Unimanual & Bimanual PEGBOARD

Description
The Unimanual & Bimanual Pegboard Test can be used as a manipulative dexterity test. It is designed to measure a timed unilateral motor response. This unit consists of 25 round holes on a board, for any one, in which subject is to place pegs as quickly as possible. This test requires visual-motor coordination, and speed should improve over successive trials.

Supplementary Instructions
For the right hand trial, the examiner demonstrates that the pegs are placed from subject’s left to right, and from right to left for the left-hand trial. The dominant hand trial is administered first, followed by the non-dominant hand trial.
The examiner encourages the subject to perform the task as quickly as possible. The pegs must be put in the board in exact order. Frequently, it will be necessary to point out the first hole of a new row, particularly during the non-dominant hand trial. Only one peg is to be picked up a time and the subject should immediately be told if more than one is picked up.
Also, only one hand is to be used. Occasionally, a subject will attempt to use his or her other hand to help. It may be necessary to tell the subject to keep the hand on his or her lap, or for the examiner to hold it. If necessary, the board should be held steady for the patient. In the case of sever motor impairment, the subject should attempt the task just to see if any of the pegs can be put in. Any factor which mat effect the subjects performance should be noted, e.g. sore finger, bandage, etc.
If a peg is dropped to the floor, the examiner should not make an attempt to pick it up during the trial; rather, one of the pegs correctly placed should be taken out and used again.

Scoring and Interpretation
Record, in seconds, the length of time required to fill an holes as the subject’s score.
Test scores can be used in an individual evaluative or therapeutic selection, the ideal procedure is to establish its validity locally, by testing all newly hired employees and correlating scores with their subsequent performance (supervisor ratings or duration of employment). This approach to validation requires that test scores should not be used to select employees until evidence has accumulated of its validity, and that test scores be inaccessible to supervisors or others who affect the worker’s ratings or job longevity. An alternative validation procedure is to administer the test to all present employees and correlate scores with ratings or with subsequent performance. (Anastasi, 1982, pp. 54-101). The Lafayette pegboard test should correlate most highly with those jobs, which require speed, finger dexterity and manual dexterity. It should be of relevance to performance on assembly and machine operating jobs.