Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test Second Edition

Introduction

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Aristotle

History 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

Development & Revision

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:

 Adience-Abience Scale

Clinical Uses

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

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

Test Description

Recall Phase
Examinee is asked to redraw designs from memory

Motor and Perception supplemental tests screen for specific motor and perceptual abilities/difficulties

Observation Form
Examinee InformationName, gender, hand preference Physical ObservationsSensory impairments or movement restrictions Test-Taking ObservationsCarelessness, indifference, inattentiveness, unusual or unique behaviors Copy ObservationsExaminees approach, drawing process

RecallAmount of time needed to recall designs and the order

in which designs are recalled SummaryOverview of information collected

Administration Process 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:
Ages 4yr 7yr 11mo 8yrs and older Start Item 1 5 End Item 13 16

Administration Process 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 examinees 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

Scoring

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
The Global Scoring System 0 1 2 3 4 No resemblance, random drawing, scribbling, lack of design Slight vague resemblance Some moderate resemblance Strong close resemblance, accurate reproduction Nearly perfect

Scoring
Using the different areas of the Observation Form: Total the raw scores Record any observations noted during administration Calculate: The examinees age Testtaking 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
Criteria for Scoring the Motor Test 1 0 Line touches both end points and does not leave the box. Line may touch the border but cannot go over it. Line extends outside the box or does not touch both end points

Perception Test
Each correct response is scored one (1) point Each incorrect response is scored zero (0) points

Interpretation

Test Scores Raw scores for Copy and Recall phases are converted
into scaled scores and percentiles
Mean = 100 SD = 15
145 - 160 130 144 120 129 110 119 90 109 80 89 70 79 55 69 40 54 Classification Labels for Standard Scores Extremely high or extremely advanced Very high or very advanced High or advanced High average Average Low average Low or borderline delayed Very low or moderately delayed Extremely low of moderately delayed

Standard Score can range from 40 to 160

Test Behavior
Information gained through observation of testtaking 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

Internal Consistency
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

Inter-rater 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

Validity
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

Standardization and Norming

Standardization Sample
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, Alzheimers disease, and examinees identified as gifted) Data was collected over a 12-month period in 2001 through 2002

Normative Specifications
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. 2. 3. 4. 5. Age Sex Race/Ethnicity (including Hispanic origin) Geographic Region: (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) Socioeconomic Level (Educational Attainment)

Age and Sex

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

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)

Race/Ethnicity
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)

Geographic Region and Socioeconomic Level

Four regions: Northwest, Midwest, South and West Examinees 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

Clinical Populations

Clinical and Special 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 achievementsubstantial 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

ADHD
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

Serious Emotional Disturbances

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

Autism and Alzheimers Disease

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

Alzheimers Disease:
Examinees were independently diagnosed prior to testing. Diagnosis was primarily based on DSM-IV-TR 294.1x criteria

Giftedness
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