The Bender test is a psychotechnical instrument for psychological evaluation that is used to evaluate visuomotor functioning and visual perception in both children and adults. The test scores 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 evaluate visual maturity, visual-motor integration, response style, reaction to frustration, ability to correct errors, planning and organization skills, as well as motivation.
The Bender test consists of copying a series of figures, so it requires fine motor skills, the ability to combine visual and motor skills, to discriminate between visual stimuli and to shift attention from the original design to the copy. In this Psychology-Online article we explain what the Bender test, what it measures, interpretation and how to do it.
What is the Bender test
The Bender Gestalt test is a pencil and paper test administered individually and It is used to diagnose a brain injury. There are nine geometric figures drawn in black. These figures are presented to the person evaluated one by one. You are then asked to copy the figure onto a blank sheet of paper. The examinee is allowed to erase, but cannot use any mechanical aids, such as rulers.
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, however, there are some variations in the administration of the Bender test:
- First, this method requires the test taker to view each card for 5 seconds. Next, the card is taken away and they are asked to draw the figure of .
- Another method is for the examinee 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. In this case, the test is administered to a group rather than a single individual.
It should be noted that these variations of the Bender test are subsequent to the original test.
What the Bender test measures
As we mentioned before, the objective of this Bender psychotechnical test is evaluate visual maturityvisual-motor integration, response style, reaction to frustration, ability to correct errors, planning and organization skillsas well as motivation.
Therefore, the purpose of an evaluation with the Bender test is to detect certain significant characteristics, which, when repeated or appear throughout the evaluation, will lead us towards the diagnostic synthesis. Some of the most significant elements observed in this test they are:
- Distribution of figures on the execution sheet.
- Use of space.
- Location of the first figure.
- Relative location of figures: organization, relative space, provision of necessary space.
- Size of the figures: macro or microorganisms, constant or variable size, relative size of the parts.
- Unity or fragmentation of the models: observe whether the figure is treated as a whole or as a series of independent elements.
- Lines: soft / a lot of pressure / reviewed / broken / erased / changing / constant.
- Elements: substitution (lines for points, points for circles…) or omission of elements (rows, parts of figures…).
- Adding elements: points, angles…
- Rotation: of the entire figure or just a part.
- Perseverance: repetition of the model or part of it.
If you want to perform more tests similar to the Bender test, we recommend you consult the Psychology-Online section of .
Interpretation of the Bender test
It is not necessary to use a scoring system to interpret performance on the Bender test. However, there are currently several reliable and valid scoring systems available. Many of the scoring systems available focus on specific difficulties experienced by the person being evaluated.
These difficulties may indicate poor visual motor skillsincluding:
- Angular difficulty: increase, decrease, distort, or omit an angle in a figure.
- strange doodles: add peculiar components to the drawing that have no relation to the original Bender figure.
- Closing difficulty: when the person evaluated has difficulty closing open spaces in a figure or connecting various parts of the figure. This results in a gap in the copied cipher.
- Cohesion: 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 examinee draws a figure or part of a figure significantly out of proportion to other figures that have been drawn.
- Collision: crowding designs or allowing the end of one design to overlap or touch a part of another design.
- Pollution: when a previous figure, or part of a figure, influences the person evaluated to adequately complete the current figure. For example, the examinee can combine two different figures.
- Fragmentation: destroy part of the figure by not completing it or breaking it so that the original design is completely lost.
- Impotence: When the examinee draws a figure incorrectly and appears to recognize the error, then he or she makes several failed attempts to improve the drawing.
- Line quality irregular or lack of motor coordination: drawing rough lines, particularly when the examinee shows a trembling movement, during figure drawing.
- Line extension: add or enlarge 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 of only parts of a figure.
- Overlapping difficulty– Includes problems drawing parts of figures that overlap, simplifying the drawing at the point where it overlaps, sketching or redrawing parts that overlap, or distorting the figure at the point where it overlaps.
- Perseverance: increase, prolong or continue the number of units of a figure.
- Recoil: replace the original design with more primitive figures.
- Rotation: rotation of a figure or part of a figure by 45º or more.
- doodling: draw primitive lines that have no relation to Bender’s original figure.
- Simplification: replace part of the figure with a more simplified figure. This error is not due to maturation.
- Design Overlay: draw one or more of the figures on top of each other.
- Work overexertion: reinforce, increase pressure or overwork one or more lines of a figure or part of it.
Likewise, observing the examinee’s behavior while drawing the figures can provide the examiner with informal evaluation and data that can complement the formal evaluation of visual and perceptual functioning.
This article is merely informative, at 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.
Bibliography
- Moetesum, Momina & Siddiqi, Imran & Masroor, Uzma & Djeddi, Chawki. (2015). Automated Scoring of Bender Gestalt Test Using Image Analysis Techniques. ICDAR 2015