Cubes are difficult things to draw

Abstract

The effects of general or specific verbal instructions on the production of a visual realistic drawing were investigated. Children aged 7 and 12 years and adults were asked to draw a cube placed in front of them on a table so that the front and top faces only could be seen. The two groups of children produced more two‐segment drawings with the specific than with the general instruction. The adults drew more two‐segment forms in both conditions. Most of the 7‐year‐olds' drawings were rectilinear. Most of the 12‐year‐olds' drawings contained obliques, and the parallel oblique form was particularly dominant. Although the adults, in contrast to the children, converged the ‘depth’ lines into the distance, only a minority of them did this; a sizable proportion of adults produced rectilinear forms. The data suggest that young children are more capable of visual realism and adults are less capable than the traditional theory of pictorial representation predicts.