CORRELATIONAL ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN CHILDREN'S EASTER DRAWINGS AS A FUNCTION OF A NATURALLY-MOTIVATED EXPECTANCY

Abstract

Twenty-eight kindergarten (15 boys and 13 girls) and 20 first-grade children (12 boys and 8 girls) drew four pictures of either the Easter bunny or the Easter basket prior to Easter and two pictures of the same symbol after Easter. Height and width measures were obtained for each drawing and correlation matrices were constructed individually for age, sex, ordinal position, and symbol — bunny v. basket. Patterns of change in the drawings as a function of these variables were examined and the correlations in drawing measures were assessed. The results supported the naturally-motivated expectancy hypothesis and suggested some neglected sources of variability in children's drawings of Easter symbols.