Date of Award

Spring 5-2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Art Therapy

Abstract

Color is an important part of our everyday lives and its use in art-based assessment is theorized to relate to aspects of emotional, cognitive, social, and physical development. The Human Figure Drawing (HFD) is a highly utilized projective technique that is also theorized to be related to these areas of development. However, there is little research regarding the use of color in HFDs, particularly in respect to children’s drawings.

This study explored whether or not there is a relationship between children’s age and their use of color in the HFD. This is important to art therapists and other clinicians in terms of making assessments more valid and efficient. Twenty-two HFDs were collected from sixth graders at two sites. These drawings were compared to the EVMS database of HFDs drawn by second and fourth graders. The drawings were scored by a trained blind rater using five modified FEATS scales. Scale I was the Color Prominence Scale; Scale II, the Color Fit Scale; Scale II, the Space Scale; Scale IV, the Developmental Level Scale; and Scale V, the Details of Objects and Environment Scale.

ANOVAs were performed to determine differences across age groups on each of the five scales. On Scale I and Scale II, the two scales that relate to color use, statistical significance was found; as children increased in age they used less color and used color less realistically. The hypothesis for this study was supported in that a relationship was found between age and color. The results of the rest of the modified FEATS scales displayed interesting results that warrant further study.

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DOI

10.25777/ndea-rn57

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