Date of Award
1965
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Child Development and Family Relations
Department
Child Development and Family Relations
First Advisor
Russell C. Smart
Abstract
The Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test, published in 1926, was revised by Dale B. Harris in 1963. The present study was undertaken to have a better understanding of performance of preschool children over a period of time, on the revised Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test, now known as The Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test. The other purposes of the study were to find out the relationship between Man and Woman Scores of the Test, and to verify the statement by Goodenough concerning the inconsistency of test items whose concepts are not well integrated in a child’s mind.
Thirty nursery school children were given the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test for five times at every three weeks’ interval. Since the standard scores given by Harris are at twelve months’ age intervals, the raw scores were used in analyzing the results.
A high test-retest reliability was obtained. The mean score increased each time except one time, which might be due to the special activities which were going on in the nursery school at that time of testing. The significant increase in scores from Testing III onwards suggested a possibility of practice effect.
High correlations obtained between the Man and Woman Scales on all five testings indicated that the Woman Scale can be used successfully as an “alternate form” for the preschool children.
The average raw scores of the Drawing Test correlated substantially with IQ of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test; and highly with the Stanford-Binet mental age.
A tendency for initially low scorers to achieve greater change and initially high scorers to achieve lesser change, was observed. However, the statistically insignificant results call for further research.
The difficult test items showed inconsistent appearance on five testings, while the east items appeared consistently on five testings. These results suggested that the concepts of difficult items are not integrated in a child’s mind, which led to the fluctuation in appearance; while on the other hand, the concepts of easy items are well integrated in a child’s mind, which resulted in the consistency of appearance. Thus the study supported the statement by Goodenough.
Recommended Citation
Randeri, Jyoti, "An Exploratory Study of Repeated Administrations to Preschool Children of the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test" (1965). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 1693.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/1693
Terms of Use
All rights reserved under copyright.