The Effects of Brief and Elaborate Mood Induction Procedures on the Size of Young Children’s Drawings

Abstract

It has been claimed that children’s drawings following brief mood induction procedures differ in size depending on positive or negative mood. However there are conflicting findings in the field regarding the existence and direction of scaling changes. Such inconsistencies may be the result of methodological differences or may indicate that this phenomenon is unreliable. This study was designed to investigate the size of young children’s (n = 80, median age 6 years 1 month) human figure drawings. The focus was on both the surface area and height of drawings elicited in a clinical context using brief or elaborate mood induction procedures. Children drew larger pictures under both negative and positive affect conditions, relative to a prior baseline condition. Positive mood elicited slightly larger drawings than negative mood. However, such mood effects were only significant when the affect inductions were brief, and were not found when the affect inductions were elaborated. It is suggested that brief mood inductions can alter the young child’s drawing response in predictable ways. The importance of considering the type of emotion‐eliciting procedure when interpreting children’s drawings is discussed.