An Exploratory Study On The Analysis Of The Drawing Features In Psychological Assessment

This research is a quantitative study on drawing evaluation.Forty-five adults with normal functioning participated in this research.Every participant drew three paintings about door,bridge,and volcano.This research analyses 91 formal features such as color types,blending et al.and 21 content features related to the three themes of the drawings,and analyses how the drawing features relate to the psychological variables such as the psychological symptoms tested by SCL-90,and to the personality traits tested by 16PF.In this study,the author suggests five hypotheses:The first Hypothsis,there are differences of drawing features between drawings of the people with positive psychological symptoms and the people with negative psychological symptoms.The second Hypothsis,there are differences of drawing features between drawings of the people with low score of personality traits and the people with high score of personality traits.The third Hypothsis,there is no one-to-one correspondence between the drawing features and the psychological variables.The fourth Hypothsis,the regression model between the drawing features and psychological symptoms can be established to predict the psychological symptoms of the drawers through the drawing features.The fifth Hypothsis,the regression model between drawing features and personality traits can be established to predict the personality traits of drawers through the drawing features.In this study,there are 13 formal drawing features and 4 content drawing features significantly correlated with psychological symptoms.The 13 formal drawing features are color types,blending,color thickness,line quality,line length,unusual composition,composition stability,perspective,the focus of the image,virtual and real handling,abstraction,emphasis,and movement.The 4 content drawing features are bridge drawing composition,with or without volcanic crater,the shape of volcanic crater,and vegetation.In this study,there are 25 formal drawing features and 14 content drawing features significantly correlated with personality traits.The 25 formal drawing features are color types,blending,color thickness,line or shape,line quality,line length,integration,space usage,enclosure,tilt,unusual composition,composition stability,perspective,the focus of the image,image quantity,virtual and real handling,abstraction,representation,emphasis,decoration,ground line,inanimate objects,landscape,and movement.The 14 content drawing features are opening degree of the door,opening direction,door leaf decoration,doorframe,solid door leaf,door knob quantity,bridge scale,bridge drawing composition,bridge viewpoint,the shape of volcanic crater,form of volcanic eruption,degree of volcanic eruption,wind,and vegetation.In this study,the author establishes the logistic regression model to the drawers'psychological symptoms and personality traits and the related drawing features,so as to predict and judge the psychological state and personality traits by using the drawing features.There are 6 regression models that were established for the determination of psychological synptoms,and 2 regression models that were established for the determination of personality traits.Basically,the five research hypotheses are verified to a certain extent.According to the results of the study,it is very significant to establish a standardized psychological test of the drawing features for psychological evaluation and clinical consultation The author put forward the following recommendations to the same kind of work:study on large homogeneous sample,establish a perfect evaluation index system of drawing features;establish a drawing database;develop the computerization of the analysis of the formal and content drawing features.