Childrens' justification of preference for other childrens' drawings.

Abstract

The present study sought to establish the justifications of preference offered by children when evaluating other children's drawings. The sample consisted of seventy children, divided into seven age groups, of 6 to 12 years, having ten subjects in each, with five females and five males. The five stimulus drawings were selected according to specified criteria, and had not been produced by any of the sample. The paired comparisons method was used for presentation, a content analysis undertaken on the transcript of the subjects tape-recorded verbal justifications, and appropriate analysis of variance and significance tests undertaken on this data. Findings show: (i) there to be predominant categories of response - subject matter and colour, with the subject matter taking precedence over colour and usually provocative of identification therewith (ii) that children had distinct preferences for certain pictures (iii) the age and sex of the child to have an influence upon both criteria of preference (for categories of preference age significant at 0,01 level, sex at 0,05), and the frequency of choice of particular drawings (for drawing choice age significant at 0,01 level, sex at 0,05). The study also presents an extensive review of the literature in the area and of the Clinical Method (Piaget 1973) as appropriate to the present study.