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The Bender test is a psychotechnical instrument for psychological evaluation that is used to evaluate visual-motor functioning and visual perception in both children and adults. Scores on the test are used to identify possible organic brain damage and the degree of maturation of the nervous system. Therefore, the objective of this test is to assess visual maturity, visomotor integration, response style, reaction to frustration, ability to correct mistakes, planning and organization skills, as well as motivation.
The Bender test consists of copying a series of figures and, therefore, requires fine motor skills, the ability to discriminate between visual stimuli, the ability to integrate visual skills with motor skills, and the ability to shift attention from the original design. to the copy. In this Psychology-Online article we explain what the Bender test is, what it measures, interpretation and how to do it.
You may also be interested: Wartegg test: what it consists of, what it measures and interpretation Index- What is the Bender test
- Bender test slides: what they measure
- Bender test: Interpretation
What is the Bender test
The Bender Gestalt test is an individually administered pencil and paper test used for the diagnosis of brain injury.
There are nine geometric figures drawn in black. These figures are presented to the evaluated person one by one. Then you are asked to copy the figure onto a blank sheet of paper. The appraised is allowed to delete, but cannot use any mechanical aids (such as rules). The popularity of this test among physicians is most likely due to the short time it takes to administer and score it. The average time to complete the test is 5 to 10 minutes.
There are some variations in the administration of this test:
- One method requires the evaluated person to view each card for 5 seconds, after which the card is removed. And you are asked to draw the figure from memory.
- Another method is for the evaluated person to draw the figures following the standard procedure. You are then given a blank sheet of paper and asked to draw as many shapes as you can remember. Finally, the test is administered to a group, rather than an individual.
These variations of the Bender test are subsequent to the original test.
Bender test slides: what they measure
As mentioned above, the objective of this Bender psychotechnical test is to assess visual maturity, vis-motor integration, response style, reaction to frustration, ability to correct mistakes, planning and organization skills, as well as motivation. The purpose of an evaluation with the Bender test is to detect certain significant characteristics, which when repeated or appearing throughout the evaluation, will lead us towards the diagnostic synthesis.
Some of the significant elements to observe are:
- Distribution of the figures on the execution sheet:
- Use of space
- Location of the first figure
- Relative location of the figures: organization, relative space, forecast of the necessary space
- Size of the figures (macro or micrographs; constant or variable size; relative size of the parts)
- Unity or fragmentation of the models (is the figure treated as a whole or as a series of independent elements?)
- Lines: soft / high pressure / reviewed / broken / erased / changing / constant
- Elements: substitution (lines for points; points for another element; points for circles), omission of elements (rows, parts of figures…)
- Adding elements (points, angles…)
- Rotation (of the whole figure or only of a part)
- Perseveration (repetition of the pattern or part of it)
If you want to carry out more tests similar to the Bender test, we recommend that you consult the following section of Psychology-Online: psychometric and mental agility tests.
Bender test: Interpretation
Finally, in this article on the Bender test: what it measures and how to interpret it, we offer you the keys to be able to analyze the slides.
It is not necessary to use a scoring system to interpret performance on the Bender test. However, there are several reliable and valid scoring systems available. Many of the scoring systems available focus on the specific difficulties experienced by the person being evaluated. These difficulties can indicate poor visual motor skills including:
- Angular Difficulty: This includes increasing, decreasing, distorting, or omitting an angle in a figure.
- Strange Squiggles - This involves adding quirky components to the drawing that are unrelated to Bender's original figure.
- Closure Difficulty: This occurs when the evaluated person has difficulty closing open spaces in a figure or connecting various parts of the figure. This results in a gap in the copied figure.
- Cohesion: involves drawing a part of a figure larger or smaller than that shown in the original figure and out of proportion to the rest of the figure. This error can also occur when the evaluated draws a figure or part of a figure significantly out of proportion with other figures that have been drawn.
- Collision - involves crowding the designs together or allowing the end of one design to overlap or touch a part of another design.
- Contamination: occurs when a previous figure, or part of a figure, influences the evaluated person to properly complete the current figure. For example, the evaluated can combine two different figures.
- Fragmentation: involves destroying part of the figure by not completing it or breaking it in such a way that the original design is completely lost.
- Impotence: occurs when the evaluated draws a figure incorrectly and seems to recognize the error, then, he or she makes several unsuccessful attempts to improve the drawing.
- Irregular line quality or lack of motor coordination: this involves drawing rough lines, particularly when the examinee shows a trembling movement, during the drawing of the figure.
- Line extension: involves adding or extending a part of the copied figure that was not in the original.
- Omission: occurs when the parts of a figure are not connected correctly or the reproduction only of parts of a figure.
- Overlapping Difficulty: This includes problems drawing parts of the figures that overlap, simplifying the drawing at the point where it overlaps, sketching or redrawing the parts that overlap, or distorting the figure at the point where it overlaps.
- Perseverance: includes increasing, prolonging or continuing the number of units of a figure.
- Retracement: involves replacing the original design with more primitive figures.
- Rotation: implies the rotation of a figure or part of a figure by 45º or more.
- Scribbling - involves drawing primitive lines that have no relation to Bender's original figure.
- Simplification: involves substituting a part of the figure for a more simplified figure. This error is not due to ripening.
- Design Overlay: involves drawing one or more of the figures one on top of the other.
- Overexertion of work: involves reinforcing, increasing the pressure or overworking one or more lines of a figure or part of it.
Additionally, observing the examinee's behavior while drawing the figures can provide the examiner with an informal assessment and data that can complement the formal assessment of visual and perceptual functioning.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Bender's Test: what it measures, interpretation and how to do it, we recommend that you enter our category of Psychotechnical and mental agility tests.
Bibliography- Moetesum, Momina & Siddiqi, Imran & Masroor, Uzma & Djeddi, Chawki. (2015). Automated Scoring of Bender Gestalt Test Using Image Analysis Techniques. ICDAR 2015