Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure

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The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF) is a neuropsychological method of assessment in which many different abilities are needed for a correct performance. It permits the evaluation of different functions such as visuospatial abilities, memory or attention, planning and working memory (executive functions). First proposed by Swiss psychologist André Rey in 1941 and further standardized by Paul-Alexandre Osterrieth in 1944 it is frequently used to further elucidate any secondary effect of brain injury in neurological patients, to test for the presence of dementia, or to study the degree of development in children.

Contents

[edit] Conditions

Three conditions are most commonly used in the ROCF [1] [2]

[edit] History

[edit] André Rey

At the dawning of the 1940's, psychologists throughout the world were having difficulty in eliciting the specific deficits exhibited by individuals (both adults and children) who had experienced traumatic brain injury. In 1941, the Swiss psychologist André Rey was working at the Université de Genève in Geneva, and he recognized this necessity of differentiating between "primary effects, which are a direct result of the insult to the head, and the secondary effects, which develop out of subjective reactions determined by the loss of awareness from the physical impairments".[3] One of the many forms of assessment that Rey detailed in his 1941 report was a complex figure composed of many different shapes, line segments, and other elements.[4]

[edit] Paul-Alexandre Osterrieth

In 1944, Paul-Alexandre Osterrieth, who had worked as a research assistant under André Rey at the Université de Genève, utilized the figure Rey had developed in his work with young children.[5] Osterrieth proposed to subcategorize the figure into 18 elements and score them based on their presence, completeness, and correct placement. This 18-point scoring system is still commonly used today in evaluating an examinee's performance on the ROCF test.

Unlike Rey, Osterrieth was primarily interested in the measure as an assessment of whether or not children had developed the concept of a holistic or gestalt principle by various ages, as manifested by the way they approached the figure drawing. Based on his experimentation, Osterrieth recognized several important trends. Specifically, he noticed that the principle of gestalt seems to stabilize around the age of nine years in children. Also, he noted several different approaches that the children used in constructing the figure, each of which appears to be roughly correlated with a particular age group:

  • Primitive forms that show "distorted integration" and "confabulations" in their drawings.
  • Children who showed an awareness of specific concepts while still remaining unaware of the overall figure.
  • Complete awareness of the overall figure.

Additionally, Osterrieth noticed that strategy was a good predictor of the child's performance on all three of the various tasks.

[edit] Edith Taylor

In 1959, child Psychologist Edith Taylor gave more elaborate descriptions on the 18-point scoring system initially proposed by Osterrieth. She had also briefly worked with Rey in Geneva and credited him with inspiring her to pursue this particular aspect of psychology.[6]

[edit] Laughlin B. Taylor

In 1969, Laughlin B. Taylor developed a second complex figure that is comparable to Rey's and can be therefore used to eliminate the memory effect in a second evaluation.[7][8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Shin MS, Park SY, Park SR, Seol SH, Kwon JS (2006). "Clinical and empirical applications of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test". Nat Protoc 1 (2): 892–9. doi:10.1038/nprot.2006.115. PMID 17406322. 
  2. ^ Lu PH, Boone KB, Cozolino L, Mitchell C (August 2003). "Effectiveness of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test and the Meyers and Meyers recognition trial in the detection of suspect effort". Clin Neuropsychol 17 (3): 426–40. PMID 14704893. 
  3. ^ Pieron, H. (1942). "". Ann. Psychol 231: 43-44. 
  4. ^ Rey, A. (1941). "L’examen psychologique dans les cas d’encephalopathie traumatique.(Les problems.)". Archives de Psychologie 28: 215-285. 
  5. ^ Osterrieth, P.A. (1944). "Filetest de copie d'une figure complex: Contribution a l'etude de la perception et de la memoire [The test of copying a complex figure: A contribution to the study of perception and memory]". Archives de Psychologie 30: 286-356. 
  6. ^ Taylor, E.M. (1959). "Psychological appraisal of children with cerebral defects". 
  7. ^ Strauss E, Spreen O (1990). "A comparison of the Rey and Taylor figures". Arch Clin Neuropsychol 5 (4): 417–20. PMID 14589538. 
  8. ^ Hubley AM, Jassal S (November 2006). "Comparability of the Rey-Osterrieth and Modified Taylor Complex Figures using total scores, completion times, and construct validation". J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 28 (8): 1482–97. doi:10.1080/13803390500434441. PMID 17050271.