OBSERVATIONS ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ANIMAL DRAWINGS

This article presented, preliminary to a statistical study, qualitative observations which indicate that when the drawing of an animal is obtained along with the usual House-Tree-Two Person technique, certain animal features serve particularly well for the projection of early fundamental impulses. These include various body aspects of the animal as distinct from the human figure; structural similarities and dissimilarities among animals; as well as the popularly attributed status, temperament, and role function of an animal. Treatment of mouth and rump areas affords less inhibited expression of oral and anal material. The way in which the tail is depicted, and sometimes a limb as well, suggests phallic symbolization. Departure from a usual four-legged stance points to an autonomy-dependency struggle. The paper discusses the significance of humorous handling of the animal drawing task as compared with drawings in which the animal is accorded a human face. Various animals and groups of animals appear to have a specificity of meaning. Case examples are presented to show how various sources of information about the individual support the symbolic value attributed to the animal drawing. Suggestions are made for further study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)