Keep 'Gestalt' in the name of the test: the curious name permutations of the Bender-Gestalt Test

The Bender-Gestalt Test is often referred to in the literature by several different names, or just as the Bender Test, without the term Gestalt. As a consequence, the figures of the test are frequently called Bender figures or Bender designs, terms which are unjustified and misleading because the figures have been taken from Wertheimer's classical study of Gestalt laws. In this article, I trace the beginnings of the name of the test and its curious permutations, and I advocate the retention of the term Gestalt in the name of the test for logical and historical reasons.     

Bender Gestalt signs as indicants of conceptual impulsivity.

Sixty children were individually administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test and the Bender Gestalt Test. The mean age of the subjects was 10 years, 11 months. A significant relationship was found between errors on the Bender Gestalt test and impulsivity. More specifically, increased or decreased loops (figure four or six), change in angulation, loops for circles and circles for dots or dots for circles were all significantly related to children's impulsivity.     

Concurrent validation of Hutt's Bender Gestalt screening method for schizophrenia, depression, and brain damage

The effectiveness of Hutt's Bender Gestalt scoring system in screening for schizophrenia, depression, and brain damage was investigated in a sample of mixed, psychiatric inpatients. Fifteen patients represented each diagnostic category. After an examination of each patient's Bender Gestalt protocol according to Hutt's criteria, it was found that the true positive and true negative success rates of the screening procedures for depression and brain damage were significantly higher than corresponding base rates. The Lacks Bender Gestalt screening method for brain damage was no more successful than the Hutt method in identifying true positives and true negatives. With the brain-damaged patients excluded, Hutt's screening procedures for both depression and schizophrenia resulted in significantly high rates of successful identification of true positives and true negatives. Moreover, these rates did not significantly differ from those determined by patients' Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) T scores on corresponding scales.     

Concurrent Validation of Hutt's Bender Gestalt Screening Method for Schizophrenia,Depression, and Brain Damage

The effectiveness of Hutt's Bender Gestalt scoring system in screening for schizophrenia, depression, and brain damage was investigated in a sample of mixed, psychiatric inpatients. Fifteen patients represented each diagnostic category. After an examination of each patient's Bender Gestalt protocol according to Hutt's criteria, it was found that the true positive and true negative success rates of the screening procedures for depression and brain damage were significantly higher than corresponding base rates. The Lacks Bender Gestalt screening method for brain damage was no more successful than the Hurt method in identifying true positives and true negatives. With the brain-damaged patients excluded, Hutt's screening procedures for both depression and schizophrenia resulted in significantly high rates of successful identification of true positives and true negatives. Moreover, these rates did not significantly differ from those determined by patients' Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) T scores on corresponding scales.     

Visual motor ability in normal and disabled readers

A group of 42 third graders were grouped equally into sequentially deficient, simultaneously deficient, and normal readers based on their performance on Boder Reading and Spelling Pattern Test and Gates-Macginitie Reading Test. The subjects were then administered Bender Visual-motor Gestalt Test. There were significant differences among the three groups; the simultaneous-deficient group committed the most errors on the Bender test. The results were related to reading.     

Early identification of educationally high potential and high risk children

Early identification of educationally high potential and high risk children was investigated by following the same children (N=49) from kindergarten entrance through grade five of a regular school program. Kindergarten predictive measures were the Bender Gestalt and teachers' evaluations; follow-up measures were yearly standard achievement test results. Analyses revealed consistently high and significant relationships between teachers' ratings and subsequent school achievement. Teachers were surprisingly accurate in early identification of both high risk and high potential children. The Bender was more accurate for identification of high potential than high risk children. Findings support the use of these measures for initial screening of children entering formal school programs. Specification of dimensions of teachers' evaluations may provide clues to understanding the complexities of school readiness.     

A psychological test battery to detect prison inmates who fake insanity or mental retardation

A contrasted groups design was used to investigate the accuracy with which a test battery could detect persons faking mental disorder. The MMPI and Bender Gestalt were used in combination with a Malingering Scale that was developed for initial validation. One hundred adult males comprised five groups of 20 subjects each. Noncriminal psychiatric inpatients and mental retardates were compared with prison inmates who were given a financial incentive to successfully fake ‘insanity’ or mental retardation, and with inmate controls. Based on discriminant analyses, 92 to 95% of subjects were correctly classified as either faking or not faking. Although cross-validation is needed, this study reduced many of the analog factors which have comprised the generalizability of previous findings.     

Practice effects within a multiple-phase Bender administration.

Practice effects within a multiple-phase administration of the Bender Visual-motor Gestalt Test were investigated. The addition of a 5-sec. Flash phase prior to the standard presentation did not significantly influence performance on the standard presentation. Students who attempted both the Flash and standard administration prior to a recall phase remembered significantly more designs than students receiving only the standard administration prior to recall. Those skills possibly measured by the multiple phase Bender format are discussed and the need for research using the three-phase method is suggested.     

Visual‐motor and executive functions in children born preterm: The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test revisited

Böhm, B., Lundequist, A. & Smedler, A.‐C. (2010). Visual‐motor and executive functions in children born preterm: The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test revisited. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 376–384. Visual‐motor development and executive functions were investigated with the Bender Test at age 5½ years in 175 children born preterm and 125 full‐term controls, within the longitudinal Stockholm Neonatal Project. Assessment also included WPPSI‐R and NEPSY neuropsychological battery for ages 4–7 ( Korkman, 1990 ). Bender protocols were scored according to Brannigan & Decker (2003) , Koppitz (1963) and a complementary neuropsychological scoring system (ABC), aimed at executive functions and developed for this study. Bender results by all three scoring systems were strongly related to overall cognitive level (Performance IQ), in both groups. The preterm group displayed inferior visual‐motor skills compared to controls also when controlling for IQ. The largest group differences were found on the ABC scoring, which shared unique variance with NEPSY tests of executive function. Multiple regression analyses showed that hyperactive behavior and inattention increased the risk for visual‐motor deficits in children born preterm, whereas no added risk was seen among hyperactive term children. Gender differences favoring girls were strongest within the preterm group, presumably reflecting the specific vulnerability of preterm boys. The results indicate that preterm children develop a different neurobehavioral organization from children born at term, and that the Bender test with a neuropsychological scoring is a useful tool in developmental screening around school start.     

The relationship between psychological test results and EEG patterns in healthy children

222 children (112 girls and 110 boys) aged 5–16 years with different types of EEG pattern, selected according to well defined normal criteria in order to exclude cerebral lesion elements, were investigated by current child-psychiatric diagnostic methods, including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC), which gave a mean IQ of 116.5. With two so-called tests of organicity (Bender Gestalt Test and Benton's Revised Visual Retention Test) poor performances indicating brain damage were shown in 22% and 24% of the children respectively. Various EEG patterns showed few significant correlations with the test variables. According to clinical judgement "slight symptoms of cerebral dysfunction" was found in some children, but no correlation appeared between such symptoms and poor performance in the psychological tests. The high frequency of defective scores in the Bender and Benton tests in this selected material of healthy children means that these tests cannot be used in clinical work for diagnosing brain injury in individual children. Nor can they be used to throw light on the clinical significance of the different EEG variables studied.     

Bender Gestalt Evaluation of Brain Dysfunction Following Open-Heart Surgery

The heart-lung machine makes open-heart surgery possible by providing extracorporeal blood circulation; however, it creates microemboli in the blood that cause neurological damage. A new filter, designed to remove these emboli, was assessed by preoperative and postoperative Bender Gestalt testing. A lesser degree of the kinds of visual-motor difficulties associated with neurological deficit was produced by patients who received filtered blood. Postoperative impairment was assessed with some precision by using the Pascal-Suttell method of scoring distortions of Bender designs. The Bender scores were consistent with ultrasonic (sonar) counts of microemboli.     

A composite Gestalt completion test.

Most existing Gestalt completion tests contain items which have content recognizable 50 years ago but now are difficult for subjects to recognize. Four well-known Gestalt completion tests were examined and a composite test of the more familiar items among the tests was compiled and then administered to university students. The Cronbach alpha for the 21 selected items was .82. Exploratory factor analyses yielded a general factor and more specific factors, supporting the contention that alternative processes or structural characteristics described in the Gestalt completion literature may account for the common and unique variances found among Gestalt completion items.     

SOME PERSONALITY TESTS APPLIED ON IDENTICAL TWINS

(1) The study concerns Rorschach, Children Apperception Test, Bender Gestalt Test and Draw-a-Man. Data have been obtained on a number of personality variables from 12 pairs of identical twins at the ages of 9;6–10;6. (2) For the Ro 17 out of 21 and for the CAT 15 out of 23 intraclass coefficients are positive. The coefficients for the Gestalt test and Draw-a-Man are high and positive. It is argued that intraclass coefficients must be considered as underestimating both the true reliability of the ratings and the correlation between true scores for identical twins. (3) The intertest correlations give support to the construct validity of the ratings on the variables studied. Especially favourable are the intercorrelations for 'General adjustment'.     

Differential Diagnosis with the Bender Gestalt Test

Forty-two patients, 18 of whom were diagnosed as organic and 24 as having a functional psychiatric disorder, were given the Bender Gestalt test. Both the Hain (1964) and the Pascal and Suttell (1951) scoring systems gave mean scores for the two groups which were different at beyond the .001 level of significance. The Pascal-Suttell also gave a significant difference between means when either patient group was compared with normals. Using a previously established cutoff score for the Hain, 76% of the patients were correctly classified, as compared with 81% by a clinical expert on the Bender.     

Low lead and cadmium levels and childhood visual-perception development

This study investigated possible relationships of lead and cadmium levels to childhood visual-perceptual development. Hair-metal concentrations of lead and cadmium were analyzed in 25 children who were having learning problems. They were also administered the Bender Visual-motor Gestalt Test. Lead and cadmium levels correlated significantly and negatively with age-deviations of Bender errors. A continuing reexamination of lead and cadmium levels is needed because levels previously thought harmless may be associated with decrements in childhood visual-perceptual development.     

Bender Gestalt Test performance and the word recognition skills of disadvantaged children

The Bender Gestalt Test and the WRAT reading section were administered to 147 disadvantaged children. The zero-order correlation of ?.62 was found to be moderated by the variable of age. For younger subjects, highly significant first- and second-order partial correlations were obtained with age and/or WISC information scores held constant.     

THE BENDER GESTALT VISUAL MOTOR TEST IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Although the Bender Gestalt Visual Motor Test has been used across cultures, evidence indicates that performance may be related to differences in experience including exposure to Western acculturation. Thus in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with relatively recent exposure to Western systems of education, it might be expected, particularly in view of available cognitive research data, that performance would lag somewhat by comparison with norms from American or other Western samples. Thus normative data for PNG is required before the V.M.T. may be systematically used for diagnostic work. The present paper describes the V.M.T. performance of 245 children from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, and 74 Australian children living in the same area. V.M.T. scores were compared also with American data. Consistent with the research on cognitive development in the literature, V.M.T. scores for the PNG children seemed to be about three to four years delayed, though the same kind of decrease in error scores with chronological age was evident.     

VISUO-PERCEPTIVE AND VISUO-MOTOR PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN WITH READING DISABILITIES

N ielsen , H. H. & R inge , K. Visuo-perceptive and visuo-motor performance of children with reading disabilities. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1969, 10 , 225–231.—Twenty 9–10-year-old children with reading disability were compared with twenty normal readers on Frostig Test of Visual Perception, Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Goodenough Draw-a-Person Test. Contrary to prediction, the results showed more similarity than difference in performance level between the two groups, only the Bender Test discriminating significantly ( p<0.05 ). It was concluded that impaired visual perception and visuo-motor dysfunction did not seem important correlates of reading disability.     

BIP-Bender protocols of learning disabled and regular education students

20 learning disabled and 20 normal elementary school children took the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test twice, once under standard conditions and again using Background Interference Procedure paper. Based on Koppitz's scoring system, the disabled pupils did equally poorly on both modes but performed significantly worse than the normal children when given the standard Bender first. No other differences were found. Other scoring methods are suggested for investigation.     

The Bender-Gestalt psychopathology scale: failure to infer validity in a school-aged sample

The concurrent validity of Hutt's (1977) empirical psychopathology scale of the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test was evaluated among three groups of younger school-aged children within the 7-to-10- year age range (M = 109.1): adjustment disordered, conduct disordered, and nonclinical controls (n = 40/group). Excellent interscorer reliability was achieved with approximately 2 hr of self-study of the scoring manual. Although the conduct-disordered group was significantly more immature on Koppitz' Developmental Scoring System, there were no significant differences among groups on the psychopathology scale when visual-motor development was covaried (M = 50.5). This was an unexpected result, given Hutt's initial validation study among school-aged children. The psychopathology scale was not inferred to be valid among adolescents in the only known concurrent validation study. Pending supportive validation research, the psychopathology scale should not be employed in the clinical assessment of younger school-aged children.