Studies of expression in children’s free drawing and their response to aesthetic and other pictorial tests

Abstract

The research aims at studying children's expression. It was, at the outset, restricted to the analytical study of free drawing; but subsequently its scope was enlarged through the following tests which the writer devised for the present study: (1) The Environment Preference Test. (2) The Projection Test. (3) The Visual Aesthetic Test. 1769 children aged 5-17 were asked to draw and paint pictures on the subjects which interested them most. This approach yielded the following results: l. The child records the images and impressions which loom large in a total situation in which he is the chief actor. 2. The environment a child depicts in his drawing represents his own environment (actual or idealised) which serves for an introduction to his field of activity. This indicates the frontiers of his world which he has been exploring and which is expressive of the dynamic aspect of his life space at his age. 3. The correlation between intelligence and artistic ability was found to be negligible (.02).The results of the pictorial tests supplemented these results and showed that children usually prefer pictures representing aspects of social activity, wholeness of the theme or familiar environment. Sex differences were noticeable among adolescents, girls excelling boys in visual aesthetic appreciation. Sex differences were not noticeable in children under the age of nine nor in adult art students. A small but positive correlation of .11 was found between visual aesthetic intelligence and general intelligence. Visual aesthetic intelligence and artistic ability showed a correlation of .10. The educational and psychological implications of the results seem to be significant in that these tests reveal the centres of interest for the child in terms of environment and activity which may be useful in formulating principles of curriculum-making. They also reveal the need for guiding those children who lack social stimulus.