Bender Visual Motor Gestalt

Bender Visual Motor Gestalt

Card A

Card 1

Card 2

Card 3

Card 4

Card 5

Card 6

Card 7

Card 8

Interpretive Factors 

Sequence  –

Expected order: left to right, top to bottom

 –

Deviations such as 

Shifts in expected progression (Cards A and 1 are left to right, card 2 is below card one, card 3 is next to card 1)

 – “Normal” – methodical

sequence

 – Abnormal 

Overly concerned with organization (e.g. measuring

distance between figures, possibly obsessive





 –

Indecisiveness

 –

Excessive rigidity

 –

Covert feelings of inadequacy

 –

Compulsive doubting

Irregular – lack of control, possibly bipolar or impulse control disorder  –

Low frustration tolerance

 –

High latent anxiety

 –

Indecisiveness

 –

Borderline ego control

 –

Impulsiveness

Left to right organization possibly rebellious



Position of first drawing  –

Normal is within upper third of page

 –

Egocentric – within 3 inch square of center of paper

 – Abnormal – within

one inch of edge of paper

 –

Shows orientation of individual to his/her world

 –

Center of the page, especially enlarged 

Narcissism



Egocentrism



Passive oppositionalism



Use of space  –

Space between drawings 

Excessive space  –

Immaturity

 –  Acting 



out

Constricted space  –

Passive

 –

Withdrawn

 –

Schizoid tendencies

Collision  –

Running together or overlapping figures

 –

Broadest terms – loss of control

 –

Poor anticipatory planning

 –

Difficulty with figure/ground relationships 

 – 

Impulsivity

Shift in position of the paper  – rotation of paper  –



Could be neurological (cortical dysfunction)

Latent or passive oppositional tendencies

Closure difficulty – difficulty joining parts  –

Difficulty maintaining relationships





 –

Fearfulness in relationships

 –

Emotional disturbance

Crossing difficulty – difficulty crossing lines in figures 6 and 7  –

Psychological blocking (preventing decisions)

 –

Indecisiveness

 –

Compulsive doubting

 –

Phobias

Curvature Difficulty – obvious change in curves



 –

Emotional disturbance

 –

Increased curves  – emotionality

 –

Decreases – repression of emotions

 –

Can indicate depression

Change in angulations  – angle of part of figure 15% or more from card  –

Problems with emotional control

 –

Problems with impulse control

 – Associated

with organic brain damage, particularly when more severe



Perceptual rotation – entire figure rotated while card and paper are in standard positions  –

Severe – disturbance in ego functioning

 –

Often in people who are psychotic

 –

Sometimes oppositional

 –

Clockwise – can indicate depression if mild

 –

Counterclockwise – can indicate oppositional tendencies if mild



Retrogression – substitute more primitive Gestalt form (dashes for dots)  –

Defense against trauma  – failure of ego 

Some types of schizophrenia

 – Anxiety

and poor defenses

 – Always

indicates severe pathology in adults





Simplification  –

Reduce involvement in an external task, reduce energy expended

 –

Often related to organic problems

Fragmentation  –

Unfinished or incomplete

 –

Problems in abstract thinking or synthesizing gestalts





Overlapping Difficulty  –

Overlap when not in stimulus card

 –

Failure to overlap

 –

Usually associated with brain damage

Elaboration or Doodling  –

Impulse control

 –

Intense anxiety



Preservation  –



Marked difficulty in ego control

Redrawing Total Figure  – Absence  –

of adequate anticipatory planning

Temporal brain damage

 – Also

associated with obsessive behavior

Case 1

Card A

Card 1

Card 1 Enhanced

Card 2

Card 3

Card 4

Card 5

Card 6

Card 6 Enhanced

Card 7

Card 8

Case 2