1. Bender Visual Motor Gestalt

2. Card A

3. Card 1

4. Card 2

5. Card 3

6. Card 4

7. Card 5

8. Card 6

9. Card 7

10. Card 8

11. 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

12. 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
Borderline ego control
Impulsiveness
Left to right organization possibly rebellious

13. 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

14. Use of space Collision Space between drawings
Excessive space
Immaturity
Acting out
Constricted space
Passive
Withdrawn
Schizoid tendencies
Collision
Running together or overlapping figures

15. Shift in position of the paper – rotation of paper
Broadest terms – 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 passive oppositional tendencies
Closure difficulty – difficulty joining parts
Difficulty maintaining relationships

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

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

18. 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

19. 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

20. Simplification Fragmentation
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

21. Overlapping Difficulty
Overlap when not in stimulus card
Failure to overlap
Usually associated with brain damage
Elaboration or Doodling
Impulse control
Intense anxiety

22. Redrawing Total Figure
Preservation
Marked difficulty in ego control
Redrawing Total Figure
Absence of adequate anticipatory planning
Temporal brain damage
Also associated with obsessive behavior

23. Case 1
Card A

24. Card 1

25. Card 1 Enhanced

26. Card 2

27. Card 3

28. Card 4

29. Card 5

30. Card 6

31. Card 6 Enhanced

32. Card 7

33. Card 8

34. Case 2

35. Case 2 Enhanced