Drawing comparisons between drawing performance and developmental assessments

Abstract

Human figure drawing tasks like the Draw-A-Person (DAP) task have long been used to assess intelligence (Goodenough, 1926). To what extent are these tasks valid as measures of cognitive ability? What other skills, if any, do DAP intelligence tests measure? This study investigates the skills tapped by drawing and investigates risk factors associated with poor drawing. Self-portraits of 345 preschool children were scored using the DAP:IQ rubric (Reynolds & Hickman, 2004) and were scored for overall aesthetic quality by artists. Analyses of children’s fine motor, gross motor, social, cognitive, and language skills revealed fine motor and cognitive skills predicted aesthetic scores, but only fine motor skills predicted DAP:IQ scores. Being male and born with low birth weight were risk factors for poor drawing skills. These findings suggest that the DAP:IQ could be used as an easy way to screen for fine motor disturbances in at-risk children. Furthermore, researchers who use human figure drawing tasks to measure intelligence should compare performance on said tasks with measures of fine motor skill in addition to standard measures of intelligence.

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