Porteus Maze Test

The Porteus Maze Test (PMT) is a nonverbal test of intelligence developed by University of Hawaii psychology Professor Stanley Porteus (April 24, 1883 - October 21, 1972). The Maze test consists of a set of paper forms on which the subject is required to trace a path through a drawn maze of varying complexity. There is no time limit for this test. The subject must avoid blind alleys and dead ends; no back-tracking is allowed.

The test is suitable for people of age 3 and up. The simplest maze is a diamond shape. The original Porteus Maze Test was developed by Porteus as a young man when he was head teacher of the Victorian Education Department's first special school in Melbourne, Australia. Porteus developed his idea further when he migrated to Vineland NJ, then Hawaii. A well known version is called the "Vineland Series", after the Vineland Training School in New Jersey where Porteus first worked when he arrived in the US from his native Australia. Additional mazes were provided in the Extension to the Porteus Maze Test, and the Supplement to the Porteus Maze Test.

The test is currently published by Harcourt Assessment.

The test results produced using Porteus' instructions consist of a "Qualitative" or "Q" score, and a test age.

The Porteus Maze Test has an average correlation score with verbal intelligence tests of about 0.50. The Porteus Maze Test has a high correlation with other nonverbal intelligence tests such as Kohs Blocks and Knox Cubes.

Books

 * Porteus, S. D. (1933). The maze test and mental differences. Vineland, NJ: The Smith Printing and Publishing House.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1933). Maze Tests--Early Applications. Vineland, NJ: The Smith Printing and Publishing House.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1933). Other Applications. Vineland, NJ: The Smith Printing and Publishing House.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1933). Race Differences in Maze Performance. Vineland, NJ: The Smith Printing and Publishing House.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1933). Scoring and Instructions. Vineland, NJ: The Smith Printing and Publishing House.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1933). Studies in Validity. Vineland, NJ: The Smith Printing and Publishing House.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1942). Qualitative performance in The Maze Test. Vineland, NJ: The Smith Printing House.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1942). Qualitative Performance in the Maze Text. Vineland, NJ: The Smith Printing House.

Papers

 * David, K. H. (1967). Effect of Verbal Reinforcement on Porteus Maze Scores among Australian Aborigine Children: Perceptual and Motor Skills 24(3, PT 1) 1967, 986.
 * Erikson, R. V., & Roberts, A. H. (1966). A Comparison of Two Groups of Institutionalized Delinquents on Porteus Maze Test Performance: Journal of Consulting Psychology Vol 30(6) Dec 1966, 567.
 * Fooks, G., & Thomas, R. R. (1957). Differential qualitative performance of delinquents on the Porteus Maze: Journal of Consulting Psychology Vol 21(4) Aug 1957, 351-353.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1950). 35 years' experience with the Porteus Maze: The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology Vol 45(2) Apr 1950, 396-401.
 * Porteus, S. D. (1957). Maze test reactions after chlorpromazine: Journal of Consulting Psychology Vol 21(1) Feb 1957, 15-21.
 * Porteus, S. D., & Barclay, J. E. (1957). A further note on chlorpromazine: Maze reactions: Journal of Consulting Psychology Vol 21(4) Aug 1957, 297-299.