Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

The Draw a Person Test

Prepared by Niel Steve M. Kintanar, MA Psy242MA Advance Personality Appraisal

DRAW A PERSON (DAP)

Acute observers always have been able to detect emotional connotations in artwork. As early as 1885, clinicians have been interested the drawings of young children and how it might reveal personality characteristics of the child. 1920s, Florence Goodenough wrote Measurement of Intelligence by Drawings and was followed by other works of Bender, Buck, Hammer, Jolles, Levy, Machover.

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

So on 8 x 11 white paper and a well sharpened No. 2 black lead pencil...

(Also make another copy by using the carbon paper)

Please draw a picture of a person.

(No stereotyped figures like stick figures, cartoons, or stylized drawings or you will have to draw a complete figure again. This is not a test of artistic ability and it is not really considered in interpreting and scoring.)

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

Please write your name, age, date, and the sex of the person (drawing) ?

Can you write a few words, phrases that describe the figure drawn.
Young or old? Active or inactive? Flexible or rigid? Handsome or ugly? Happy or sad? Aggressive, dominant or passive? Casual or formal?)

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

Exchange drawings with a partner and your partner will try to interpret the drawing for you.

Interpretation of the DAP

1. 2. Use of psychodynamic theories (Projective you express what is unconscious or hidden in you). It is assumed that the drawing will be how the person present himself or herself. Descriptions of the drawing is useful in deriving meaningful hypothesis. The goal really is to identify the areas of conflict, exaggeration, omission, and distortion. (You can also check the duplicate copy.)

3. 4.

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

For Seatwork # 4
Please write your general comments, interpretations, and hypotheses of your partner. In usual DAP testing final report, this is the outline. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Description of testing situation and reaction of subject to testing. Brief description of subjects attitude to DAP. General Impressions Conveyed by Figures drawn. Differential treatment of male and female figures. Discussion of interpretative hypotheses elicited from catalogue. Summary and recommendations.

Can you do Parts I & 2 of the Seatwork.

I. General Impressions Conveyed by Figures Drawn. II. Is sex of the drawing congruent with the sex of the subject? (If not, refer to sequence of sex, homosexual indicators in the catalogue.)

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

III. Interpretative hypotheses

A. General Characteristics
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Pressure factors Stroke of line characteristics Size of Drawing Placement of Drawings Action or Movement

A. General Characteristics
1. Pressure Factors
a. Usually heavy pressures suggests:
Extremely tense individuals Assertive, forceful, ambitious persons Aggressive and possible acting out tendencies

b. Usually light pressures suggests:

Inadequately adjusting individuals Hesitant, indecisive, timid, fearful, insecure individuals Low energy levels

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

A. General Characteristics
2. Stroke or Line Characteristics
a. Marked directional preferences:
Horizontal movement weakness, fearfulness, self protective tendencies, or femininity. Vertical Movement suggests masculine assertiveness, determination, and possible hyperactivity. Curving Lines healthy personality, possibly suggesting distaste for conventional Rigid straight line rigid or aggressive tendencies Continuous changes in direction of stroke - low security feelings. Firm, unhesitating, determined quality -secure, persistent, ambitious. Vacillating direction, vague lines and interrupted strokes insecurity, vacillating tendencies Uninterrupted straight strokes quick, decisive, assertive persons. Interrupted, curvilinear strokes slowness, indecisive; dependent, emotional tendencies, femininity and submissiveness.

b.

Quality of stroke:

A. General Characteristics
2. Stroke or Line Characteristics
a. Length of stroke:
Long strokes suggest controlled behavior, sometimes to point of inhibition. Short discontinuous strokes impulsive, excitable tendencies.. Very short, circular, sketchy anxiety, uncertainty, depression, and timidity.

b. Shading and shaded strokes:

Anxiety

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

A. General Characteristics
3. Size of Drawing

a. Usually large drawings suggests:

Aggressive tendencies Expansive, grandiose tendencies Feelings of inadequacy with compensatory defenses Possible hyperactive Feelings of inferiority, ineffectiveness or inadequacy Withdrawal tendencies in restrained, timid, shy, persons. Feelings of insecurity Possible depressive tendencies. Possible weak ego structure or low ego strength, Regressive tendencies When high on page low energy level, lack of insight, unjustified optimism.

b. Usually Small suggests:

A. General Characteristics
4. Placement of drawings
a. Central placement suggests:
Normal, secure: The most common placement at all ages. In absolute center of the page insecurity and rigidity, especially in interpersonal relations. High level of aspiration: striving hard for difficult goals Optimism, frequently unjustified.

b. Placement high on page suggests:

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

A. General Characteristics
4. Placement of drawings
a. Placement low on page suggests:
Feelings of insecurity Feelings of inadequacy Depressive tendencies, perhaps with defeatist attitudes. Need for support associated with feelings of insecurity and low self-assurance. Dependency tendencies and a fear of independent action Tendency to avoid new experiences or to remain absorbed in fantasy.

b. Placement on edge or bottom of paper suggests:

A. General Characteristics

5. Action or Movement
See Action and Movement in catalogue.

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

III. Interpretative hypotheses

A. Four Major Areas
1. Head 2. Hands, Arms, Shoulders, Chest 3. Trunk of the Body 4. Legs and Feet

B. Four Major Areas

1. Head
a. b. c. d. The locus of the sense of the self or ego. It deals perceptively with the outer world. Senses are used to received stimuli. Things you need to check: Head, hair, facial features, eyes & eyebrows, ears & nose (nostrils), mouth & chin, lips, teeth, forehead, head, neck and Adams apple, beard or moustache, cap & accessories.

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

B. Four Major Areas

2. Hands, Arms, Shoulders, and Chest
a. The functional unit to execute the commands of the brain or the impulses of the body. b. Does the subject draw his figures as reaching out for help? Are they reaching out in aggression? Are they fighting the world? c. Things you need to check: Arms, hands, fingers, shoulders, breasts, collar, muscles, thumb.

B. Four Major Areas

3. Trunk of the body
a. It indicates strength features. b. Things you need to check trunk, clothing, jewelry, waistline, hips, belly, buttons, belts, joints, buttocks, nude, ties, genitals or anatomy indication, phallic symbols, waistline, transparency, empty figures, stick figures.

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

B. Four Major Areas

4. Legs and Feet
a. It indicates autonomy, self-movement, self direction, balance. b. Things you need to check stance, legs, feet, knees, pockets, shoes, heels, toes.

C. Other areas
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Body part being cut off Cutting off head Excessive erasures Shading of body parts Check on warning indicators of severe mental disturbance (last page) 6. Check on normality indicators (page 41.)

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Psy242MA Personality Appraisal

Thank you very much.

nielsteve@yahoo.com

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