reading comprehension, listening comprehension, spoken or written expression
DSM-IV-TR emphasizes: 315.00 Reading Disorder, 315.1 Mathematics Disorder,
315.2 Disorder of Written Expression, and 315.9 Learning Disorder NOS
Clinical and Special Populations
For inclusion in the category of ADHD, examinees
were required to provide a documented formal diagnosis of ADHD utilizing DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for the following codes: 314.01 ADHD
Combined Type 314.00 ADHD
Predominately Inattentive Type 314.01 ADHD
Predominately Hyperactive-Impulsive Type 314.9 ADHD NOS
ADHD
For inclusion in the Serious Emotional Disturbance
category, examinees were required to have a documented condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics: Inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual
sensory, or health factors Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal
relationships with peers or teachers Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal
circumstances Pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression Diagnosis of schizophrenia
Serious Emotional Disturbances
Autism:
Examinees included in this category were required to exhibit a documented developmental disability that significantly and adversely affected verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction as they relate to educational or occupational performance
Alzheimer’s Disease: Examinees were independently diagnosed prior
to testing. Diagnosis was primarily based on DSM-IV-TR 294.1x criteria
Autism and Alzheimer’s Disease
For inclusion in the Giftedness category,
examinees were required to provide documentation for both of the following criteria: Performance on an individually administered IQ
test with a score of more than two SDs above the mean > 130, M = 100, and SD = 15
Official designation by a local, country, or state education agency that the individual is qualified for gifted/talented school services
Giftedness