Associations Between Form, Content and Narrative in Person Picking an Apple from a Tree Drawings of Preschool Children

Abstract

Form and content layers of a drawing may communicate a maker’s subjective experience. However, research pertaining to associations between these two layers is scarce. This quantitative study focuses on associations between form and content layers in the Person Picking an Apple from a Tree drawings of 126 preschool children age 5-6.5 years. In addition, it explores the narrative focus of the drawings using an integrated measure of observation that includes these two layers. Results show strong to moderate associations between form and content layers; for example, the more a drawing was colorful, the more it was detailed, and the drawn tree stronger, fruitful, and more accessible for picking. In terms of the drawing’s narrative focus, most of the drawings depicted narratives that focused on the requested theme; however, among the drawings in which the picking scene is absent or additional alternative narratives are present, most were made by boys. The discussion elaborates on the study’s limitations and clinical implications resulting from the detection of idiosyncratic themes that may arise in the drawing and/or from gaps between the drawing’s form and content.