Bender Visual Motor Gestalt e5b4k

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  ive oppositionalism

 Use of space – Space between drawings  Excessive space – Immaturity – Acting out

 Constricted space – ive – Withdrawn – Schizoid tendencies

 Collision – Running together or overlapping figures

– Broadest – loss of control – Poor anticipatory planning – Difficulty with figure/ground relationships  Could be neurological (cortical dysfunction)

– Impulsivity

 Shift in position of the paper – rotation of paper – Latent or ive oppositional tendencies

 Closure difficulty – difficulty ing 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

Case 2 Enhanced