The feasibility of a group bender-gestalt test for preschool and primary school-aged children

This study devised and tested a method for group administration of the Bender-Gestalt Test that would be feasible for screening large groups of beginning school-age children. Secondary considerations of the study were the reliability of the group method of administration as well as the predictive validity of test results gathered using the group technique. Students' (N = 144) age range was from five years through nine years. Results indicate that the group method of presentation using Koppitz's DBSS scoring system can yield results as valid and reliable as the traditional individual method of administering the Bender-Gestalt Test.     

Relationship of visual motor development and academic performance of young children in Hong Kong assessed on the Bender-Gestalt test

This study compared the Qualitative Scoring System for the Modified Version of the Bender-Gestalt test and the Developmental Scoring System for the Bender-Gestalt test in predicting performance on the Standardized Attainment Test of young children in Hong Kong. The study was done in two phases. First, 748 middle class children ages 4 to 8 years from 6 kindergartens and 6 primary schools were given the Bender-Gestalt test individually in kindergarten and in groups for older children, respectively. Both scoring systems were used to measure the children's visual motor development. Second, among the participants' protocols, 257 Primary 1 to Primary 3 children ages 6 to 8 years were selected to compare the Qualitative Scoring System for the 6 designs of the Modified Version of the Bender-Gestalt test and the Developmental Scoring System for the 9 designs of the Bender-Gestalt test in predicting performance on the Standardized Attainment Test. Results indicated that the Qualitative Scoring System differentiates better than the Developmental Scoring System in evaluating visual-motor development among young Chinese children from Hong Kong. Results also indicated that the Qualitative Scoring System correlated significantly with achievement in Chinese and English at all three levels. Scores on the Developmental Scoring System correlated significantly with only marks for Primary 1 and Primary 2 Chinese.     

Construct validity of the Bender-Gestalt II: comparison with Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III

This study investigated the relationships of visuomotor constructs as measured by the Bender-Gestalt II with the subtests of the WISC-III. A factor analysis included the standardized Copy and Recall scores of the Bender-Gestalt II and subtest scores of the WISC-III. The Copy score was predicted to load on measures of visual and spatial thinking and the Recall score on a short-term memory factor. The results of a principal components analysis suggest a four-factor solution with the Bender-Gestalt II Copy score loading on a visual and spatial thinking factor primarily with WISC-III Perceptual Organization subtests. The Recall score loaded on a visual and spatial thinking factor as well as a short-term memory factor with the WISC-III Digit Span subtest. The results suggest the Bender-Gestalt II Copy subtest shared commonality with the visual and spatial tasks given the similarity in the visuomotor demands of each test and was less influenced by processing speed or cultural knowledge than other tests on the visual and spatial thinking factor. Also, results suggest Bender-Gestalt II Recall measures elements of both visual and spatial thinking as well as aspects of short-term memory and memory retrieval. Clinical guidelines for co-administration and underlying processing demands are discussed.     

New studies of adults' responses to the Bender Gestalt

The Bender-Gestalt test originated in 1936 with Lauretta Bender for evaluating perceptual and motor development of children 4 to 11 yr. old. Koppitz (1964) developed a scoring system for the test. Lacks (1984) contributed normative data for testing adults. Seven studies since Lacks' which have contributed to normative data of adults' responses to the Bender-Gestalt are reviewed here.     

Turkish children's Bender-Gestalt test performance: differences in public and private school children

The present study was undertaken to provide data on the Bender-Gestalt test for children aged 5 to 11 in Turkey. Although it is well documented that sociocultural factors are important in cognitive evaluations, the effects of type of school and differing educational opportunities provided by these schools on the Bender-Gestalt test have not been previously investigated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of age, sex, and school type on Bender-Gestalt performance. The test was individually administered to 484 children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. The children were enrolled in either public or private schools. Koppitz's Developmental Scoring System was utilized. The results indicated that older children performed with fewer errors. Girls performed with fewer errors than boys. Finally, as expected, private school children outperformed their public school peers. The results are discussed with respect to the importance of taking into account various educational factors in utilizing commonly used tests.     

The validity of the Bender-Gestalt emotional indicators

We evaluated the concurrent validity of the revised Bender-Gestalt emotional indicators (Koppitz, 1975) among three groups of children in the 7- to 10-year age range: adjustment disorder, behavior disorder, and normal control. The concurrent validity of the emotional indicators total score was demonstrated. Notably, with the developmental level controlled, both clinical groups produced significantly more emotional indicators than the control group, although the two clinical groups could not be differentiated. Nominal-data analyses of the 13 individual emotional indicators indicated that three specific indicators (confused order, large size, boxed figures) possessed validity as pathognomonic signs. We discuss issues concerning the use of the emotional indicators in clinical practice.     

The Validity of the Bender-Gestalt Emotional Indicators

We evaluated the concurrent validity of the revised Bender-Gestalt emotional indicators (Koppitz, 1975) among three groups of children in the 7- to 10-year age range: adjustment disorder, behavior disorder, and normal control. The concurrent validity of the emotional indicators total score was demonstrated. Notably, with the developmental level controlled, both clinical groups produced significantly more emotional indicators than the control group, although the two clinical groups could not be differentiated. Nominal-data analyses of the 13 individual emotional indicators indicated that three specific indicators (confused order, large size, boxed figures) possessed validity as pathognomonic signs. We discuss issues concerning the use of the emotional indicators in clinical practice.     

Comparison of visual motor development in Hong Kong and the USA assessed on the Qualitative Scoring System for the Modified Bender-Gestalt test

This study compared the visuomotor development of young children in Hong Kong and the USA assessed on the Qualitative Scoring System for the Modified Bender-Gestalt test. 744 children aged 4:6 to 8:5 years from 6 kindergartens and 6 primary schools in Hong Kong were administered the Modified Bender-Gestalt test. The Qualitative Scoring System was used to measure the children's visuomotor development. Their visuomotor scores were then compared with norms for children in the USA. Analysis indicated significant differences across all age groups of 4:6 to 8:5 years in 6-mo. units. Consistent with previous research, children in Hong Kong outperformed their western peers. Percentile scores and T scores for children in Hong Kong in each age group were reported.     

Using the Bender-Gestalt test to predict graphomotor dimensions of the Draw-A-Person test

The investigators examined four correlated aspects of the Bender-Gestalt and the Draw-A-Person tests. Subjects were 41 boys and 14 girls classified as seriously emotionally disturbed or seriously behavior disordered by their school system in southwest Georgia. Each subject's Bender-Gestalt and human figure drawings were placed on a digitizing pad and encoded to provide information relative to the width, height, average point of location on the fourth quadrant abscissa and ordinate of each drawing. The widths of Bender Figures 2 and 8 correlated significantly with the widths of human drawings; the heights of Figures A, 5, and 7 were significantly correlated with the heights of the human drawings. Bender Figure 1 was significantly correlated with average points of location on the abscissa of human figure drawings (distance from the left margin of the page), but correlations between the average points of location from the top of the page were nonsignificant. Comparison of these results with data from other samples might refine diagnosis.     

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.     

Koppitz errors on the Bender-Gestalt for adult retardates: normative data.

Normative data on the Koppitz developmental scoring system for the Bender-Gestalt test were derived from a sample which included 510 protocols of adult resident retardates. Percentile norms are presented on Koppitz error scores for three AAMD ranges of retardation based on WAIS IQs and two AAMD ranges of retardation based on Stanford-Binet IQs.     

The Bender-Gestalt test in differential diagnosis of adolescents with learning difficulties

This study assessed the efficiency of the Haine and Koppitz scoring systems used with the Bender-Gestalt Test (B-G) in terms of their ability to differentiate between adolescents with and without central nervous system (CNS) impairment who were achieving below age-expectations. Utilizing a population of 84 adolescents enrolled in a residential treatment center, both the Haine and Koppitz systems with the Bender-Gestalt differentiated 25 Ss with CNS impairment from 59 Ss wihout such impairment. The results indicated, however, that neither scoring system was useful in individual classification when the B-G was used alone or in combination with intelligence test results.     

Visuomotor perception in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder--combined type.

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder--Combined Type (ADHD-CT) defined by behavioral characteristics of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity including weaknesses in fine motor coordination and poor motor inhibition frequently exhibit poor handwriting and penmanship. Performance of children on visuomotor tasks is further complicated, as most studies have not excluded children with specific learning disabilities who are known to do poorly on these tests. This study was designed to examine the performance of children diagnosed with this disorder, without learning disabilities on visuomotor tasks. 26 preadolescent patients were administered a battery of tests that included the Bender-Gestalt, Conners' Parent Rating Scale, Continuous Performance Task, and Wide Range Achievement Test-Third Edition Scores on the Bender-Gestalt test averaged significantly lower than Koppitz normative data. This study lends support to the hypothesis that ADHD-CT children without learning disabilities exhibit deficits on tasks requiring visuomotor perception.     

Bender-Gestalt Test performance in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type

Bender-Gestalt Test performances of 144 persons with very mild, mild, or moderate senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) and 96 healthy older adults ranging in age from 63 to 95 were compared. Total scores and error types according to the modified Hutt-Briskin scoring system are reported. The Bender-Gestalt Test does not appear to be useful in differentiating very mild or mild SDAT from normal aging.     

Tardive dyskinesia and perceptual dysfunction

There is equivocal evidence for a relationship between neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Using the Bender-Gestalt test as the dependent measure, we hypothesized that a group of chronic schizophrenic patients with tardive dyskinesia would show more perceptual dysfunction than those without. Our results supported this hypothesis. CNS dysfunction is discussed in terms of a possible predisposition to tardive dyskinesia.     

The Bender-Gestalt test in an Italian sample: an analysis of Koppitz's Developmental Bender Scoring System deviations

This study extended the research of the psychometric characteristics of Koppitz's 1963/1975 Developmental Scoring System of the Bender-Gestalt test. Attention was paid to relations among the 7 deviations. The test was administered by licensed psychologists to 1,065 white children, aged from 3 yr., 6 mo. to 11 yr., 5 mo., enrolled in the regular education track of kindergarten and elementary school in Italy.     

Concurrent validity of the Gardner Test of Visual-Motor Skills

Scores on the Test of Visual-motor Skills, Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration, and Bender-Gestalt test were compared for a sample of 44 elementary school children referred for evaluation of learning disorders. While the tests shared common variance, the mean standard score on the Test of Visual-motor Skills was significantly lower than the means of the other two tests, suggesting caution in the clinical use of the new scale.     

Psychopathology scale of the Hutt adaptation of the Bender-Gestalt Test: reliability.

The test-retest reliability of the Hutt Adaptation of the Bender-Gestalt test was explored with a population of 40 process schizophrenics over a two-week interval. The total Psychopathology Scale Score was found to have high retest reliability for both male and female patients (rho = .87 for males and .83 for females). Moreover the three major components for the Scale were found to have high reliability, and fairly high reliabilities were obtained for patients scoring high as well as low on the Scale. Interjudge reliability was also found to be very high (rho = .895), confirming previous studies in this respect. On these grounds, the Scale offers promise both for clinical and research purposes.     

Simulation of brain damage on the Bender-Gestalt test by college subjects.

The study found that nonbraindamaged college subjects could not simulate organicity on the Bender-Gestalt test when instructed to do so. Although Pascal-Suttell and Canter scoring methods failed to differentiate malingerers from an organic criterion group, an ABPP clinician sorted 89% of the records correctly in a pilot study. Differentiating criteria were then spelled out from the pilot study protocols. In the main study the expert clinician correctly identified all 20 malingerers. Subsequent studies of intra- and inter-rater reliability produced satisfactory results.     

初中生友谊认知的类型特点

本研究在已有理论及开放式问卷基础上首先确定友谊认知的初步结构,采用探索性因素分析调整结构并筛选题目,最终确定友谊认知问卷的4个维度。验证性因素分析表明,自编的友谊认知问卷具有较好的结构效度,其他各项信效度指标也均达到心理测量学的要求。另外,聚类分析表明可以把初中生的友谊认知划分为重情感-重兴趣、重情感-轻兴趣和情感淡漠-轻兴趣3种类型。