Drawing Test

We need to present evidence of growth for transfer from Ric Cognitive Approach® training to measures of IQ and intellectual development for our students. There are two measurement instruments we use for such facilitation, namely the standardised IQ tests and Drawing tests. Regrettably, many parents do not have the knowledge on the cognitive value of drawing tests, and their association with children’s IQ.

The study of children’s drawings covers different concepts and is thus used as an instrument to estimate various types of functions. In particular, children’s drawings are very often linked to their IQ. Developed by Goodenough in 1926, Draw-A-Man test was the first scoring system to measure intelligence through children’s drawings.

Children do not draw what they see, but rather their internal representations during early attempts to draw; and for Luquet, this is termed intellectual realism and is differentiated from the adult’s visual realism. Early studies of children’s drawing started over a century ago. Two major discoveries were made between 1900 and 1915. Firstly, it was found that the progression of children’s drawings is constant. Secondly, it was found that less intellectually gifted children tend to draw less complex pictures. In addition, the progression of children’s drawings was found closely related to their mental age and not to their actual chronological age.

Children do not draw what they see but rather the representation of their intellectual abilities.

In 2011, our founder, Ric performed a correlation study examining the relationship between drawing test scores and IQ. Children’s nonverbal intelligence was measured using three different instruments. Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM), the Goodenough-Harris Draw-A-Person test (DAP) and Imagery Drawing Test (IDT). 684 children between the ages of 7 and 11 from a public elementary school participated in the study. The results revealed strong correlation between DAP and IDT scores. IDT scores were modestly associated with CPM scores; DAP scores to CPM scores were, likewise, modestly associated. Results showed that IDT was the best predictor variable for both DAP and CPM, thereby indicating IDT as a highly feasible alternative drawing test to the traditional DAP for measuring children’s IQ.

Latest Development of Drawing Test

In 2014, there was heavy media coverage on the topic of children’s drawings and their IQ. Researchers from King’s College London conducted a 10-year study on 7,752 pairs of twins to find out the relationship between children’s drawings and their IQ. At the end of the study, they concluded that children’s drawings predict children’s IQ as well as their IQ a decade later.

Children’s mental representations through drawings can provide us with some ideas about their IQ. However, it must not be the only means of measure and should be used in conjunction with other forms of assessment.

Links

• http://www.bbc.com/news/education-28852471
• http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/news/records/2014/August/Childrens-drawings-indicate-later-intelligence.aspx
• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140818204114.htm
• http://www.medicaldaily.com/drawing-test-4-years-old-may-predict-intelligence-14-dont-worry-if-your-child-isnt-next-da-298582
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11041402/Childrens-drawings-could-be-a-clue-to-their-intelligence-study-finds.html

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