Critical studies in the analysis and interpretation of freehand drawings

70 Pages·03.545 MB·English

by  Aziz, Yvonne L

CRITICAL STUDIES
IN THE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
OF FREEHAND DRAWINGS
YVONNE L. AZIZ
Submitted in partial fulfillm ent
©f the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
Faculty ©f Graduate Studies
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO
1950
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UMI Number: EC53967
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J£KHOffl£DGUEKES
'Hie w riter would like to express her sincere appreciation
to Miss M* LeBas, Chief Psychologist at Westminster Hospital, for
her most helpful suggestions* A debt of gratitude is owed to
Or* E* S* Goddard, Chief Psychiatrist at Westminster Hospital,
for making available the facilities of that institution in the
accumulation of data; and to the assistant psychological staff of
the hospital for their cooperation*
Yvonne L* Aziz
iii
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FOREWORD
An interesting approach to the study of personality by means
of a non-verbal projective technique has been suggested by Lauretta
B ender.C ertain difficulties in Bender’s method led to a modified
technique for differential diagnosis based on an analysis and inter­
pretation of freehand drawings. The development of the new method,
called the ’’D ifferential Diagnostic Technique” (DDT), is described
2
in a thesis by H. J. Breen. In preliminary work with the DDT,
’’normal” (non-hospitalized) individuals were separated from "abnormal”
(hospitalized) individuals with a fair degree of accuracy. Further
work with the technique was recommended.
The present thesis consists, in part, of separate studies in
an exploration of further applications of the DDT. In Part I a short
summary of the historical background of the technique is presented.
The possibility of using the DDT for individual personality appraisal
is discussed in Part II from the results of work with a rating scale
and a matching study. Part IH describes a comparative study of
1 Bender, Lauretta, A Visual Motor Gestalt Test and its Clinical
Use, (New York, 1938), (Lowrey, Lawson G., ed., Research Monographs,
American Orthopsychiatric Association, no. 3)
2 Breen, H. J ., A Psychological Study of Freehand Drawings,
(M.A. Thesis, University of Western Ontario, 19U9)
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V
lobotomized. and non-lobotomized cases of paranoid schizophrenia. The
data obtained from Parts II and III suggested a further study of
"neurotic** patients. This is presented in Part IV which includes as
well a critique of the DDT, Finally, in Part V, possible interpret­
ations and conclusions based on the critical studies are proposed.
No attempt has been made to provide complete descriptions of
the test m aterials, administration, scoring, or interpretation. Those
aspects form part of a thesis by S. L. Northr and are only briefly
dealt with in the present paper.
London, Ontario, Yvonne L. Aziz
April, 1950.
3 North, S. L., Some Studies in Personality Classification
Using a Visual-Motor Psychological Technique^ (M.A. Thesis,
University of'Western Ontario, 1956J*
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
C ritical Studies
in the Analysis and Interpretation
of Freehand Drawings
Acknowledgments: Page iii
Forewords iv
List of Tables and Illustrations: v iii
Part Is The Development of the D ifferential
Diagnostic Technique 1
Part IIs The DDT as an* Instrument for Individual
Personality Appraisal 7
A rating scale study in personality
appraisal 8
A matching study in personality
appraisal 19
Part H I: The DDT Used in a Comparative Study of
Lobotomized and Bon-Lobotomized Cases
of Paranoid Schizophrenia 22
DDT patterning in paranoid
schizophrenia "
A study of eight lobotomized
paranoid schizophrenic patients 26
DDT results 28
Summary of lobotomy findings 32
Criticisms of the Study 33
Illustrative cases 34
Part I¥s A Critique of the DDT 40
Criticisms from previous sections "
A study of fifteen ’’neurotic"
patients 42
What test performances should be
accepted for scoring and
interpretation? 47
Aspects of reliab ility 48
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Vll
Part ?: The DDT as One Approach to the Study Page
of Personality Dynamics. 51
58
Conclusions:
59
Summary:
60
Bibliography:
61
Vita:
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LIST OF TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Table 1. Five subjects ranked according to mean Page
scores obtained on the DDT as compared
with mean scores obtained on the rating
scale.
Figure 1. Group psychogram showing median scores
obtained by eighteen paranoid schizo­
phrenic patients
Figure 2. Group psychogram showing median scores
obtained by eight lobotomized paranoid
schizophrenic patients
Figure 3 . Case No. 1: Entire psychogram
Figure ii. Case No. 2: Entire psychogram
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PART I
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUE
Personality may be studied by two major methods; through the
verbal responses of individuals or through their non-verbal responses.
The verbal methods, whether in the farm of questionnaires or projec­
tive techniques and related methods, present a serious difficulty.
The subject may refuse to respond, attempt to make his responses
"socially acceptable", or answer in such a stereotyped manner that
the examiner may not be able to make an adequate analysis, What an
individual says he does is not necessarily what he actually does.
The non-verbal methods would seem in some respects to be more
promising. One of these, the Bender Gestalt Test,"*- is an attempt to
study the drawings of children, normal adults, and some mentally ill
patients. The test consists of nine of Wertheimer’s socially-
meaningless figures which the subject is asked to copy freehand. A
number of psychologists have followed Bender's general method. Among
1 Bender, Lauretta, A Visual Motor Gestalt Test and its Clinical
Use, (New York, 1938), (Lowrey, Lawson G,, ed,, Research Monographs,
American Orthopsychiatric Association, no. 3.)
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