2. "The child draws what he knows, not what he
sees."
A. Cognitive Theory
3. Children's art differs from adults' art because children just don't
know as much as adults.
Because children's art reflects their thinking and knowledge,
children omit parts of the body. They don't know much so that they
draw the sky as a blue line overhead. It is the way they think it is.
As children grow in knowledge and understanding of the world,
and as they increase the number and complexity of their concepts,
their drawings change and become more realistic and adultlike.
The accuracy, detail, and complexity of their work increase in
direct relation to their knowledge.
4. B. Psychoanalytic Theory
The psychoanalytic view of art believes that children draw what
they feel, not what they know.
Art is conceived as a mirror of children's emotions, subconscious
thoughts, and feelings.
These theories believe that children draw people as a circle with
sticks representing arms and legs not because they don't know that
people have bodies with necks or shoulders, but because the circle
represents the womb, breasts, or other emotionally loaded objects.
5. Children's art products reveal their emotions and reflections of
unconscious feelings, not intelligence.
As the child grows, conscious thoughts express the powerful
force of the unconscious, and the child can then draw and
paint more representationally.
The use of color, size, line, shape and space as well as the
complexity of art, convey meaning that a psychoanalyst might
read.
Use of finger paints and clay are examples of common early
childhood activities that stem from the psychoanalytic theory.
These activities allow children to release emotion and express
themselves freely
6. C. Perceptual Theory
Perceptual theorists believe that children do not draw what they know or
feel, but what they see.
They believe that children see perceptual wholes; that is, they do not just
see the sum of the parts, but a total image structured by an active brain.
Being active, the brain organizes the inputs received from our eyes.
Individual brains organize these perceptions differently.
Children's drawings are influenced by the organization their brains impose
on incoming images.
7. Arnheim believes that children do not see
objects as the sum of observed parts, but
that they see wholes or total images
structured by the brain. Perception is
learned, or at least can be improved,
through training in visual discrimination.
Thus, teachers should try to strengthen and
improve children’s visual perceptions by
asking them to look at and observe their
environment more closely.
8.
9. D. Perceptual Delineation Theory
In perceptual delineation theory, children draw as they do, not
because of any one factor but because of several factors.
One factor is the child's readiness, including physical development,
intelligence, perceptual development, response set, and cultural
dispositions.
A second factor is the psychological environment in which the child
works, including the degree of threat or support, as well as the
number and intensity of rewards and punishments.
10. A final factor is how children's drawings are influenced by
their ability to manipulate the media, as well as their creative
and inventive ability.
