Bender-Gestalt Test

Psychological 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 children ages 3 and older and adults. The test consists of nine index cards picturing different geometric designs. The cards are presented individually and test subjects are asked to copy the design before the next card is shown. Test results are scored based on the accuracy and organization of the reproductions. The Bender Gestalt test was originally developed in 1938 by child psychiatrist Lauretta Bender. In a Delphi poll, using the Bender Gestalt test for assessing neuropsychological impairment or even personality assessment has been rated by many mental health professionals as one of the top five most discredited psychological tests. It is criticized because of inappropriate administration and issues with scoring schemes and clinical interpretation.

The first version of the Bender Gestalt test was developed in 1938 by child neuropsychiatrist Lauretta Bender. The original test consists of nine index cards with different figures on each card. The subject is shown each figure and asked to copy it onto a piece of blank paper. The test typically takes 7–10 minutes, after which the results are scored based on accuracy and organization. It can be administered to both children and adults ages three and older. It ranked in the top five most popular psychological tests used by mental health practitioners, particularly school psychologists, from the 1960s until the early 1990s when participation in the required training began to decline. All versions follow the same general format but differ in how results are evaluated and scored. The test has been used as a screening device for brain damage. Bender herself said it was "a method of evaluating maturation of gestalt functioning children 4 11's brain functioning by which it responds to a given constellation of stimuli as a whole, the response being a motor process of patterning the perceived gestalt."

Originally published by the American Orthopsychiatric Association, it was purchased in the 1990s by Riverside Publishing Company and released with a revised qualitative scoring system as the Bender II under the direction of Dr. Gary Brannigan and Dr. Scott L. Decker. The Bender II contains 16 figures versus 9 in the original. The new or revised scoring system for the Bender II was developed based on empirical investigation of numerous scoring systems. The Global Scoring System was, tangentially related to Bender's original scoring method and a revision of a system devised by Branigan in the 1980s was selected based on reliability and validity studies, as well as its ease of use and construct clarity. Elizabeth Koppitz, a clinical child psychologist and school psychologist (who worked most of her career in New York), developed a scoring system in the 1960s devoted to assessing the maturation of visual motor skills in children, remaining true to Bender's aim for the test, and popularized its use in the schools. For decades, the Koppitz version, known as the Bender Gestalt Test for Young Children, was one of the most frequently used scoring systems for the Bender Gestalt in the United States. After Koppitz's death in the early 1980s, the use of the method held its popularity until the mid 1990s, when it was withdrawn from the market as a result of publishing company consolidations. Steve Mathews and Cecil Reynolds (a friend of Koppitz for some years near the end of her life) were eventually able to locate the publishing rights to the Koppitz version of the Bender Gestalt, and these rights were subsequently acquired by Pro Ed Publishing Company of Austin Texas, which then retained Cecil Reynolds to revise the Koppitz version. It was released under Reynolds' authorship in 2007 by Pro Ed as the Koppitz 2: The Koppitz Developmental Scoring System for the Bender Gestalt Test. A portion of the proceeds of all sales of the Koppitz 2 goes to the American Psychological Foundation to support the Koppitz scholarships in child clinical psychology. It is important to note that when the test taker has a mental age less than 9, brain damage, a nonverbal learning disability, or an emotional problem, an error can occur in the results of the test.