BENDERGESTALT II

Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt TestSecond Edition

Introduction

“The whole is greater than

the sum of its parts.”

― Aristotle

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

Administration

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

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

Scoring

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

Interpretation

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

Standardization and Norming

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

Clinical Populations

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

The End