A factorial investigation of scores on the Porteus Maze.

The history of the Porteus Maze Test begins in the period between 1913 and 1915 when it was firsc proposed as a measure to extend the score obtainable wich the early Binet test of intelligence (Porteus, 1959). Porteus uses the analogy of a worked-out mine to point out thac, as a measure of intellect, the use of a single score, thin, 15-min. mencal ability scale has had its day. He feels that maze performance is indicative not only of mental age but also of the ability to plan ahead. In 1942 a "reprieve" was given to the maze test with the discovery that relatively simple qualitative ( Q ) measures could differentiate between delinquents and normals. Porteus noted the lack of incerest in this dimension and put forth "A simple book, devoid of scholarly virtue" (1959, p. vi) which was intended to incerest psychologists in what might be payable metal. This book makes reference to several studies which indicate thac Q can differentiate between delinquents and normals; the most readily available of these are by Wright ( 1944) and Docter and Winder ( 1954). Present interest in work with delinquents is given added importance by PL 89-176, known as the work release program, so a new look at the maze test with modern psychometric techniques is in order. The qualitative ( Q ) score was apparently intuitively derived by Porteus and is concerned with errors in execution rather than in planning the maze performance. Porteus states that the Q measure does not correlate wich the intellectual score (TQ) as determined from maze performance. According to him, the main purpose of the score is "to reveal any haphazard, impulsive, or overconfident habits of action, or a tendency to become absorbed in the task of finding the way through the maze as to neglect other considerations." A Po score is derived by examining maze performance for 8 types of error: (1) Errors in performance in the first third of the maze; ( 2 ) Errors in the last third of the maze; ( 3 ) Cut corners, which is line crossing at or in the corners; ( 4 ) Crossing or touching a line other than in turning a corner; ( 5 ) Lifting the pencil; ( 6 ) Wavey lines; ( 7 ) Changing direction, which in reality is just about, bur not quite