The Connotative and Symbolic Meaning of the Bender Gestalt

Summary

The purpose of the present study was to test Hutt and Briskin's symbolic interpretations of the Bender-Gestalt figures. 40 males and 40 females rated the 9 Bender figures on the semantic differential; 12 verbal concepts (Personal Relations, Dependency, Man, Sexual Intercourse, Anger, Penis, My Mother, My Father, Sexuality, Me, Vagina and Woman) were also rated by these same Ss and modified D scores were computed to determine those verbal concepts which were similar in meaning to each of the Bender figures. The semantic differential ratings and the D scores between each verbal concept-Bender figure pair were used to test Hutt and Briskin's hypothsized symbolic meanings. With the exception of figures 6 and 7, no consistent empirical confirmation was obtained for their suggested meanings of the Bender figures. These findings consequently fail to justify the clinical practice of routinely interpreting the symbolic meaning of the Bender.