Relationships between WAIS Verbal versus Performance Decrements and Bender-Gestalt Errors

Two groups of 42 cases each were matched on age, sex, and WAIS Full Scale IQ. They differed, however, in discrepancies between Verbal IQ and Performance IQ. One group had Verbal IQs which were average or better and were at least 20 points higher than the Performance IQs; conversely, the other group had Performance IQs which were average or better and at least 20 points higher than their Verbal IQs. The group with high Verbal IQs achieved significantly higher (poorer) Pascal-Suttell Bender-Gestalt scores than the group with high Performance IQs. It was also noticed that the latter subjects were more likely to have dropped out of high school and to have spent some time in prison.