Representational Development of the Human Figure: A Look at the Neglected Variables of Ses,IQ, Sex, and Verbalization

Summary This study explores the representational processes underlying the young child's creation of the human figure, and examines the developmental origins, effects of socioeconomic status, IQ, age, sex, and function of verbalization to the task. Tasks were selected which required extensive use of symbolic processes and consisted of human figure drawing, figure completion, two form puzzles composed of geometric forms, and drawing on dictation. Ss were 151 preschoolers ranging in age from 2.3 to 5.7, enrolled in a day care center or nursery school. Ss came from two distinct socioeconomic backgrounds: upper-middle and working-class families. The study revealed the sensorymotor origins of representation and pointed toward an autonomous, perhaps universal, development of these representational processes. The results indicated major effects of IQ and age, minor effects of sex, and the absence of socioeconomic status effects on the five tasks. Achievement scores and the child's verbalization to the tasks suggested that the function of verbalization is explanatory rather than problem solving.