Date of Award

Spring 4-2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Art Therapy

Committee Director

Sarah Deaver

Committee Member

Becky Owens

Abstract

This study aimed to test the effects of coloring books on children’s drawings and relate the findings to art therapy practice. A review of the relevant literature revealed a widely accepted theory of drawing development, in which all individuals pass through a series of sequential stages of drawing. These stages varied slightly from author to author, but were all similar to the originally developed stages of drawing development first outlined by Viktor Lowenfeld (Lowenfeld & Brittain, 1987).

In art therapy, these stages are applied to the drawings of children to assess developmental level. Art is also utilized in art therapy as a vehicle of personal expression. However, it is asserted that there are a number of external factors which may influence the artistic product. These might include cultural art, art education, and exposure to children’s picture books including coloring books. Because there is a paucity of scholarly research about the direct influence of coloring books on children’s art, this study was developed.

To test the possible influence of coloring books on children’s drawings, artwork produced by students in a single second grade class from a private grade school was studied. These children, all age six or seven years old, were asked to draw a picture of a tree, color a coloring book image of a tree, and then draw a subsequent image of a tree. It was hypothesized that drawings created after exposure to the coloring book page would more closely resemble the coloring book image than initial drawings.

After collecting and analyzing the resulting data, in the form of two drawings and a coloring book image, it was found that this hypothesis was neither supported nor disproven. The children who participated in this study were equally likely to deviate from the coloring book schema as they were to conform to it. These results may be due to a number of factors, including small population size with similar educational backgrounds and socio-economic status. Despite these delimitations, the study may have some future applications to art therapy, including testing for creativity, encouraging conformity, and an application for those who are reluctant to draw or who require a non-confrontational self-soothing activity.

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