Bender Gestalt Test

The Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test (abbreviated as Bender-Gestalt

test) is a psychological test used by mental health practitioners that assesses visual-motor
functioning, developmental disorders, and neurological impairments in both children and
adults. The test consists of nine index cards picturing different geometric designs.
Background:
The Bender Gestalt Test was developed in the 1930s by Lauretta Bender, a child
psychiatrist. The test is often used to assess children's cognitive development, but can also be
used with adults. It involves copying a series of geometric designs, and the way in which the
designs are copied can provide insight into the individual's visual-motor functioning,
perceptual skills, and cognitive abilities. The test is often used in conjunction with other
psychological assessments to help diagnose cognitive or developmental disorders. Bender
first described her Visual-Motor Gestalt Test in a 1938 monograph titled A Visual Motor
Gestalt Test and Its Clinical Use. The figures were derived from the work of the gestalt
psychologist Max Wertheimer.
Purpose:
This test can be used as a screening test for neuropsychological impairment It can
assess brain damage and neurological deficits. The test is often used to assess children who
may have learning disabilities, developmental disorders, or other cognitive or behavioral
problems. It can also be used to assess adults who may have suffered a traumatic brain injury
or other neurological disorder.
The Bender Gestalt Test has been used in a variety of settings, including schools, hospitals,
and clinics. It is often used in conjunction with other psychological assessments, such as IQ
tests, to help diagnose cognitive or developmental disorders. The test is considered to be a
reliable and valid measure of visual-motor functioning, and has been used successfully in a
wide range of clinical and research settings.
Administration:
A blank paper is provided to the child along with a pencil and an eraser.
Then the administrator shows some cards to the child, one at a time. Each of those cards
contain one simple drawing and the child is then asked to copy the same drawing on the
paper. Though this is not a test of artistic abilities, the child is still instructed to copy the
drawing as accurately as possible. No further instructions are given to the child.
Precautions:
The Bender Gestalt Test is a nonverbal assessment tool, which means that it
does not rely on verbal communication to evaluate cognitive abilities. Instead, it relies on the
individual's ability to perceive and copy geometric designs. The test is administered by a
trained professional, and the results are interpreted by a psychologist or psychiatrist. The Test
should not be administered to an individual with severe visual impairment unless his or her
vision has been adequately corrected with eyeglasses. Additionally, the test should not be
given to an examinee with a severe motor impairment, as the impairment would affect his or
her ability to draw the geometric figures correctly.
Scoring:
There are 12 types of errors that a child may make while copying the drawing on
that page. Each error is scored as 1 and then all the errors are added together. These errors are
as follows:

Errors
1: Rotation
Score if there is a rotation of 80o to 180o (including mirror-imaging) of the
major axis of the whole figure (not a part of the figure). Do not score if S shifts the position
of the card or paper and then draws the figure accurately.
2: Overlapping difficulty:
Difficulty in reproducing the portions of the figures that should overlap.

● Omission of the portions of the figure which overlap.

● Simplification of figures only at the point of overlap.
● Marked sketching or reworking only at the point of overlap.
● Distortion of the figure at the point of overlap.
● Figures overlap at the wrong place.
● Failure of figures to overlap.
 3: Simplification:

Score if the figure is drawn in a simplified or easier form that is not more
primitive from a maturational point of view, from the stimulus.

● Circles for dots on figure 2.

● Non overlapping parts.
● Joining parts of figures are more than 1/8 inch apart.
● Very simplified drawing.

DO NOT SCORE –

● figures less than 1/8 inch apart, score Close Difficulty.

● Curves substituted for angles, not an error.
● Curves substituted for angles, not an error.

4: Fragmentation:

Score if the figure is broken up into parts destroying the gestalt or if the figure is incomplete

5: Retrogression:

Substitution of a more primitive gestalt form than the stimulus.

● Loops for circles (if persistent).

● Dashes for dots (if extreme and persistent).
● Triangle for diamond or hexagon.
● Square for diamond.

6: Perseveration:

There are 2 kinds of Perseveration errors. If both occur, this error is still only scored once.

TYPE-A

Inappropriate substitution of the features of a preceding stimulus, such as replacing

the circles of figure 3 with the dots of figure 2 (must have made dots, not circles on figure 2);
replacing the dots of figures 4 & 6 with the circles of figure 3 (must have made circles on
figure 3 and dots on 2).

TYPE-B

Intra design perseveration on continuing to draw a figure beyond the limits called for by
the stimulus.

7: Impotence:

Behavioral or verbal expressions of inability to draw a figure correctly are

often accompanied by statements such as “I know this drawing is not right but I just can’t
make it right”.

● Repetitious drawings or numerous erasures of figures with similar inaccuracies.

● S realizes that an error has been made and tries to correct it unsuccessfully
or-expresses inability to correct it.

DO NOT SCORE: Second attempt that corrects an error.

8: Closure difficulty:

Difficulty in getting the joining parts of figures together or getting

adjacent parts of a figure to touch.If figures are more than 1/8 inch apart at joining point,
score Simplification.

9: Motor incoordination:

Irregular (tremor-like) lines, especially with heavy pressure. Behavioral

observations are important for scoring this error. Be sure S is drawing on a smooth surface.

● Marked and persistent gasp, overlap, redrawing, sketching, erasures, increased pressure
at points where parts of the design join one another.
 10: Angulation:

Severe difficulty in reproducing the angulation of figures.

● Failure to reproduce angulation of a figure.

● Angulation of the whole figure 45o to 80o rather than parts of a figure.
● Variability of the angulation of more than half the rows of circles of figure 3.

DO NOT SCORE –

● Figure 4 should be scored leniently because its angulation is especially hard to

reproduce.
● Reversal of angulation on figure 3, score Rotation.

11: Cohesion:

Isolated decrease or increase in size of figures. Score very conservatively.

This error is most frequently over-scored.

● Decrease in the size of part of a figure by more than 1/3 of the dimensions used in the
rest of the figure.
● Increase or decrease in the size of a figure by 1/3 of the dimensions used in the other
drawings (not compared to the size of the stimulus cards).Exclude parts of drawing
that are larger due to Perseveration.

12: Time:

Score if total time is greater than 15 minutes.

Generally 3 or fewer errors indicate an absence of visuoconstructive deficits or brain

impairments.4 errors is borderline score .5 or 6 error provide some evidence for brain
impairment.The greater number of error , the greater evidence for some type of brain
impairment.Strong evidence with 7 or 8 errors and very strong evidence for 9 to 12 errors
.Five or more error is serious but not if subject is lazy , impulsive , unmotivated or
uncooperative .
Reliability:

● Inter-scorer reliability for 12 organic signs has been found to range between .87 and
.90.
● Test retest reliabilities over 3 to 12 months intervals were .79.
● Test retest reliabilities over a 4 month interval were somewhat low .

Validity:

● Validity is rather good as an index of perceptual motor development because error

score decreases with age , between the ages of 5 and 9.
● Concurrent measures of visual motor perception also suggest a moderate level of
validity .

Benefits:

● It is Brief
● Flexible
● Economical
● Nonthreatening
● Nonverbal
● Extensively researched
● Ranked as 25th most frequently used test .

Criticism :

It doesn’t provide in depth information about the specific details and varieties of such damage
.In fact the bender gestalt is limited relatively severe forms of brain damage, especially in
right parietal region of the right hemisphere.One difficulty in interpreting bender gestalt
performance is that a certain degree of overlap exist between emotional and organic indicator
one the bender gestalt .