Date of Award
8-1-1999
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educational and School Psychology
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the validity of Machover's (1949) interpretation that attention to both the hips and buttocks drawn by male subjects in their first male Draw-A-Person Test (DAP) or the drawing of a female figure first are significant indicators of male homosexuality. The hypothesis was that the frequency of these homosexual indicators among non-instituted homosexuals would be significantly higher (P = < .05) than the male heterosexual group. One hundred homosexual and 100 heterosexual males were selected from groups of volunteers from two universities, one bookstore and a community center in the New York City area. The subjects were administered a DAP test in booklet format and a questionnaire. The drawings were classified for homosexual indicators blindly and independently by three judges who were trained in the use of the Machover interpretation of the DAP. Chi square analyses were calculated for the frequency of hips and buttocks and for the drawing of a female figure first and no significant differences between the self identified homosexual and heterosexual male groups in the expected direction were found. It was concluded that the lack of any significant difference between the scores of the homosexual and heterosexual males in this study casts considerable doubt on the validity of the male homosexual interpretations explored. Speculations were made concerning the widely discrepant results from past studies and this investigation. The majority of the past research had been conducted within institutional settings and there have been cultural changes over the last fifty years in both psychology and society's tolerance for the male homosexual. Unlike any previous DAP study, one-hundred urban homosexual and one-hundred heterosexual males were randomly selected. This researcher cautions that the DAP test should be interpreted with other available information, and results based on its independent use are viewed with much skepticism. Implications for future research were discussed.
Recommended Citation
Ornsteiner, Joel Von, "The Validity of Selected Draw-a-person Test Classifying Criteria Among Homosexual and Non Homosexual Males" (1999). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 568.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/568
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