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PSYCHODIAGNOSTICS
Lecture 12: Draw-A-Person Test (Florence Goodenough)
History
The Draw-A-Man Test, developed by Florence Goodenough in 1926 was the first formal
figure drawing test. It was used to estimate a child's cognitive and intellectual abilities
reflected in the drawing's quality and the amount of detail in it.
The test was later revised by Harris in 1963 as the Goodenough Harris Drawing Test
(GHDT), which included a detailed scoring system and allowed for drawings of men,
women, and the self. The scoring system primarily reflected the way in which the child is
maturing cognitively. The GHTD is appropriate for children between the ages of three
and 17, although it has been found to be most useful for children between three and 10.
In 1948, the Draw-A-Person test (DAPT) was developed by Machover. This test used
figure drawings in a more projective way, focusing on how the drawings reflected the
anxieties, impulses, self-esteem, and personality of the test taker. In this test, children
are first asked to draw a picture of a person. Then, they are asked to draw a picture of a
person of the sex opposite of the first drawing. Sometimes, children are also asked to
draw a picture of the self and/or family members. Then, they are asked a series of
questions about themselves and the drawings which are meant to elicit information
about the child's anxieties, impulses, and overall personality.
In 1992, Naglieri and his colleagues created a more specific scoring system for figure
drawing tests called the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure of Emotional Disturbance
(DAP:SPED), based on a large standardization sample. This scoring method includes 55
items rated by the test administrator and based on the child's drawings and responses to
questions. The DAP:SPED is appropriate for children aged 6 to 17. It is often used as a
screening method for children who may be having difficulties with regard to social
adjustment and require further evaluation.
In 1970, the Kinetic Family Drawing technique (KFD) was developed by Burns and
Kaufman. This test requires the test taker to draw a picture of his or her entire family.
Children are asked to draw a picture of their family, including themselves, "doing
something." This picture is meant to elicit the child's attitudes toward his or her family
and the overall family dynamics. The Kinetic School Drawing technique (KSD),
developed in 1974 by Prout and Phillips, requires the child to draw a picture of himself or
herself, a teacher, and one or more classmates. This picture is meant to elicit the child's
attitudes toward people at school and his or her functioning in the school environment.
Theoretical Framework
In the psychoanalytical field, a persons drawing of male and female figures is believed
to be a window into his/her personality. Comments made by the person while drawing, in
what order and size body parts are drawn and what features are drawn or not are some
of the signs taken into account.
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The field of projective drawing interpretation rests upon several theoretical postulates:
(a) There is a tendency in man to view the world in an anthropomorphic manner.
(b) The core of the anthropomorphic view of the environment is the mechanism of
projection.
(c) Distortions enter into the process of projection to the extent to which the projection
has a defensive function.
In DAPT, the image drawn is intimately tied to the self. In the process of creating the
figure, conscious and unconscious determinants guide clients; images of cultural and
social stereotypes contribute to body image conception. The figure the client draws is
himself or herself in many respects and the page upon which the client draws is his or
her world. The end product is a drawing of self-experience in the clients world.
Furthermore, the body image projected on the paper may refer to deep unconscious
wishes, to a frank acknowledgment of physical or psychological impairment, to
conscious or unconscious compensation for a physical or psychological defect or to a
combination of all these factors. The drawing may represent an ego ideal or a hero
figure.
Clients sometimes attempt to express an ideal self rather the real self, but the underlying
basis for this expression may also be seen in the drawing, thereby giving the clinician a
picture of both the real self and ideal self. Occasionally, the client draws in such a
manner as to illustrate his or her attitudes toward life and society in general. The drawing
may be a conscious expression of these feelings or it may include deeply disguised and
unconscious information, expressed indirectly through symbolism.
Some clinicians feel that the drawing might also represent a projection of attitudes
toward someone else in the environment (the clients feelings about his or her father or
mother), a projection of an ideal self-image or an expression of the clients attitude
toward life and toward the world in general.
I. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF THE DAP
Advantages:
1. The DAP is a simple, easy task for most patients. Young children, especially,
like it and will usually cooperate quite readily. They are often more fluent
graphically than they are verbally.
2. Children with certain internalized disorders often do not demonstrate their
problems in overt behavior. Even when they are interviewed, children do not
typically communicate their problems directly because they often lack the ability
to express their emotional discomfort. Most children, especially the younger
ones, lack the ability to use language that labels or describes these emotions.
The DAP and other similar drawing procedures offer a window into their
experienced subjective discomfort.
3. The DAP is quick and easy to administer. It is typically completed within 5 to 10
minutes and it requires few materials.
4. It offers clues concerning motor and conceptual development.
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5. The DAP is has no external stimulus or structure. The clinician has the
opportunity to observe the persons functioning on a relatively unstructured task.
6. The DAP often yields a great deal of information concerning self-concept as well
as information concerning personality style, orientation and conflict areas.
7. The DAP has few age and intelligence limitations. It can be used with very young
(sometimes as early as 3 years old) and it generates valuable data even when
the patient has limited intelligence.
8. The DAP is often welcomed by inhibited and non-talkative patients. It is relatively
non-verbal test (the only verbal material is contained in the thematic associations
to the drawings) and, therefore, is useful when language is a problem.
9. The DAP is a useful test with patients who are evasive and/or guarded. Guarded
patients seem more aware f what they might be expressing in the verbal tests but
they are less certain of what their graphic expression might reveal about them
and they can perhaps utilize less control over this more primitive mode of
expression.
10. Since the DAP is quick and easy to administer, it lends itself well as an
instrument to measure change in psychotherapy.
11. The DAP is often an excellent springboard for discussion of specific conflict
areas.
12. The DAP is more sensitive to psychopathology compared with other projective
tests.
Disadvantages
1. It lacks normative data for deaf individuals.
2. Communicating instructions to draw a whole person is often difficult without
influencing the content of the students drawing.
3. It lacks reliability and validity for deaf population.
4. People jump to conclusions based on the drawings.
II. INSTRUCTIONS
The clinician should have a supply of 8 x 11 inch unlined paper and some wellsharpened #2 pencils with erasers. The drawing surface beneath the paper should be
flat and smooth and there should be enough illumination. The patient should be seated
comfortably with enough room for their arms and legs and should be able to rest their
arms comfortably on the drawing surface.
One sheet of paper should be placed in front of the patient in a vertical position, along
with one pencil. The patient should be told, I would like you to draw a picture of a
person. In response to questions (What kind of figure should I draw?, Should I draw
the head only?, Should I draw the whole person?, I a stick figure ok?), the clinician
should respond, Do it any way you like; Its up to you.
Sometime the patient responds with comments indicating concern about his/her ability to
perform adequately. To such comments, the examiner should respond, This is not a
test of artistic ability. I am not concerned with how good an artist you are. Just do the
best and do not worry.
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Should the patient draw merely the head, the head and shoulders or a stick figure,
he/she should be given another sheet or paper and should then be told, This time, Id
like you to draw the entire person (or a non-stick person).
A complete figure consists of the head, torso, arms and legs. If only a part of the area is
omitted (e.g., hands, feet or one of the facial parts), the drawing is acceptably complete.
When the first complete drawing is finished, the clinician should put another sheet of
paper in front of the patient and state, Now, Id like you to draw the person of the
opposite sex. If the patient being tested is a child, the clinician should say, You drew a
boy/girl (man/woman); now, draw a girl/boy (woman/man). When this task has been
completed satisfactorily, the patient should be asked to sign each drawing. The clinician
should then date each drawing, either on the front or on the back. In addition, the
clinician should indicate which drawing was done first.
The clinician should then present the first complete drawing to the patient and should
request that the patient make up a story about the person drawn (Now, Id like you to
make up a story about the person youve drawn. Look at it and make up a story and Ill
write it down.). The story should be recorded verbatim because interpretation depends
on the manner in which the words are phrased and expressed. Sometimes, it is
necessary to urge or encourage the patient. Should the patient be unable to make up a
story, it will then be necessary to ask specific questions about the drawing.
A third approach in obtaining verbal associations is to ask the patient to examine the
drawings and to then associate them. The patient should be asked to describe the
person he/she has drawn to tell what comes to mind when the drawing is examined or
the examiner might ask: Tell me about this person. What is he/she like?
During the drawing task itself, it is important for the clinician to observe the following
sequence: (a) remarks made by the patient; (b) style of approach to the task; and (c)
adequacy of attempts to manage the task appropriately despite the pressure of the
testing situation.
It is important to note how the patient orients to the relatively unstructured drawing
situation. Does the patient ask for direction, either verbally or non-verbally, or does
he/she seem comfortable and self-assured? Is the patients approach to the task quick
and impulsive, careful or overly-cautious and uncertain? Does the patient express doubt
about his/her ability? Each aspect of approach to the task tells the clinician a great deal
about adaptation to the environment, self-concept, methods of dealing with stressful
situations, conflicts and personality style.
III. NORMATIVE DATA
The typical drawing of a person consists of: (a) a head, which is drawn first; (b) facial
features, such as the eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair; (c) legs; (d) feet; (e) arms; (f)
hands; (g) fingers; (h) neck; (i) shoulders; and (j) trunk. The typical drawing also includes
additional details such as a belt and clothing of some sort. It is placed approximately in
the middle of the page and is about 6 7 inches in size.
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Age 5
Age 6
Age 7
Age 8
Age 9
Age 10
Ages 11 & 12
Expected Items
Head
Eyes
Nose
Mouth
Body
Legs
Arms
Feet
Arms 2-D
Legs 2-D
Hair
Neck
Arm Down
Arms at Shoulder
2 Clothing Items
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Indicator
Impulsivity
Description
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Insecurity/Inadequacy
Anxiety
Shyness/Timidity
Anger/Aggressiveness
Tiny figure
Short arms
Arms clinging to the body
Omission of the nose and/or mouth
Crossed eyes
Presence of teeth
Long arms
Big hands
Nude figure and/or presence of genitalia
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willingness and ability to relinquish control of what they experienced and simply allowed
themselves to experience fully and openly, relaxing their stance toward reality in order to
permit ego regression to occur.
A good DAPT interpreter should understand the concept of symbolism from one or more
psychoanalytic and/or existential points of view, as well as understanding symbolization
in culture and in folklore. Understanding symbolization in myth, the dream and in other
unconscious representations is a great help in allowing the drawing to communicate
meaning.
A thorough working knowledge of the dream work along with an understanding of the
mechanisms of substitution, displacement and condensation, would be of great help in
allowing the clinician to see the manner in which the unconscious symbolization is
transformed into graphic structures.
In approaching the interpretation of the drawings, a more impressionistic approach
should be sued at first. Attention should then be focused on the drawing details as they
fit together to communicate a feeling tone or message. The posture of the figure and the
facial expression convey a mood and tone of the figure, perhaps active and vigorous,
perhaps passive and bewildered. The type of line used by the client and the strength
conveyed by the arms and legs add a great deal to the overall impression. The figure
may be rigid or tense or there may be undue emphasis on symmetry. Expansiveness,
constriction, daydreaming, self-involvement, depression or anger may be the major
expressive element around which the impressions crystallize.
On the other hand, poor interpretative skill is associated with a disaffiliative approach,
see themselves as dominant and competitive in their relationships with others and
approach life with emphasized power, dominance, order and precision. They emphasize
their need to control activities and experiences.
Interpretation of Structure and Content
Drawings may be analyzed utilizing both structural and content variables. The structural
variables concern the style in which the drawing was executed (size, pressure, line
quality, placement on the page, degree of detailing, perspective, shading, erasure and
reinforcement). The content variables concern the type of person drawn, the facial
expression, the postural tone and the subtle nuances that communicate to the viewer the
emotional tone of the client who executed the drawing.
1. Size: Self-esteem and the manner in which the patient deals with self-esteem
2. Pencil Pressure: Indication of energy level
3. Lack of Detail
Withdrawal tendencies with an associated reduction in energy
Typical reaction to stress experienced as external to the patient
Depression that is often associated with withdrawal tendencies and lack of
energy to complete the figure
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4. Erasure
Uncertainty
Conflict-filled indecisiveness and restlessness
Dissatisfaction with self
Anxiety and conflict
5. Shading: Excessive shading indicates anxiety and conflict or agitated depression.
However, some shading (and erasure) is an adaptive mechanism an attempt to
give the drawing a sense of three-dimensionality. If the shading is carefully done,
and seems to enhance the drawing, it is probable that the area that is drawn is
conflict related but the conflict is being dealt with appropriately. If the shading is
messy, uneven or hurriedly done, the conflict is causing anxiety and is disturbing the
person in everyday adjustment.
6. Distortions and Omissions: Gross distortion indicates poor reality contact or negative
self-concept. Moderate distortions and omissions may indicate conflict/anxiety. The
parts of the body are omitted or distorted sometimes offer clues concerning the
source of the problem. Distortions and omissions can also be an indication of severe
psychopathology and/or lack of a sense of self.
7. Transparency: Poor reality ties, except in the drawings of young children, where they
are typically normal. This suggests poor reality testing; anxiety/conflict; sexual
disturbance; or regressive or psychotic conditions.
8. Vertical Imbalance: The greater the imbalance from the vertical position, the greater
the anxiety.
9. Sex of First-Drawn Figure: Most normals draw the same-sex drawing first. There is
no real relationship between sex-role orientation and the figure drawn first. Younger
children (below age 8) often make a drawing that is of the same sex as the clinician.
Interpretations Concerning Body Parts
1. Head: Intellectual and fantasy activity, of impulse and emotional control, site of
socialization and communication
2. Nose: Phallic symbol or a symbol of power motive
3. Mouth: Problems in drawing the mouth are sometimes associated with feedingeating difficulties, speech disturbances, outbursts of anger or a dependent approach
to life
4. Chin: Stereotype for strength and determination
5. Beards/Mustaches: Need to enhance personal or sexual status, virility strivings,
efforts to enhance masculinity, attempts to hide, aggressive tendencies or
compensation for felt adult inadequacy
6. Neck: Indicates concern regarding the need to control threatening impulses
7. Waistline: Separates the area of physical strength from the area of sexual
functioning; in females, the upper part of the body is also related to nutritional factors
and secondary activity while the lower part bears more directly on sexual and
reproductive activity
8. Trunk: Basic drives and attitudes related to the development and integration of these
drives in personality
9. Genitalia: Rarely drawn, but when they are, they indicated severe psychopathology,
overt aggression (in children), or sexual preoccupation or curiosity (adolescents).
10. Arms: Contact with reality and interpersonal relations
11. Legs: Security feelings and/or feelings concerning mobility
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12. Profile View: Evasiveness, reluctance to face and communicate with others, reserved
interpersonal style, serious withdrawal or oppositional tendencies, paranoid
tendencies
13. Stance: Degree of security the person feels in his environment. Position of the
various parts of the body produce a drawing whose stance reflects attitudes
described or other attitudes concerning feelings of power and adequacy in the
environment.
V. ASPECTS OF THE DRAWING
1. Content
Description/Interpretation
(Goldworth, 1950):
Face
Facial features
Omission:
Evasive about the frictional character of their
interpersonal relationships. This is a graphic expression of the
avoidance of social problems. Superficiality, caution and hostility
may characterize the social contacts of an individual who omits
drawing the facial features.
May be judged directly with considerable confidence
(Goldworth, 1950)
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Nose
Mouth
Lips
Eyes
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also the means by which the individual maintains contact with the
outside world, it follows that the individual who is most concerned
with keeping contact with the outside world the suspicious
individual looking for hostility is more apt to emphasize the eye
Concerned with social functions: Emphasize the eye, elaborating on
eyelashes
Women and homosexuals: Expected to elaborate the eyes and
perhaps draw eyelashes on the figure
Eyebrow
Ears
Hair
Chin
Contact Features
Description/Interpretation
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The direction and fluency of the arm lines relate to the degree of
spontaneity of extension into the environment
Omission: Withdrawal from the environment (especially among
schizophrenics and depressed individuals)
Omission in the female drawings by males: Male has been rejected
by his mother and feels unaccepted by contemporary females
Fingers
Toes
Miscellaneous Body
Features
Neck
Shoulders
Phallic-like feet:
Sexual inadequacies and/or sexual
preoccupation
Conflict treatment (e.g., erasures, lengthening, shortening,
changing the line, shading): Conflict in the sexual area
Description/Interpretation
Link between:
1. Intellectual life (head) and affect/basic body impulses (body)
2. Ego control (head) and id impulse (body)
Indicates concern regarding the need to control threatening impulses
Width and massiveness are the most common graphic expression of
physical power and perfection of physique
Massive shoulders on the figure of the same gender as the subject:
Feelings of physical inadequacies
Drawings by males of massive shoulders which are emphasized at
the expense or other parts of the figure: Adolescents and sexuallyambivalent individuals as an over-compensation for feelings of body
inadequacies
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Breasts
Shoulders may have more significance for female subjects than male
subjects
Unusually large/Emphasized (e.g., erasures, shading, addition of
lines):
(Among males)
1. Emotional immaturity
2. Maternal over-dependence
3. Unresolved Oedipal problems
4. Psychosexual immaturity
5. Strong oral and dependency needs
Waistline
(Among females)
1. Identification with a dominant mother
2. Exhibitionism
3. Narcissistic problems
Emphasis (e.g., confusion, break/change in line, particular widening
or other conspicuous treatment): Characteristic of homosexuallyinclined or homosexually-conflicted males
Exaggerated hips in female figures drawn by females: Female is
aware of the power that relates to the functional potentialities of the
ample pelvic development
Separates the area of physical strength (above) form the area of
sexual functioning (below)
In female drawings: The upper part is also related to breasts and
nutritional factors and secondary activity while the lower part bears
more directly on sexual and reproductive activity. The legs are also
related to sexual allure.
In male drawings: The above part (chest area) embraces the
primary body features of physical strength while the below part refers
to the area of sexual functioning
Trunk
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Anatomy Indicators
Joints
Clothing
Aspect
Description/Interpretation
Action/Movement
Succession
Midline
Size
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Inadequacy feelings:
1. Tiny figure, indicating inadequacy feelings and perhaps
responding to them by withdrawing
2. Self-expansiveness and self-aggrandizement to cover up
feelings of inadequacy. Drawing may fill entire page. Resorts to
compensatory action or fantasy.\
Self-confidence:
Pencil Pressure
Lack of Detail
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Placement
Erasure
Shading
Distortions &
Omissions
Transparency
Vertical Imbalance
st
Gender of the 1
Figure Drawn
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Profile view/
Perspective
Stance
3. Conflict Indicators
Indicator
Description/Interpretation
Erasures
Most apt to be noticed in the: (a) hands and feet; (b) shoulders; (c)
arms; (d) nose; (e) ears; (f) crotch; and (g) hipline
Interpretation depends on the part of the body in which the erasure is
found
Shading
Differential Treatment
of Male & Female
Figures
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4. Miscellaneous
Indicator
Stick
figure/Abstract
representations
Clowns, cartoons or other sillylooking characters
Witches and similar characters
Frequent ancillary materials
(e.g., lines to represent the
ground; fences to lean on)
Description/Interpretation
Evasion (insecure, self-doubting individuals)
Contempt and hostility for people
Hostile and express their feelings extrapunitively
Need for support and succorance. Compulsive individuals are
unable to leave an area alone, as they go over and over an
area and add more detail. Hysteric, impulsive and unstable
individuals show a lack of precision and lack of uniformity in
performance.
Sources:
Hammer, E. (1968). Projective drawings. In A. I. Rabin (Ed.) Projective techniques: in personality
assessment (pp. 366-390) NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Handler, L. (1996). The clinical use of drawings. In C. Newmark (Ed.) Major psychological
assessment instruments (pp. 206-293) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Swensen, Clifford H. Jr. (19 ). Empirical evaluations of human figure drawings. In B. Murstein (Ed.)
Handbook of Projective Techniques (pp. 609-700) NY: Basic Books, Inc.
_____________. Projective drawings (pp. 365-393).
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