Interjudge Agreement of Draw-A-Person Diagnostic Impressions

Summary

The interjudge agreement of Draw-A-Person (DAP)-based diagnostic impressions was assessed. Twenty-four psychologists were asked to categorize 48 DAP protocols as being the productions of organics, paranoid schizophrenics, non-paranoid schizophrenics or normal controls. The mean between-judges proportion of agreement was only .41 and the mean proportion correct was a mere .28. (A proportion of .25 could be anticipated in each case by chance.) Strength of interjudge agreement did not vary with the extent to which judges utilized the test but did seem dependent upon the subjects' diagnoses. The results indicated that diagnostic impressions based on the DAP alone seem to be neither usefully valid nor impressively consistent across psychologists. It is suggested that the profession is due for a re-evaluation of its DAP training techniques and its use of the test.     

A validation study of the Draw-A-Person as a measure of racial identity acceptance

The present study is a replication of Schofield's findings (1978) in the use of the Draw-A-Person as a measure of racial identity acceptance. Unlike Schofield's study, the present investigation involved an adolescent sample of blacks and whites, and race of figure drawn was determined by judges' consensus rather than an objective scoring system. The findings generally supported those of Schofield and the racial identity and preference literature as a whole in revealing blacks to be less accepting of their racial identity than whites.     

Research With the Draw-A-Person Test: Conceptual and Methodological Issues

A number of methodological, statistical, and conceptual problems are inherent in research with the Draw-A-Person Test (DAP). These difficulties invalidate the theoretical position that an individual's gender-role identification is reflected in the sex of the figure drawn. The complexity of these problems affects the evaluation of the DAP and illustrates the need for multiple approaches to its interpretation.     

A case study comparison of the Draw-A-Person and Kinetic Family Drawing

A case is presented illustrating the diagnostic and therapeutic value of human figure drawings. The case study, an 11-year-old boy recovering from viral encephalitis, compares two projective techniques--the Draw-A-Person and the Kinetic Family Drawing. The tests were administered pre- and post-treatment. The relative merit of each technique within the therapeutic context is discussed.     

Using the Bender-Gestalt test to predict graphomotor dimensions of the Draw-A-Person test

The investigators examined four correlated aspects of the Bender-Gestalt and the Draw-A-Person tests. Subjects were 41 boys and 14 girls classified as seriously emotionally disturbed or seriously behavior disordered by their school system in southwest Georgia. Each subject's Bender-Gestalt and human figure drawings were placed on a digitizing pad and encoded to provide information relative to the width, height, average point of location on the fourth quadrant abscissa and ordinate of each drawing. The widths of Bender Figures 2 and 8 correlated significantly with the widths of human drawings; the heights of Figures A, 5, and 7 were significantly correlated with the heights of the human drawings. Bender Figure 1 was significantly correlated with average points of location on the abscissa of human figure drawings (distance from the left margin of the page), but correlations between the average points of location from the top of the page were nonsignificant. Comparison of these results with data from other samples might refine diagnosis.     

Personality factors, family structure, and sex of drawn figure on the Draw-A-Person Test

One hundred seventy-four youthful psychiatric inpatients were given the Draw-A-Person Test (DAP) as part of an assessment battery. Sex of person drawn was compared to subject's sex, Achenbach aggression and delinquency scores, and scores on Children's Inventory of Anger and Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale. The sex of the person drawn was also compared to family composition, specifically whether or not the child came from an intact family with both a male and female parent or role model. Results support drawing of a same-sexed individual as normative, regardless of age or sex. Adolescent girls and young boys were the only groups that differed significantly from this norm. Personality measures and family composition were not significantly related to the tendency to draw same versus opposite sex.     

The interpreter's personality in Draw-A-Person interpretation: a study of interpersonal style

This study investigated the relationship between accuracy in figure drawing interpretation and interpersonal style. Subjects were 66 undergraduates who completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Interpersonal Check List (ICL), and a figure drawing interpretation task. The MMPI and ICL were scored and interpreted using Leary's Interpersonal System, which provides for a multilevel assessment of interpersonal functioning. Interpretive skill was found to be associated with "affiliative" interpersonal styles (p < .05), and lack of interpretive skill was associated with "disaffiliative" interpersonal styles (p < .05) at two of the three levels examined. The role of unconscious processes in figure drawing interpretation, the nature of the interpretive process, and implications for the selection of skilled interpreters are discussed with reference to the interpersonal characteristics of the interpreter.     

An Examination of the Lost-letter Technique1

The results of three investigations of the validity and economics of the lost-letter technique are reported. Although the return rate of the lost-letter technique was higher than in the case of more obtrusive survey techniques involving hand-distributed postcard questionnaires and mail surveys, the more obtrusive survey techniques were more economical to carry out, were more accurate in their predictions of election outcomes, and gave results more highly consistent among themselves than with the results obtained by the lost-letter technique. Furthermore, the results indicated that the act of returning a lost letter may not be strongly affected by the identity of the sender or addressee indicated on the letter.     

Sex,Sex Roles,and Sexual Attitudes: Figure Gender in the Draw-A-Person Test Revisited

A study of 116 subjects examined the relationships among subject sex, experimenter sex, sex roles, and sexual attitudes as predictors of drawing the same-sex figure on the Draw-A-Person test (DAP). Results indicate that subject and experimenter sex are consistent and significant predictors of picture sex. Masculinity and sexual attitudes also predict but only for female picture attributes. The subjects' response to current, historically determined attitudes toward gender and gender roles must be seen as strong influences on the sex of the drawn picture. A model of some determinants of the sex of the drawn figure is offered.     

Personality Factors,Family Structure,and Sex of Drawn Figure on the Draw-A-Person Test

One hundred seventy-four youthful psychiatric inpatients were given the Draw-A-Person Test (DAP) as part of an assessment battery. Sex of person drawn was compared to subject's sex, Achenbach aggression and delinquency scores, and scores on Children's Inventory of Anger and Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale. The sex of the person drawn was also compared to family composition, specifically whether or not the child came from an intact family with both a male and female parent or role model. Results support drawing of a same-sexed individual as normative, regardless of age or sex. Adolescent girls and young boys were the only groups that differed significantly from this norm. Personality measures and family composition were not significantly related to the tendency to draw same versus opposite sex.     

双侧前额皮层的语言功能--用近红外技术研究语言功能的初步实验

本文报告一个用近红外技术进行的语言认知脑成像实验.实验通过脑f血流的变化情况考察了双侧前额皮层对由不同通道输入的,不同语言的各个层次的认知反应.实验结果表明,双侧前额皮层对高层语义加工,包括对篇章的归纳与抽象,具有特殊的功能,这种功能的神经学分布是对称的,这种功能及其对称性不随语言和输入通道的变化而变化.相比之下,前额皮层对读、听语言材料以及听音乐却显得不敏感.局部血流的变化只显示其对上述任务的一般性的注意力控制.     

An Examination of the Technique of Interpretation in Counseling

Perceptions of the value and application of interpretation in counseling vary widely among researchers and practitioners. An exploration of the use of interpretation in counseling often presents contradictory opinion and data. Relating counseling theories, propositional and semantic aspects, and attributional theory to interpretation assists in clarifying the nature of the technique.     

An Independent Theory of Clinical Technique

The history of Independent analysis in the British Psychoanalytical Society is reviewed. The Independent Tradition, as an approach to psychoanalysis, is distinguished from the organisational grouping in the British Society that is the Independent Group. The Independent Tradition emphasises what differentiates human beings rather than how they exemplify general principles. This derives from Freud through Ferenczi. Ferenczi's stress on the quality of the patient's experience, on the need for analysts to be aware of the effect on themselves of the analytic process, and on the need for restraint in interpretation are all characteristically Independent aspects of analytic technique. Later Independent thinkers have developed these themes further. Especially important is Enid Balint's idea that theory mediates the analyst's creative imagination. The analytic setting infuses ordinary human interaction with psychoanalytic awareness, and another function of theory is to imbue with psychoanalytic understanding the use of everyday language. Independent clinical technique is primarily a way of listening. Regression is accepted, and free association valued as being in itself a vehicle of psychic growth. A central idea is that the analyst is an analytic object to be made use of by the patient. Several clinical examples illustrate the functioning in practice of these concepts.     

Investigating the validity of the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance: a measurement validation study with high-risk youth

This validity study examined the extent to which the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance (DAP:SPED; J. A. Naglieri, T. J. McNeish, & A. N. Bardos, 1991) was a significant predictor of behavioral functioning within a clinical sample of 68 latency-age children (6-12 years old) receiving counseling services at outpatient and residential treatment facilities. Study results showed that the total DAP:SPED (man, woman, and self scores summed) was a significant predictor in explaining variation in internalizing behavioral disturbance. Specifically, the DAP:SPED remained a moderate strength predictor of internalizing behavioral disturbance after controlling for the Child and Adolescent Adjustment Profile parent-report behavioral measure. Findings lend preliminary support to the DAP:SPED's validity in providing assessment information about child behavioral functioning. Continued validation investigation along these lines is recommended.     

Sociometric Technique and Experimental Method in Social Psychology

Summary

Tasks adapted from Piaget's studies of concepts of geometrical space were presented to 133 Zulu youths from rural and urban areas of Natal. Ss' ages ranged from 11 years to 20 years, and schooling from nil to seven years. The association of performances with age, schooling, and rural-urban residence suggested that youths who grow up in town and attend school from an early age proceed to a Euclidean concept of space, while others are likely to retain the topological ideas usually associated with much younger groups.     

An Analysis of the Blind Variation and Selective Retention Theory of Creativity

This research study explores the relation between measures of creative potential and cognitive and motivational variables, including students' interests, perceptions, and classroom experiences. Surveys were administered to 373 students (N = 373), along with 2 questionnaires, namely the Student Information Sheet (SIS) and the Teacher Encouragement Scale (TES). The students were divided into three groups as High Creative (HC), Average Creative (AC) and Low Creative (LC) on the basis of composite test scores on the tests of creative thinking. The HC students liked Science and Mathematics subjects at school level, whereas the rest of the groups (AC and LC) preferred Indian languages Telugu and Hindi. Surprisingly, all the three groups disliked Social Studies subjects. The top 5 occupations chosen were doctor, teacher, lawyer, engineer, and police constable. When comparing the 3 groups, it is evident that each group had similar aspirations. A high percentage of students, including the HC, were found to be addicted to school achievement. They perceived academic failure as a bad experience in the class and struggled for academic excellence, which was their main goal and interest in life. The highly creative students had more favorable attitudes towards teacher encouragement than the other groups.     

An Observational Technique for Preschool Children

Summary

A method for direct observational study of early peer-social and objectdirect behavior for human subjects was designed to be articulated with techniques widely used in studies of social behavior in infrahuman primates.

Occurrence of behavior fitting the definitions of each of six categories of object behavior and nine categories of social behavior is noted once during each 15-second interval. The number of recorded intervals in a 15-minute session provides the basic scoring unit.

Observer reliabilities were estimated from paired data and four observers. Thirty-eight Negro and white children ages three through five years were observed in three child play groups. Median reliabilities of .95 (range .63 to .98) and .81 (range .69 to .94) were obtained for object and social behavior categories respectively.