The effects of different drawing materials on children’s drawings of positive and negative human figures

Abstract

Children tend to use certain drawing strategies differentially when asked to draw topics with positive and negative emotional characterisations. These effects have however only been established when children are asked to use standard drawing materials. The present study was designed to investigate whether the above pattern of children’s response when drawing characterised figures would alter when children are asked to use different drawing materials. 132 children (69 boys and 63 girls) aged between 4 and 11 years were divided into two conditions and completed two counterbalanced test sessions, rating colour preferences and drawing characterised figures using either stick or block crayons. It was found that some drawing strategies varied in relation to drawing materials and in relation to the precise characterisation employed. The results are discussed in terms of the need for interpretations of emotional information in children’s drawings to take account of the exact materials used.

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