Abstract
Drawing is ancient; it is the only childhood cognitive behavior for which there is any direct evidence from the Upper Paleolithic. Do genes influence individual differences in this species-typical behavior, and is drawing related to intelligence (g) in modern children? We report on the first genetically informative study of children’s figure drawing. In a study of 7,752 pairs of twins, we found that genetic differences exert a greater influence on children’s figure drawing at age 4 than do between-family environmental differences. Figure drawing was as heritable as g at age 4 (heritability of .29 for both). Drawing scores at age 4 correlated significantly with g at age 4 (r = .33, p < .001, n = 14,050) and with g at age 14 (r = .20, p < .001, n = 4,622). The genetic correlation between drawing at age 4 and g at age 14 was .52, 95% confidence interval = [.31, .75]. Individual differences in this widespread behavior have an important genetic component and a significant genetic link with g.
Highlights
In 1926, a young woman struggled to come up with a reliable way to measure the intelligence of young children
The test was validated in several populations and used widely until its popularity declined in the 1970s, perhaps because it was considered by some researchers to be one of several projective techniques, including the Rorschach Test, that were not empirically well supported (Lilienfeld, Wood, & Garb, 2000) for screening psychopathology (Chapman & Chapman, 1967), which was not its original purpose
We aimed to discover (a) the extent to which genes influence individual differences in children’s drawings of human figures, (b) the extent to which the accuracy of such drawings is predictive of later intelligence, and (c) the extent to which genes that contribute to drawing at age 4 contribute to intelligence up to a decade later
Summary
In 1926, a young woman struggled to come up with a reliable way to measure the intelligence of young children. Florence Goodenough (1886–1959) conceived the idea of asking the children to draw a human figure Her ability test was remarkable: It took 10 min or fewer to administer; it used cheap, familiar, and widely available materials; children enjoyed the task; and the test could be scored and reliably (Brill, 1935; Goodenough, 1926; Oakland & Dowling, 1983). It seems intuitive that any relationship between early figure drawing and later intelligence would be caused by familial influences held in common between the two traits It seems that children with ready access to pencils, paper, picture books, and so on would have better drawing skills than children brought up without those advantages. We aimed to discover (a) the extent to which (if any) genes influence individual differences in children’s drawings of human figures, (b) the extent to which the accuracy of such drawings is predictive of later intelligence, and (c) the extent to which genes that contribute to drawing at age 4 contribute to intelligence up to a decade later
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