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Children's sensitivity to metaphorical expression of mood in line drawings
Author(s) -
Jolley Richard P.,
Thomas Glyn V.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-835x.1995.tb00684.x
Subject(s) - psychology , mood , expression (computer science) , line drawings , matching (statistics) , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , cognition , task (project management) , social psychology , neuroscience , statistics , mathematics , management , engineering drawing , computer science , engineering , economics , programming language
The present study examines the development of understanding of metaphorical expression of mood in line drawings. Participants ranging in age from 4 years to adult were tested firstly on their spontaneous use of expressed mood as criteria for matching scenes, and secondly, on their ability to recognize expressed mood when directly asked to do so. Whilst participants of all ages could recognize the appropriate moods in the drawings, most children made their selections in the matching task on the basis of subject matter with only adults predominantly matching on expressed mood. This progression from preoccupation with subject matter to attention to mood is consistent with Parsons' (1987) cognitive developmental account of the origins of aesthetic appreciation.