Differential performance patterns on bender Bender Gestalt test among schizophrenia patients, brain damaged and normal individuals

ABSTRACT

The objective of the present study is to observe the difference in the performance of schizophrenia, brain damage patients and normal individuals in their performance on Bender Gestalt Test. Research Design: Comparative study. Lahore. The study is based upon deviation patterns of Bender Gestalt Test protocols of 90 schizophrenic, brain damaged and normal [30 in each group] males in the age range of 20-60 years. The sample of 30 normal males was selected randomly from Lahore City, where as 30 schizophrenics, and 30 brain damaged were selected from different hospitals of Lahore. The Bender Gestalt Test was administered and scored through Pascal and Suttell [1951] system. With the help of One Way Analysis of Variance [ANOVA] differences among three groups were explored for the total score and for configuration scores. Results reflects significant difference among three groups on total score at bender gestalt, F [2, 87] =101.82, p<.001; and for configuration scores, F [2, 87] =53.09, p<.001, with higher means associated with brain damaged individuals, and the lowest mean scores produced by normal individuals. Bender Gestalt is an effective tool to discriminate brain damage and schizophrenic patients to normal, as well as to each other. Few of its type of deviation seems sensitive to brain damage, and thus can be fine discriminator between brain damage and schizophrenia patients; for which further research is recommended