Copy and recall performance of 6-8-year-old children after standard vs. Step-by-step administration of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure.

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF; Rey 1941; Osterrieth, 1944) is frequently used in the neuropsychological assessment of children and adults. The present study was designed, in part, to examine the impact of providing organizational scaffolding to young children being tested with the ROCF. To this end, 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old children were administered the test either in the standard fashion, or using a format in which the 18 key elements of the figure were introduced sequentially. Participants included 132 children who were randomly assigned to the standard or step-by-step administration groups. Significantly higher accuracy and organization scores for both copy and recall were seen with the step-by-step format than with the standard format, even though children in the step-by-step condition took less time to execute their drawings. Retention of encoded information was not affected by age or testing format. The fact that 6-year-olds in the step-by-step condition performed as well as, or better than, 8-year-olds in the standard condition suggests that the primary problem young children experience with the ROCF lies with organizational strategy formation. Advantages of using the Step-by-step ROCF in clinical practice are discussed.