Prior visual inspection and object naming: Two factors that enhance hidden feature inclusion in young children's drawings

Abstract

It is widely held that young children draw what they know rather than what they see. However, evidence is growing that they can be provoked into making visually realistic drawings. In this study two factors were found to affect the form of visual realism. In Expt 1, 5‐ and 6‐year‐olds produced visually realistic drawings of a familiar object when it was neither named nor given to the child to inspect before drawing. On the other hand, prior inspection led to significant hidden feature inclusion at 5 and 6 years, and this applied whether the object drawn was familiar or novel. Seven‐year‐olds' drawings were visually realistic in all presentation conditions. In Expt 2, 6‐year‐olds were shown to include the hidden feature if the object was named before drawing. Two conclusions are drawn. It is possible that children draw what they have seen over time rather than what they see at a particular time. Secondly, object naming may lead to drawing from a canonical model tagged by the object's name.

Are young children’s drawings canonically biased?

“…The pair cup context created a visual contrast between the two objects to which children were sensitive (Davis, 1985). In contrast, contexts involving a prior naming and examination (visual or manual) of the to-be-drawn object enhanced the probability that children would produce errors in their drawings (Bremner & Moore, 1984;Krascum, Tregenza, & Whitehead, 1996;Lewis et al, 1993).…”

Do drawing stages really exist? Children’s early mapping of perspective.

“…Hence, young children would not know that their vision distorts the angularity of rectangular constructions like a camera. Insofar, drawing development would rather consist of levels of awareness about visual functioning (Bremner & Moore, 1984).…”

The effect of affective characterizations on the size of children's drawings

“…Barrett, Beaumont & Jennett, 1985;Barrett & Light, 1976;Bremner & Moore, 1984;Cox, 1985Cox, , 1992Davis, 1983Davis, , 1985Freeman, 1980;Goodnow, 1977;Kellogg, 1969;Light & McEwan, 1987;Sitton & Light, 1992;Winner, 1982) and on the perceptual, cognitive and motor processes involved in producing a drawing (Cox, 1992;Freeman, 1980Freeman, , 1987Goodnow, 1977). However, some researchers have also explored whether the contents of children's drawings can be used as a reliable index of children's feelings concerning the objects depicted in their drawings (Forrest & Thomas, 1991;Hammer, 1997;Joiner, Schmidt & Barnett, 1996;Jolley, 1995;Jolley & Vulic-Prtoric, 2001; Koppitz, 1968Koppitz, , 1969Thomas, Chaigne & Fox, 1989).…”