Child Development L6

Question 1

What are the stages of development in a child’s drawing abiltiy?

Answer 1

Scribbling stage (2-3 years)
Preschematic stage (3-4 years)
Schematic stage (5-6 years)
Realistic stage (9+)
Period of indecision

Question 2

Describe the scribbling phase

Answer 2

2-3 years
Not representative (isn't meant to be anything)

Question 3

Describe the preschematic phase

Answer 3

3-4 years

First attempt at drawing people, most often consists of tadpole drawings

Question 4

Describe the schematic phase

Answer 4

5-6 years
Children develop a schema
Separate trunk from head
Omit or misplace arms

Question 5

Describe the realistic phase

Answer 5

9+ years
Kids often draw less and less
More detail
Varying facial expressions

Question 6

Describe the period of indecision.

Answer 6

Art becomes more of a hobby to pursue or to stop doing. A serious endeavor.

Question 7

How are children’s drawings used in a projective capacity?

Answer 7

. As an indicator of intelligence
. As an indicator of mental well being
. As evidence for sexual abuse

Question 8

What drawing test is used as an indicator of intelligence?

Answer 8

Draw-a-person test, designed by Florence Goodenough (1920s). Children given a time period to draw a picture of a figure in - the better the drawing the more intelligent the child.

Question 9

Are draw-a-person tests really a good indicator?

Answer 9

Research suggests that tests are good at differentiating between groups, but not between individuals - general trends do exist, but there is too much variance in individual cases. For example, there is the case of Nancy an autistic child with severe intellectual impairments who was an amazing drawer. In other words the test is not realiably consistent with the results of traditional IQ tests.

Question 10

What are some drawing tests designed to indicate psychological well-being?

Answer 10

. Draw a family test
. Kinetic family drawings (draw family doing something)
. House tree person test

Question 11

There are no studies which have shown that trained professionals…

Answer 11

Can use children’s drawings to diagnose psychological issues, or sexual abuse.

They need background info which suggests that once they know enough about the child they look for what they think they should see in the drawings

Question 12

How are children’s drawings used to diagnose sexual abuse?

Answer 12

Psychologists analyse drawings and project meaning onto them.

Question 13

How are children’s drawings used as a verbal communication aid.

Answer 13

The content of the drawing is irrelevant, the purpose is simply to see if the act of drawing helps the child to open up.

Question 14

What are some important questions to ask when considering drawing as a verbal communication aid?

Answer 14

1. Is more information communicated when the child draws?

2. If so, is the information accurate?

Question 15

What study shows drawing as a good verbal communication aid?

Answer 15

Butler, Gross, & Hayne (1995):

• 5 and 6 year old children visited the Fire station and interviewed 1 day later
• Half used drawings to assist reporting what happened the others didn’t
• Children in the Draw and Tell group reported twice as much information in the direct recall phase than the Tell children.
• There was no difference between groups in the Free Recall phase.
• Information reported by the Draw and Tell group was just as accurate as information reported by the Tell group.

Question 16

Why are children’s drawings an effective verbal communication aid?

Answer 16

. Increases the length of the interview
. Lowers kid’s inhibitions (gets rid of social barrier as not so 1:1 and so makes kid more comfortable)
. Allows children to provide their own retrieval cues (jog their own memory)
. Reinstates mental context (put back in scene)
. Alters the interviewers behavior (there is not silence which they feel they have to fill and in doing so rush the child)

Question 17

What have more recent findings shown the benefit of drawings to aid verbal interview techniques extends to?

Answer 17

• Emotionally laden events
• Children as young as 3 years and as old as 12 years
• Delays of up to a year
• Real clinical settings