THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXPRESSIVITY IN DRAWING

Abstract

S ummary . To trace the development of expressivity in children's drawings, 128 children, 16 each at the mean ages of 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 20 were asked to create a series of drawings depicting expressive qualities (e.g., happy, sad) in both trees and lines. Drawings were first scored in terms of the accuracy of both expression and representation (trees, lines). Successful expressive drawings were then scored in terms of strategy utilised: literal representation (e.g., crying face for sad), abstract expression (e.g., drooping lines for sad), and content expression (e.g., a barren tree for sad). Finally, drawings scored as abstract expression were rated as to the types of abstract contrasts used (e.g., angle/curve, big/little, upward/downward). The results document a developmental trend from an initial ability to produce abstract expression based, in part, on amodal similarities (e.g., big for loud) toward the production of more complex multi‐dimensional types of abstract expression, and increasing integration of representational ability and expressive ability in the form of content expression.