Porteus Maze test facts for kids

The Porteus Maze Test (PMT) is a special kind of psychological test. It helps measure how well someone can plan and think ahead. It's a nonverbal test, meaning you don't need to use words to complete it. Professor Stanley Porteus from the University of Hawaii created this test.

The test uses different mazes for a person to solve. These mazes have different levels of difficulty. The test usually takes about 15 to 60 minutes. During this time, the person tries to solve as many mazes as they can. The Porteus Maze Test is sometimes used as an extra part of other intelligence tests, like the Wechsler intelligence scales.

This test can be used for people aged 3 and older. Stanley Porteus first developed it in Melbourne, Australia. He was a head teacher at a special school there. Later, he moved to Vineland, New Jersey and then Hawaii, where he continued to improve his test. There's even a version called the "Vineland Series." More mazes were added in later versions, like the Porteus Maze Extension and the Porteus Maze Supplement.

Why the Porteus Maze Test Was Created

Porteus created his maze test because he felt that other tests, like the Binet-Simon scales, didn't fully measure important skills. Mazes are good for checking how people choose, try, and decide between different ways to solve a problem.

Porteus believed his test was a great way to see how well people could plan and think ahead. He thought these skills were very important for everyday life. If tests didn't measure them, it could lead to wrong ideas about a person's abilities.

How the Test Works

People taking the test must draw a path through a maze. They cannot cross any lines, go into a "blind alley" (a dead end), or go backward. If someone breaks these rules, they try the same maze again. But this time, their score for that maze will be lower.

The harder the maze, the more tries it usually takes to complete it. The test measures how many tries it takes to finish a maze. It also measures how long it takes to finish each maze. Finishing quickly but making mistakes can show that someone might be rushing.

How Scores Are Calculated

Scores are figured out by adding up any mistakes made. These mistakes include touching the maze lines, cutting corners, or lifting the pen or finger. The total time taken to finish the test is also recorded.

A "mental age" score is calculated based on standard rules. There are two main scores:

• A Test Quota (TQ) score: This measures a person's nonverbal planning and foresight.
• A Qualitative (Q) score: This looks at the style and quality of how someone performs. It helps measure how well a person controls their impulses.

What the Scores Mean

High Q scores can sometimes suggest that a person might have trouble with impulse control. These scores are also connected to how well someone does on other intelligence tests. In social situations, high Q scores have been linked to behaviors like skipping school or getting into trouble.

When comparing Q scores of groups who often get into trouble with groups who don't, there are clear differences. People who are less able to control themselves or who keep repeating mistakes often have difficulty with new mazes. They might even try the same wrong path again, even if they know it's wrong. The test can be given to anyone, no matter their native language or if they have a disability. People who are not used to taking tests might need extra practice with the test rules.

Later studies have shown that the Porteus Maze Test is a good tool for measuring these skills. It has a moderate to strong connection with other intelligence tests. Since it's a nonverbal test, it's not expected to have a very strong link with verbal tests, but there is still a positive connection.

Is the Test Reliable and Valid?

To check if the Q scores were valid, researchers compared groups of people with high and low impulse control. They looked at how these groups performed on the test.

Other researchers, Riddle and Roberts, said the test is a reliable and valid way to measure foresight, impulsivity, judgment, planning, and the ability to wait for something good. They found that the test had good "psychometric properties," meaning it measures what it's supposed to measure consistently. They also found that the Q score could tell the difference between people who repeatedly get into trouble and those who don't. They thought the Q score was the best measure for differences in how well people adjust socially.

Porteus himself said that his test was very reliable, with a score of .96. This means it gives very consistent results.

Changes and Updates to the Test

The first Porteus Maze Test was introduced in 1914. The original test didn't fully explain why people got better at it if they took it again. Because of this, the test was updated every year, becoming harder each time.

Vineland Revision

This updated version has 12 mazes for different age groups: 3 to 12, 14, and adults. The goal of this revision was to make the test standard for everyone. It also aimed to see how it related to other tests like the Binet-Simon scale. An extended version was made to reduce the effect of practicing the same test again. This was expected to make the test results more consistent over time.

Extension Series

This series was released in 1958. It includes eight mazes for ages 7–12, 14, and adults. A very important part of this revision was its ability to detect brain damage. It has also been used with different groups of people around the world, including indigenous Australians and pygmies and bushmen in Africa.

Supplement Series

This revised test also has eight mazes for ages 7–12, 14, and adults. These mazes are even more challenging than the ones in the Extension series.

Other Tests of Spatial Ability

Guiding a pen through a maze on paper, or steering an object through a maze, requires you to imagine how your actions will affect the object. In Australia, a project called OZNAKI used educational robots. Students in this project were tested using mazes similar to Porteus's. They were also tested with Piaget's Mountains Puzzle. After just eight sessions with the robots, students showed significant improvement compared to those who had regular math lessons. This suggests that the skills measured by these tests can be improved and are not just something you are born with.

How the Test is Used Today

Maze tests are used in many areas to measure qualities like self-control, carefulness, and planning. The Porteus Maze Test has been used to study the effects of certain medicines. For example, researchers looked at whether a medicine called chlorpromazine had a lasting effect on test performance. They found it didn't significantly change how people performed on the test.

In another study, the Porteus Maze Test was used with people who had severe head injuries. The study found that people with injuries to the front part of their brain solved the mazes slower than people without injuries. The test is also used to measure how well someone adjusts socially. It has been used to see how well people can plan and function in social situations.