ERIC Number: ED017324
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1967-Jun
Pages: 16
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A NEW THEORY OF SCRIBBLING AND DRAWING IN CHILDREN.
GIBSON, JAMES J.; YONAS, PATRICIA M.
INFANT SCRIBBLING ACTIVITY IS NOT SIMPLY PLAY. IT CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF VISUAL ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION. YET, SCRIBBLING, UNLIKE WRITING IN THE COMMUNICATION SENSE, IS NOT MOTIVATED BY THE DESIRE TO INFORM, NOR TO SET DOWN THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS. THE EXPERIMENTAL HYPOTHESIS OF THIS STUDY WAS THAT THE MOTIVATIONS FOR SCRIBBLING ARE (1) MAKING A MARK OR TRACE ON THE PAPER, (2) CONTROLLING THE VISUALLY PERCEIVED TRACE, AND (3) SIMPLY PERCEIVING THE TRACE, NOT THE MOTOR STIMULATION INVOLVED IN THE ACT OF SCRIBBING. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, 14 INFANTS, 15 TO 38 MONTHS OF WRITE AND THE OTHER WOULD NOT. THE ORDER OF USE OF THE 2 INSTRUMENTS WAS VARIED SO THAT SOME INFANTS SCRIBBLED FIRST WITH THE TRACING AND SOME INFANTS FIRST WITH THE NONTRACING, INSTRUMENT. THE SCRIBBLING ACTIVITY WITH BOTH INSTRUMENTS WAS TIMED. IN THE CASE OF ALL 14 CHILDREN, USE OF THE NONTRACING INSTRUMENT REDUCED SCRIBBLING TIME AN AVERAGE OF 2/3. IN A SECOND, RELATED EXPERIMENT, 4 3-YEAR-OLDS WERE ASKED TO DRAW IN THE AIR. AGAIN, THE HYPOTHESIS TESTED WAS THAT REINFORCEMENT AND MOTIVATION FOR SCRIBBLING ACTIVITY WAS THE TRACE, AND NOT THE KINESTHETIC STIMULI. NONE OF THE CHILDREN WOULD DRAW IN THE AIR, ALTHOUGH THEY DID ASK FOR PAPER ON WHICH TO DRAW SOMETHING THEY COULD SEE. (WD)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A